Apparently, Apple wants to bring more than just fuel prices to the dashboard: In the future, it will be possible to pay at gas stations directly via CarPlay.
At the first gas stations From autumn, iPhone users may be able to pay via CarPlay – directly from the car. This function is intended for CarPlay in iOS 16 and has so far only been presented to developers, as the Reuters news agency reported on Thursday. At WWDC 2022, Apple announced the opening of CarPlay for tank apps, but the main expectation was that gas stations in the area would be displayed, along with fuel prices.
In a public lecture, Apple explained that tank apps should offer more than just navigating to the next gas station, after all that is already possible with navigation apps. An Apple developer cited “starting the pump” as an example of a feature; a payment process was not mentioned.
Gas station operators in the starting blocks
A US gas station operator told Reuters that they wanted to will present the new functionality in the coming months and is excited that customers will be able to pay for the refueling process via their vehicle’s infotainment system in the future. According to the report, payment data must first be stored in the iPhone app. How a payment is authorized via CarPlay remains unclear for the time being, other types of purchases are not yet supported there. Apple could link the refueling function with Apple Pay, and in the future automatic payments should also be possible via its own payment service, so that each individual transaction no longer has to be authorized.
Whether and when petrol stations in Germany will offer such a payment option with CarPlay offer at the pump remains open. With Esso Pay, operators such as Esso already offer the option of paying for the tank filling via app and thus saving yourself a trip to the petrol station checkout. To release the pump, a certain amount is reserved via PayPal and then the amount of fuel actually filled up is billed.
Charging apps for electric cars are already permitted in CarPlay
Apple has had CarPlay for the past few years slowly opening up to new app categories. iOS 16 should allow additional apps for the car sector into the infotainment system, for example to call a towing service or enable toll payments. Charging apps for electric cars have been possible in CarPlay since iOS 14, but the function has hardly been used in Germany to date.
