How Your Car Can Become a Payment Card
This patent describes a system where a car's computer system can store your payment cards and use special short-range signals from external car parts to securely pay at places like gas stations or drive-thrus.
Original patent title: “Connected car as a payment device”
This patent describes a system where a car's computer system can store your payment cards and use special short-range signals from external car parts to securely pay at places like gas stations or drive-thrus. Granted in 2026.
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent details a method for using a vehicle as a payment device. It involves selecting a stored financial card or account from the car's main display, called a head unit. The system then sends a scrambled, secure version of the card number, known as a tokenized card number, to a payment terminal. This transfer happens over a very short-range wireless connection, using electronic parts attached to the outside of the car. For example, this external circuitry might be within a few inches or feet of the payment terminal, ensuring a secure, close-proximity transaction.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover payments made using a smartphone or smartwatch that is merely *inside* the vehicle.
- Does not cover payments where the financial card number is transmitted without first being converted into a 'tokenized card number'.
- Does not cover payments made over long-range wireless connections, such as cellular networks or Wi-Fi, for direct payment to a point-of-sale terminal.
- Does not cover payment systems that do not involve 'electronic circuitry attached to the exterior of the vehicle' for the final short-range transmission.
- Does not cover payment methods that do not require a 'very short-range communication link' with a 'threshold distance' (e.g., one inch to three feet) to the payment terminal.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
Key facts
What made this novel
The novel aspect is combining the car's internal computer system with dedicated external electronic circuitry for very short-range, tokenized payments. This specific setup ensures both the convenience of in-car selection and the security of close-proximity, token-based transmission, preventing unauthorized long-distance interception.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Tesla in-car payment for Supercharging
Mercedes-Benz in-car payment for fuel
Hyundai and Kia in-car payment systems for parking or tolls
General Motors MarketPlace for ordering and paying from the dashboard
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This technology aims to make payments more convenient and potentially more secure for drivers. It could streamline transactions at places like gas pumps, toll booths, and drive-thru restaurants, allowing drivers to pay without reaching for a wallet or phone. By integrating payment directly into the vehicle, it offers a hands-free payment experience.
Filed
September 11, 2025
Granted
September 15, 2026
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Major automotive manufacturers like Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and Hyundai are actively integrating payment functionalities directly into their vehicles. Payment processing networks such as Visa and Mastercard are also developing solutions to enable these in-car payment ecosystems, working with carmakers to ensure secure and seamless transactions.
Market impact
This patent contributes to the growing trend of connected cars becoming more than just transportation. It enables vehicles to act as independent payment terminals, potentially creating new revenue streams for automakers and simplifying transactions for consumers. This could lead to a shift in how payments are handled at drive-thru services, gas stations, and parking facilities, making the car a central hub for commerce on the go.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent details a method for using a vehicle as a payment device. It involves selecting a stored financial card or account from the car's main display, called a head unit. The system then sends a scrambled, secure version of the card number, known as a tokenized card number, to a payment terminal. This transfer happens over a very short-range wireless connection, using electronic parts attached to the outside of the car. For example, this external circuitry might be within a few inches or feet of the payment terminal, ensuring a secure, close-proximity transaction.
The clever bit
The novel aspect is combining the car's internal computer system with dedicated external electronic circuitry for very short-range, tokenized payments. This specific setup ensures both the convenience of in-car selection and the security of close-proximity, token-based transmission, preventing unauthorized long-distance interception.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover payments made using a smartphone or smartwatch that is merely *inside* the vehicle.
- Does not cover payments where the financial card number is transmitted without first being converted into a 'tokenized card number'.
- Does not cover payments made over long-range wireless connections, such as cellular networks or Wi-Fi, for direct payment to a point-of-sale terminal.
- Does not cover payment systems that do not involve 'electronic circuitry attached to the exterior of the vehicle' for the final short-range transmission.
- Does not cover payment methods that do not require a 'very short-range communication link' with a 'threshold distance' (e.g., one inch to three feet) to the payment terminal.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Early stage
Citation count
0/40
No citations yet
Claim breadth
0/20
Narrow claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
20/20
Granted within 5 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$19K – $61K
Midpoint $38K · 18.9 yr remaining · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
Claim text not yet imported for this patent
Concepts involved
Cite this patent
(2026). How Your Car Can Become a Payment Card (U.S. Patent No. 12,737,743). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12737743/connected-car-as-a-payment-device-12737743
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
Embed
Add this patent to your site
Drop this plain-English patent card into any blog post or article — free, no signup. It always links back to the full breakdown here.
<div data-patentlens-widget data-patent-number="US12737743"></div> <script src="https://patentbrief.org/embed.js" async></script>
Stay in the loop
Get a weekly digest of new patents.
One email per week. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Keep exploring
Related patents you should know
US 4683195 · 1987
How to Make Billions of Copies of a DNA Segment
This patent describes the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a method to rapidly create many copies of a specific piece of DNA or RNA, enabling its detection and analysis.
Cetus Corp
US 8697359 · 2014
How to Edit Genes in Human Cells Using an Engineered CRISPR System
This patent describes an engineered CRISPR-Cas9 system for precisely cutting DNA in eukaryotic cells to change how genes work, opening the door for gene editing in complex organisms.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
US 7657849 · 2010
How the iPhone's Slide-to-Unlock Gesture Works
Apple's 2010 patent describes unlocking a device by dragging a specific graphical image across the touchscreen along a predefined path, a gesture that became iconic with the original iPhone.
Apple Inc
US 4733665 · 1988
How Doctors Implant a Permanent Stent Using a Balloon
This patent describes the method for placing a permanent, expandable wire mesh tube inside a blood vessel or other body tube using a balloon-tipped catheter to widen it and keep it open.
Expandable Grafts Partnership
US 4965188 · 1990
How to Make Many Copies of a DNA Piece with Heat
This patent describes the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method, a technique to make millions of copies of a specific DNA segment using a heat-resistant enzyme and repeated temperature changes.
Cetus Corp
US 4235871 · 1980
How to Encapsulate Active Materials in Lipid Bubbles Efficiently
This patent describes a method for trapping biologically active substances inside tiny, multi-layered fat bubbles called liposomes, using a specific water-in-oil emulsion and gel-forming process to improve how much material gets captured.
Individual
Semantically similar
You might also find these interesting
US 12737748 · 2026
Smart Payment Card with Transaction Info Locked to Payment Method
US 12737570 · 2026
How a Store's Payment System Keeps Your Card Info Safe
US 10147076 · 2018
Central Bank Digital Currency for Phones and Watches
US 10176475 · 2019 · American Express Travel Related Services Co Inc
How a Single Card Can Pay for Transit Using Loyalty Points
More to explore
More in Energy & Clean Tech
US RE49155 · 2022 · Halliburton Energy Services Inc
Electric or Natural Gas Blending and Pumping for Oil Wells
US 11436484 · 2022 · Nvidia Corp
Nvidia's Method for Training Self-Driving Car AI in Simulations
US 11840398 · 2023 · Titan Trailers Inc
How Titan Trailers Builds Stronger, Smoother Cargo Containers
US 2708656 · 1955
How the First Nuclear Reactor Works
New to patents?
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Your Car Can Become a Payment Card cover?
This patent describes a system where a car's computer system can store your payment cards and use special short-range signals from external car parts to securely pay at places like gas stations or drive-thrus.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on September 15, 2046, when the invention enters the public domain.
What problem does this patent solve?
This technology aims to make payments more convenient and potentially more secure for drivers. It could streamline transactions at places like gas pumps, toll booths, and drive-thru restaurants, allowing drivers to pay without reaching for a wallet or phone. By integrating payment directly into the vehicle, it offers a hands-free payment experience.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover payments made using a smartphone or smartwatch that is merely *inside* the vehicle.
Patent monitoring