Kia launches CarPay in Europe

LONDON: Kia has launched CarPay, the brand’s in-car payment service that enables customers to pay for items and services from inside the vehicle, starting with the EV3.

The first application available will be with Parkopedia, which helps drivers in Europe locate available parking and pay for it conveniently through the vehicle’s navigation screen.

“Adding an in-car payment service is a significant advancement for customer convenience as software and connectivity continue to expand the capability of a vehicle,” said Kia Europe vice president product & marketing Sjoerd Knipping.

Though almost all journeys begin and end with a parking space, parking remains very challenging in big cities, with 92% of drivers finding it difficult to locate available parking spots across France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.

Any mistake with parking can be costly, with millions of parking tickets issued each year across Europe.

This is especially problematic with electric vehicles, with 49% of EV drivers across France, Germany, Italy, and the UK receiving unexpected parking fines while charging.

“Kia CarPay adds significant convenience and from launch helps to alleviate one of the key pain points for drivers, simplifying the process of finding and paying for parking,” said Hans Puvogel, COO at Parkopedia.

“Not only does this reduce the amount of time drivers spend searching an area to locate an available space, but it also bypasses the frustrating process of having to find an operational parking machine or downloading various phone apps to try to activate and pay for parking sessions.”

Parkopedia services are integrated into vehicle navigation systems for seamless operation and help drivers to find the nearest available parking spot at their destination, detailing the costs involved and predicting the likely number of available spots.

Kia CarPay then enables the customer to pay for parking through a secure transaction via a securely stored payment card, with no additional apps necessary.

Parkopedia’s parking payment service focuses primarily on outdoor and on-street parking, with the intention of expanding to indoor parking, such as parking garages, in the future.

It currently provides access to more than 1.7 million transactable parking locations in 19 European countries.

The EV3 and all future Kia models will feature Kia CarPay. This integrated system is a significant step for the brand towards expanding the range of in-car payments, add-on features, in-vehicle apps and electric vehicle-related use-cases.

CarPay’s convenience for drivers is part of Kia’s commitment to enhancing the driving experience and improving customer satisfaction across all touchpoints of a journey.