Apple CarPlay Will Allow You to Pay For Gas Through Infotainment Screen This Fall: Report
Apple CarPlay users may soon pay for fuel at some stations without swiping a card.
Apple iPhone owners who use CarPlay may soon be able to pay for fuel purchases ahead of time, Reuters reported Thursday. The feature, which was announced this month at Apple’s annual developers' conference, may roll out to phones this fall when iOS 16 is released to users.
According to the report, CarPlay users can purchase fuel from their car’s touchscreens without using a credit or debit card. Users would be required to download the gas station’s app and register payment information to use the service. Some companies such as BP, Sunoco, Phillips 66, and Exxon Mobil already offer in-app payments for fuel, although those aren’t CarPlay-compatible apps. According to Reuters, Dallas-based HF Sinclair said they would also offer the CarPlay-compatible service soon at more than 1,600 service stations across the U.S., with details coming later this year.
Automakers such as General Motors have offered in-car shopping services before, although none have been widely accepted. In February, GM discontinued its “Marketplace” app that offered in-vehicle purchases for fuel and other services that were reportedly used by “thousands” of customers despite being installed on millions of vehicles.
Offering the service to CarPlay users potentially could broaden the user base to millions more and integrate those services in a more convenient way for owners.
"Forget about Apple Car—Apple CarPlay is a bigger deal," Horace Dediu, an analyst with Asymco and founder of Micromobility Industries told Reuters. "It's very likely to scale to millions and millions of cars, if not hundreds of millions."
It would further cement Apple as a powerhouse among automakers for navigation, map data, commerce, and more. Although Apple reportedly doesn’t charge automakers for CarPlay compatibility software, the Cupertino, California-based company collects randomized data from CarPlay users, which may include vehicle speed and fuel-gauge data soon. The data can be used to sell advertising to vehicle owners or sold back to automakers as mapping information for self-driving features.
This month, Apple outlined a broader goal for CarPlay in the coming years with more screens, more services, and more features. Multiple automakers, including Ford and Volkswagen, said they would offer expanded CarPlay functionality in the future.
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