2025 User Experience report reveals need for OEMs to optimise in-car payment services to access untapped revenue
Images are for editorial use only. First-of-its-kind research highlights that US and German drivers have significant interest for in-car payment functionality and are willing to pay for it 100% of US drivers and 93% of German motorists surveyed stated that having an easy-to-use in-car payment system would improve their driving experience 70% of US motorists and 67% of German drivers stated they would be willing to pay more upfront for a vehicle with in-car payment functionality 08 April 2025 – London, UKA new, first-of-its-kind report by Drive Research, focused on the full User Experience journey of in-car payment systems, shows that these services have become an extremely desirable convenience feature for many drivers who would be willing to pay for access to significantly improve their driving experience and brand perception. The 2025 In-Car Payments User Experience Report presented real-world drivers in the US and Germany with two in-car payment systems and tasked them with completing the same exercises on both, before answering quantitative and qualitative survey and interview questions, to gauge their level of interest in in-car payment functionality and opinions on the two formats. The first system (A) was an anonymised current in-production OEM system in each region, with the second system (B) being an updated setup created together by Parkopedia and Valtech Mobility, with ease-of-use improvements across enrollment, notifications, engagement and payment processes. Drivers want easy-to-use in-car payments for all driving-related servicesAll American drivers surveyed stated that having an easy-to-use in-car payment system would improve their driving experience, with 100% also highly valuing this functionality in enabling in-car payments for driving-related services. Simple in-car payments were also near-universally valued by German participants (93%), demonstrating the wide-ranging demand for this functionality when it works as intended. Showing the potential benefit to OEMs from introducing well-executed in-car payments, 97% of participants in both the US and Germany would consider using in-car payments for all vehicle transactions, such as parking, EV charging, fuelling and tolls, if the setup were easy to use. One German participant stated, “System B (updated) is definitely simpler, time-saving, self-explanatory, efficient, and an everyday helper.” The same proportion (97%) stated that in-car payment functionality would improve their driving experience and would value having multiple in-car payment services available through one platform, instead of requiring external devices to access. The consistency of these figures shows that drivers have a strongly-held interest in more sophisticated, connected car services and OEMs that offer seamlessly integrated in-car payments stand to win a growing proportion of customers from rival brands that fail to address this increasing demand. Demand for notifications when in-car payments are availableNot only do drivers want broad in-car payment functionality, but they also want intelligent integration of the service to ensure they can get the greatest benefit from the features available. 93% of German drivers and 87% of US participants would value their car having the ability to notify them through the infotainment system when in-car payments are available nearby. Demonstrating drivers’ will for having additional in-car payment features built into their cars, 80% of US drivers would be ‘frustrated’ if in-car payments were available nearby and their car failed to inform them. Similarly, all German drivers surveyed and 97% of US motorists would value having an onscreen button to immediately access connected services nearby, such as parking and charging data or in-car payments. Poor enrollment process is limiting uptake and usageDrivers flagged that a complex registration process would reduce their likelihood of signing up for in-car payments, with 77 % of German drivers and 70% of US participants being put off by a complicated enrollment setup. More than this, 57% of Germans stated that a long-winded registration format would make them less likely to use in-car payments after registering, along with half of US drivers. This shows that the user experience has a very significant role in influencing drivers’ behaviour and OEMs must optimise the registration process if they want to ensure the greatest customer satisfaction and adoption of premium services. 90% of US drivers considered the current industry standard registration process as being ‘complex’, highlighting that car manufacturers are already failing to meet many customers’ expectations. A significant proportion of drivers in both markets would be willing to pay a premium to access in-car payments, with more than two-thirds of drivers being open to paying for this functionality. More than half of German drivers would be willing to make a monthly payment for in-car payments, while nearly half of US participants would consider a higher initial price, showing OEMs the need to offer tailored payment options for this type of feature to maximise usage. Drivers demand integrated solutions over reliance on mobile devicesDrivers saw integrated in-car payment services as valuable because they could respond appropriately to the situation or route, such as flagging the need for parking or charging, or helping to reduce the stresses associated with driving. Furthermore, several motorists considered such functionality to be a differentiator between rival brands. This could potentially influence purchase decisions – both pulling drivers towards models with high-quality in-car payment services and pushing them away from other OEMs that offer poor services or fail to provide these at all. Current deployments underrepresent the full capabilities of in-car paymentsDrivers significantly preferred the updated system shown, which prioritised usability, minimising the amount of clicks needed to access key payment functions and making it simpler to pay for multiple vehicle-centric services using one platform. More than 90% of US drivers were extremely likely to use the updated system compared with just 20% for the current industry deployment. More than 90% of US and German drivers also engaged more with the optimised in-car payment system, with 100% of US and 90% of German participants being more likely to use in-car payments for future transactions if they had what they perceived to be the more ‘streamlined’ system. This shows that OEMs risk alienating their own customers by offering poorly executed in-car payments; drivers want convenient in-car payment functionality, but expect it to be user-friendly…
