Hyundai Teams up with Xevo for In-vehicle Payment Concept

Hyundai’s subsidiary in North America, Hyundai Motor America has teamed up with automotive software developer Xevo Inc to offer its customers the option of paying for goods and services through in-vehicle technology. Customers will be able to use the technology for buying items like petrol, parking and food.

Xevo will collaborate with Hyundai on the development of the Hyundai Digital Wallet payment platform which will securely store a customer’s payment information and motorists and their vehicles to mobile applications and services through touchscreens and vehicle-branded mobile apps. Motorists will be able to use the platform to pay for fuel from participating Chevron- and Texaco-branded stations, food from Applebee and parking with ParkWhiz.

Cason Grover, senior group manager of Hyundai Vehicle Technology Planning, said in an interview to Automotive News that plans have not yet been finalized for a launch date and the options for the in-car concept. The automaker could choose to make the technology available through its existing mobile app so that it is displayed in the vehicle head unit. It could also be launched as part of the vehicle software in its next infotainment platform. The final decision will be made once the payment platform moves from the proof of concept stage into a pilot program.

The payment platform will not be the first such technology that Hyundai would be offering. It has also worked with technologies like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, Google Glass, Wear OS and Apple Watch in its expansion from smartphone app integration.

As of now, Hyundai will be leveraging Xevo’s technologies only for the US market. According to Grover, in the long-term, these technologies will need the development of more over-the-air update solutions and maintenance.

Hyundai had also recently partnered with Verisk, a data analytics provider, in order to collect driving data from its consenting car owners and to use this data to develop aggregate technology solutions like offering motorists their Verisk Driving Score. The Verisk Driving Score is a metric that assesses individual driving behavior. Based on their driving behavior, motorists can use this score to negotiate for better motor insurance premiums.