Mercedes introduces in-car shopping

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It's a pretty safe bet to say we've all bought something online. It's quick and convenient, and often a little bit cheaper too. You think of something, you pick your phone up, and within minutes whatever it is has been bought and paid for and will probably arrive within 24 hours. And if Mercedes has their way you'll soon be doing that from the driver's seat.

If you're now thinking “What…?” don't worry, you're not the only one. There's a slight risk the next few moments might be a bit dull, but this is going to need a little background information.

Online transactions use Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) compliance to protect consumer's details. This is basically the two-factor authentication you might have seen when you set up a new phone or a secure app. To pass security you need to be in possession of two of three things: something you know – your password; something you possess – a phone or computer that is registered to your account; something you are – the biometric data that fingerprint and facial recognition technology uses. Without two of those three things you shouldn't be able to gain access to someone's account.

Your Mercedes as a connected device

What Mercedes would like to do is add your car to the list of connected devices you can use to shop online. It's not alone in this either – Jaguar Land Rover is also working towards the same goal; Mercedes is just slightly further along.

It does have some experience in this area. Like a lot of major manufacturers, Mercedes operates a financial services division, in this case, Daimler Mobility.

Daimler Mobility recognised a while ago that in-car commerce is an integral part of the luxury car experience. Daimler Mobility's global payment platform – “Mercedes pay” – already allows customers to buy some limited goods and services directly in their car, including “Mercedes me” services, as well as things like fuel and parking.

This has just taken the next step with a new global technology partnership between Daimler Mobility and Visa.

Part of that two-factor authentication we mentioned is the authentication technology that underpins it. Visa obviously has some expertise in this area, it is Visa after all, and it brings something called Delegated Authentication technology to the table. It's this bit of technology that will allow Mercedes to add your car to the list of connected devices and open up the wider online marketplace.

And it's coming very soon. From spring 2022 onwards, Daimler will offer “native” in-car payments. This means that entering a password on your mobile phone for payment authentication won't be necessary as the car itself becomes a biometrically enabled payments device.

In about six months' time, you could be driving home one evening and suddenly realise you've forgotten something. You could panic, or you could use the infotainment system to order what you need, pop your finger on the reader to complete the purchase, and carry on your way calmly and comfortably.

What would you rather do? You could panic…or you could lease yourself a brand-new Mercedes . And stay at the forefront technology.

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