New BMW parking payments feature now available in Germany and Austria

MANILA: A new BMW parking payments feature, which employs Parkopedia’s award-winning In-vehicle Payment Platform to facilitate seamless parking payment experiences for BMW drivers with a BMW Operating System 7 and 8, is now available in Germany and Austria. The service lets drivers search and pay for parking from the comfort of their vehicles, through their infotainment systems or the My BMW App.

The feature is activated overnight over-the-air, with no action needed from the driver. Parkopedia's fully embedded payment platform enables interaction between payable locations and vehicle sensors once the driver has arrived at the predetermined parking location, causing the vehicle to automatically display the payment function and advise the driver to pay at applicable locations. If the parking zone allows billing by the minute, the parking transaction automatically ends as soon as the driver departs from the parking area.

The BMW Parking Payments service provides Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities that let the driver sign in with their BMW ConnectedDrive account or BMW ID and activate the Park Payments service only once. Payment methods can be entered and saved using the linked QR code shown on the infotainment screen. Parkopedia’s SSO technology constantly makes things easier for drivers, as it eliminates additional enforcement of authentication at the point of purchase as a part of the shift towards friction-free mobility and providing more convenience for the driver than ever before.

The partnership between BMW and Parkopedia produces a simplified parking experience for BMW drivers. Parkopedia’s profoundly detailed data and technology enables the development of accurate “geofences,” facilitating automated payment requests or prompts for customers within a designated area or payment zone, without having to give location information — abolishing the need to use alternative smartphone apps or parking payment machines.

After the release in Germany and Austria, there are plans to launch the service in other European countries starting in 2023. BMW has chosen a gradual rollout, as it will first gather customer feedback from Germany and Austria as part of ongoing software improvements, before expanding to other European countries.

Photo from BMW

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