Monetising the future of mobility

In the future, access to mobility will be more important than owning a car. Developments such as e-mobility, on-demand services and autonomous and connected vehicles are changing the automotive industry. Consumers are becoming more digital and expect enhanced, personalised experiences. Automotive companies will need to adapt to these changes and will need to develop new business and revenue models to stay competitive.

Blockchain in mobility

At Quantoz, we focus on the intersection between the classic financial world and blockchain technology to enable these new business and revenue models. Blockchain can resolve some of the most complicated industry issues, especially issues based on a lack of trust and resilience. It provides an innovative approach to executing transactions and managing data where accuracy and reliability are important. An efficient payment process enabled by blockchain technology will play a crucial role in the future’s digital and IoT based economy. In the automotive industry, this could for example be used to pay for ‘infotainment’ services, electric vehicle charging or parking stations.

Together with our partners, we have identified several opportunities where a blockchain-based payment process enables completely new business and revenue models in the automotive industry. Many of these have developed into real-world projects with direct applications.

QUASAR and QUASAR Drive

QUASAR is a blockchain-based software solution that enables instant and compliant transactions and settlements between devices, businesses and people. By providing digital wallets to IoT devices, QUASAR enables these devices to become profit centers and monetize their services. Periodical settlement is enforced by aggregating all transactions into one SEPA transaction and processing this within the traditional financial system.

QUASAR can be used in many setups; the most common type is the ‘You-Owe-Me’ (YOM) model. In this model, the debtor does not send the digital money to the creditor, but instead the creditor sends a debt statement to the debtor.

QUASAR Drive is a (micro)-payment platform for tomorrow’s automotive industry. With QUASAR Drive the driver doesn’t need to leave his car to manually pay for fees when using car-related infrastructure. Whether parking, charging electronic cars, passing the toll station or using ‘virtual services’ like entertainment or navigation, the car (acting as the debtor) can pay the service provider (acting as the creditor) by itself.

QUASAR Drive can be managed by car manufacturers or other automotive companies that wish to act as a ‘gateway’. This helps these companies to develop new business and revenue models. For example, car manufacturers can shift from a one-time sales model to becoming a platform provider with a pay-per-use model.

Porsche Connected Car

In a collaboration with Porsche, we have used QUASAR Drive to create a connected car. This car can make use of a variety of service providers and autonomously pay for them, with Porsche acting as a ‘gateway’ via the Porsche platform.

For example, a Porsche customer can drive to a car park and present an RFID (radio frequency identification) card to transfer the necessary identification data. When the customer leaves the car park, the ID is transferred again and the parking fee is billed via a virtual customer blockchain wallet, where a data block is generated in order to document the transaction. It is no longer necessary for the customer to walk to the parking ticket machine or to search out the right small change.

Porsche customers can make use of a variety of these kinds of services, all with one virtual blockchain wallet. Service providers send a type of YOM to the customer’s blockchain wallet and at the end of a billing period Porsche collects the aggregate amount from the customer’s account after which the money is sent to the service providers.

Since the customer data is already known to Porsche, Porsche connected car users can make use of a variety of services without needing to register for the services in advance. The advantage for the service providers is that it can offer its services to customers that they did not know before. Another significant advantage of QUASAR is that the transaction fees are extremely low, enabling micro-payments (i.e. payments of low individual amounts).

Blockchain: the key technology of tomorrow (porsche.com)

Kapsch TrafficCom

Together with Kapsch TrafficCom, a leading provider of intelligent transportation systems, we created a Proof of Concept (PoC) for an autonomous toll road payment infrastructure.

The demo car has an on-board unit with a Bluetooth interface which is connected and paired with a mobile phone. Once the demo car passes an OPS programming station that simulates a DSRC (dedicated short-range communications) antenna, a transaction is recorded in the blockchain and paid instantly between the car’s wallet and the toll charger.

With this PoC, it is also possible for drivers to make use of the services of other service providers. Customers can pay at other points of sale, such as buying a snack at a gas station, by scanning a QR code with their QUASAR Drive app. With this setup, Kapsch TrafficCom can start offering new IoT based business models, also in mobility.

IoT payments integrated into core banking system

Over the years, Quantoz has successfully realised integration of IoT payments into the core banking systems of UniCredit (Munich), RBI (Vienna) and Aareal Bank (Wiesbaden). Some of these processes have been audited by KPMG.