Car IQ and Visa Team Up to Offer Vehicle Payment Technology

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Vehicle payment startup Car IQ and digital payments giant Visa have teamed up to enable Car IQ’s in-dash vehicle wallet for purchases of fuel, tolls, parking, insurance, service, and repairs from merchants on the Visa network.

The deal allows vehicles to transact directly with Visa’s global network of merchants and banks. The technology enables purchases to be made directly to a vehicle’s infotainment system, so there is no need for customers to pull out their own wallets to pay for gas, parking and more.

Car IQ created the fully-automated vehicle payment system using its patented machine identity verification process, Know Your Machine. The system tracks spending, cross references and authenticates purchases, Car IQ said in a statement. Among other features, it also “provides actionable insights into the health and activity of every vehicle in your fleet,” the company said.

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Through the partnership, the companies will be able to reach a large share of the connected vehicle payment market, which is expected to reach $600 billion by 2030, according to Ptolemus Consulting Group.

Car IQ is currently accepted at more than 25,000 fueling locations nationwide at retailers including Shell, Sunoco, Circle K, Kum & Go, and Sinclair. It also recently partnered with EverWash the nation’s leading car wash membership platform, for access to its more than 800 locations nationwide.

The announcement comes less than six months after Car IQ added $15 billion to its Series B funding round, which Visa participated in along with heavy hitters including State Farm Ventures, Bridgestone, Navistar, and Circle K. The funding round exceeded its target and brought its total funding to $42 million to-date.

In announcing the additional funding last February, Car IQ said the funds would be used to accelerate the expansion of its payment platform and add new commerce categories such as electric vehicle charging, repairs, registration, and insurance.

Cars are just the start

“Our vehicle wallet allows banks and merchants to trust payments from vehicles, as well as any other IoT device, over the Visa network,” Car IQ CEO Sterling Pratz said in announcing the deal with Visa. He also noted that he has a much larger vision for his company.

“While our first wallet initiative is focused on vehicles, our platform is designed to easily support any IoT device payment, and we are already seeing interest for connected ‘smart’ city applications and believe the connected home will be next,” Pratz said. “In the future, I believe everyone will have the choice of adding their cars, home appliances and more directly to their bank account to transact.”

Joey Solitro is a freelance financial journalist at Kiplinger with more than a decade of experience. A longtime equity analyst, Joey has covered a range of industries for media outlets including The Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha, Market Realist, and TipRanks. Joey holds a bachelor's degree in business administration.