Product Innovation: Fuel Payment Transactions With Car Key
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, 25 November 2008 |
|
It has been revealed that BMW is working on a motor vehicle that will
enable motorists to buy petrol by simply waving the ignition key in
front of the fuel dispenser to settle their bill.
The same technology will also work for parking meters. The system
works because the key contains a tiny chip holding details of the
driver’s bank account. Fuel pumps and ticket machines need to be fitted
with a small electronic reader that can decipher the details and debit
the cash accordingly.
The system, which may also be fitted at toll booths and even train and
Underground stations for drivers leaving their cars behind, does not
use a PIN code – raising fears that the keys would be targeted by
thieves. But BMW said the keys could be quickly cancelled if lost
or stolen and the company hopes the system will be so successful that
its drivers will use the key as their personal credit card.
Dutch firm NXP Semiconductors, which has developed the key along with
BMW, revealed a prototype with two small antennas on the top. A
spokesman said the scheme could also be used by park-and-ride drivers
who wanted to jump on a bus. He said: ‘This key works in a very similar
way to the Oyster card used on public transport in London. There is no
chip and PIN involved so it is quicker than a credit card. The key
looks like the one now used in a BMW 7 Series.’
He explained: ‘All you need to do is hold it about 4in from the reader
and it will automatically take the money from your account. We hope it
could also be used by people who want to leave their cars and jump on a
train, and they could just hold their keys up to a reader in the train
station. This is all about making life easier for BMW drivers, and
allowing them to get in their cars without worrying where their wallet
is or if they have enough cash.’
Professor Raymond Freymann, managing director of BMW Group Research and
Technology, said: ‘We are doing research in enhancing the capabilities
of the car key into one smart device for access, payment and service
that will simplify the lives of BMW car drivers in the future.’
The key has been given the green light by the German Federal Office of
Information Security, meaning it is satisfied it meets the country’s
highest standards for keeping bank details safe.
PetrolWorld 161108
|
