Leading car manufacturer ZF, Swiss investment bank UBS, and tech giant IBM are going to develop a blockchain-based open automotive transaction platform for mobility services.

Dubbed “Car eWallet”, the platform is a digital assistant in the car that allows secure and convenient payments even “on the go”. It has the potential to transform the way manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers process digital transactions and simplify the use of vehicle services. In addition to secure and convenient payments, Car eWallet can also perform other tasks, like opening the trunk or doors.

The Car eWallet platform was initially unveiled by ZF earlier this year. It was developed in cooperation with UBS.

Based on the IBM Blockchain technology, Car eWallet makes secure transactions almost in real time possible without needing a central instance or a reliable third party. Blockchain technology helps to synchronize the information of each participant in the network in a reliable and unchangeable data record, while ensuring that users only have access to the information that they are permitted to see and use.

“The trend toward car-sharing and future autonomous vehicles requires, now more than ever, a transaction ecosystem that everyone can use,” explains Dr. Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG. “The Car eWallet technology will reduce risks and costs while dramatically improving convenience for owners and users.”

The IBM Blockchain technology is provided through the IBM Cloud and driven by Hyperledger Fabric 1.0. With this public cloud service platform, the partners intend to build a secure blockchain network that can collect fees for parking, toll, as well as future use cases such as car-sharing, energy provisioning to the power system or delivery services.

“The world of mobility is quickly evolving with self-driving vehicles, electric cars and new mobility services having quickly evolved from visionary concepts into reality. Time of great change requires transformational solutions,” said Dirk Wollschlaeger, General Manager IBM Global Automotive, Aerospace and Defense. “Together with UBS and ZF, we are engineering a new mobility platform to redefine how, when and where traditional transactions occur.”

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