BlackBerry wants to turn cars into mobile wallets

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You know the app on your cell phone that has the ability to store your credit card information, meaning you rarely even need to use the actual piece of rectangular plastic? Well, taking that idea one step further, the company that used to make cell phones wants to turn your car into a mobile payment device. 

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BlackBerry Limited recently announced a partnership with California-based fin-tech company Car IQ that is working toward a seamless in-vehicle payment solution that would have drivers automatically charged for things like tolls, fuel, parking, and more. 

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BlackBerry wants to turn cars into mobile wallets Back to video

Using the vehicular software Blackberry Ivy, Car IQ will create a “digital fingerprint” for each vehicle, enabling it to securely communicate digitally with a bank and act as a giant, rolling wallet. 

According to a release posted to the company’s website, the system will access vehicles onboard sensors and computers to allow for the autonomous payment of relatively incidental products and services like tolls, parking, and fuel, while also handling more pricey services like insurance and maintenance. In doing so, it will eliminate “legacy banking primitives such as physical credit cards or multiple smartphone apps” currently required to complete such transactions. 

The technology wouldn’t just make the day-to-day life of your average driver more convenient, but provide potentially revenue-saving opportunities for companies managing fleets of vehicles. 

BlackBerry is predicting that the connected car payment market will grow to €530 billion by 2030.