TOP GEAR: Contactless card can hire, unlock and operate a BMW or Mini from rental fleet

BMW has partnered with MasterCard to offer an NFC-enabled contactless credit card that makes it possible to hire, unlock and operate a BMW or Mini from a car rental fleet that has more than 2,800 vehicles and more than 350,000 users in the US, UK, Germany and Austria.

“Following a one-off registration, customers can reserve BMW and Mini vehicles from the DriveNow fleet simply by using a smartphone app or computer,” BMW explains.

“They can then access a DriveNow vehicle by identifying themselves with an ID card or the smartphone app. Billing is automatic and by the minute, based on a fixed scale of charges. The DriveNow information smartphone app also provides users with directions to the vehicle they have reserved. The new generation of BMW Group MasterCard credit cards will offer a further way of accessing any vehicle in the fleet.

“The card is fitted with a chip that supports NFC. The credit card then becomes not just a means of cashless payment but also a remote key. As soon as the card is held near to the sensor in the windscreen, the system identifies the user and unlocks the vehicle. Since the user’s identity was already checked when the credit card was issued, identification with an additional ID card or the smartphone is no longer required.”

“Together with BMW, we create a platform which underlines the importance of NFC technology and enables complete new services as well as business models in the promising field of modern mobility concepts for the first time,” Pawel Rychlinski, general manager of Germany and division president for Germany and Switzerland at MasterCard, told NFC World+.

“Based on our longstanding partnership in Germany, it was a logical step to bring the knowledge of our companies together.”