Most mechanics would tell you "fuhgettaboutit" if you showed up to the auto repair shop without your wallet.
But thanks to technological innovations in the way service is provided and paid for, you can now charge your auto service to the account associated with your Apple Watch—or other iOS device—before an Apple Car ever hits the road.
Tech startup Openbay, which allows repair shops to bid on jobs, will now take Apple Pay through its mobile app. While we're optimistic that the shops themelves will follow suit, as the technology becomes more common, this is the first time we've heard of such a tie-up with a non-traditional service like Openbay.
Openbay is a "two-sided marketplace with a single focus: auto repair," company CEO Rob Infantino told Auto World News, through which car service projects are won and then performed. In an earlier conversation, Infantino said that the majority of his company's deals are being performed on vehicles from 2007 to 2009, outside the warranty period—including tires, hoses, belts, and engine work. According to Infantino, who owns and drives a 2002 BMW M5, the average deal ranges from "a few hundred dollars" to more expensive repairs, and he estimates the "do it for me" business at $190 billion.
Could an Apple Car service through Apple Pay be far off?
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