BMW drivers in Germany and Austria can now find parking spaces and pay for parking from their car using its in-vehicle infotainment system or the My BMW app.

BMW is rolling out the parking payment service in the two countries for vehicles that support its operating systems 7 and 8, enabling drivers to locate parking spots, receive automated payment requests or prompts and pay at their chosen location without needing to use a separate app or parking payment machine.

The service uses the in-vehicle payments platform and global parking database of connected vehicle service provider Parkopedia and can be “activated overnight over-the-air, with no action required by the driver”.

“Once the driver arrives at the chosen parking location, Parkopedia’s deeply integrated payment platform allows for interaction between payable locations and vehicle sensors, prompting the vehicle to automatically display the payment function and suggest the driver pay at applicable locations,” Parkopedia explains.

“If the parking zone allows billing by the minute, the parking transaction automatically ends as soon as the driver leaves the parking location.”

The service also offers “single sign-on capabilities that allow the driver to log in with their BMW ConnectedDrive account or BMW ID and activate the parking payments service only once. Payment methods can be entered and saved using the associated QR code on the infotainment screen” and used without “additional enforcement of authentication at the point of purchase”, Parkopedia says.

In addition, the service “allows for the creation of accurate ‘geofences’, enabling automated payment requests or triggers for customers within a specified area or payment zone, without the need to provide location information — eliminating the need to use alternative smartphone apps or parking payment machines,” the technology provider adds.

BMW plans to roll out the service in other European countries “from 2023”.

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