Intelligent cost representation and payment preauthorization for vehicle fueling transactions
Systems and methods for facilitating and optimizing pre-authorizations for anticipated re-fueling transactions for vehicles. A server may receive information about a vehicle's current location and fuel status along with other telemetry data. The server can predict how much fuel will be dispensed by the vehicle in an fueling event to occur at a target re-fueling station. A cost representation of this fuel can be calculated and used to perform highly accurate pre-authorizations of in anticipation of the upcoming transaction, before the vehicle arrives at the re-fueling station.
1 . A method for optimizing payment processing for vehicle fueling transactions, the method comprising:
receiving, at a remote concierge system, first telemetry data from a vehicle including a current location of the vehicle relative to a re-fueling station, and an indication that a fuel level of the vehicle has fallen below a first threshold;
predicting, at the remote concierge system, the vehicle has a high likelihood of traveling to the re-fueling station within a first window of time to purchase fuel;
querying, by the remote concierge system, the re-fueling station to determine current charging activity and an estimated wait time before a charging component becomes available;
estimating, at the remote concierge system, a first fuel amount that will be required to fully re-fuel the vehicle upon its arrival at the re-fueling station, wherein estimating the first fuel amount comprises:
determining a predicted state of charge (SoC) of a battery of the vehicle at a time a charging session is estimated to begin, based on a current SoC, a rate of discharge, a distance to the re-fueling station, the estimated wait time, and a predicted energy consumption of one or more auxiliary vehicle systems during the estimated wait time; and
calculating the first fuel amount based on a difference between a full charge capacity of the battery and the predicted SoC at the time the charging session is estimated to begin;
calculating, at the remote concierge system, a cost representation for purchase of the first fuel amount by applying a price rate corresponding to the estimated arrival time to the first fuel amount, wherein the cost representation is dynamically adjusted based on a predicted energy consumption of one or more auxiliary vehicle systems and a predicted wait time at the re-fueling station;
transmitting, from the remote concierge system and before the vehicle is physically connected to a component of the re-fueling station, the cost representation and payment details for an account linked to the vehicle to a payment processor for the re-fueling station; and
receiving, from the payment processor and at the remote concierge system, confirmation that the purchase of the first fuel amount based on the cost representation has been pre-authorized.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, at the remote concierge system, data indicating a driver of the vehicle has selected the re-fueling station as their target destination via a navigation app onboard the vehicle.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is an electric vehicle, and the fuel level refers to the state of charge (SoC) of the battery for the electric vehicle, and wherein determining the rate of discharge comprises:
receiving, at the remote concierge system, real-time vehicle usage data including a weight load carried by the vehicle; and
using the real-time vehicle usage data to calculate a rate of fuel consumption during travel to the re-fueling station.
4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising receiving, at the remote concierge system, battery-related data including one or more of an age of the battery, a make and model of the battery, and historical charging and discharging rates for the battery, wherein the battery-related data is used to determine the rate of discharge for estimating the first fuel amount.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, at the remote concierge system, vehicle usage-related data including one or more of a weight load carried by the vehicle including passengers and cargo, and activity data for a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle usage-related data is used to determine the rate of discharge for estimating the first fuel amount.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, at the remote concierge system, historical driving behavior data for a current driver of the vehicle, wherein the historical driving behavior data is used to determine the rate of discharge for estimating the first fuel amount.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, at the remote concierge system, information about a planned route to the re-fueling station from the vehicle's current location; and
pulling, from a traffic database, real-time traffic data for traffic along the planned route, wherein the real-time traffic data is used determine the rate of discharge for estimating the first fuel amount.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, at the remote concierge system, information about a planned route to the re-fueling station from the vehicle's current location; and
pulling, from a weather database, real-time weather data for roadways comprising the planned route, wherein the real-time weather data is used to determine the rate of discharge for estimating the first fuel amount.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, at the remote concierge system, information about a planned route to the re-fueling station from the vehicle's current location; and
pulling, from a road network database, real-time road conditions data for roadways comprising the planned route, wherein the real-time road conditions data is used to determine the rate of discharge for estimating the first fuel amount.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, from the remote concierge system and to an onboard computing device of the vehicle, the confirmation, thereby triggering presentation of a notification via a display of the vehicle indicating the transaction has been pre-authorized.
11 . A method for optimizing payment processing for vehicle fueling transactions, the method comprising:
determining, by a remote concierge service for a vehicle, a fuel level of the vehicle has fallen below a first threshold;
presenting, by the remote concierge service and via a display or speaker of the vehicle, a first notification:
indicating the fuel level has fallen below the first threshold, and offering a selectable option for re-routing the vehicle to a re-fueling station;
receiving, by the remote concierge service, acceptance of the selectable option;
responsively causing a navigation application associated with the vehicle to generate and present a route to the re-fueling station;
transmitting, from the concierge service and to a remote concierge system, a current location of the vehicle relative to the re-fueling station, and a current fuel level of the vehicle; and
wherein the remote concierge system:
queries the re-fueling station to determine current charging activity and an estimated wait time before a charging component becomes available;
predicts a state of charge (SoC) of the vehicle at a time a charging session is estimated to begin based on the estimated wait time and a predicted energy consumption of one or more auxiliary vehicle systems during the estimated wait time; and
calculates a cost representation for a first fuel amount based on a difference between a full charge capacity and the predicted SoC at the time the charging session is estimated to begin; and
receiving, from the remote concierge system and at the concierge service, before the vehicle is physically connected to a component of the re-fueling station, a message indicating purchase of the first fuel amount has been pre-authorized.
12 . A system for optimizing payment processing for vehicle fueling transactions, the system comprising a processor and machine-readable media including instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive, at a remote concierge system, first telemetry data from a vehicle including a current location of the vehicle relative to a re-fueling station, and an indication that a fuel level of the vehicle has fallen below a first threshold;
predict, at the remote concierge system, the vehicle has a high likelihood of traveling to the re-fueling station within a first window of time to purchase fuel;
estimate, at the remote concierge system, a first fuel amount that will be required to fully re-fuel the vehicle upon its arrival at the re-fueling station based on real-time vehicle usage data including at least one of a weight load carried by the vehicle or activity data for a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system of the vehicle, wherein the real-time vehicle usage data is used to calculate a rate of fuel consumption during travel to the re-fueling station and predict a state of charge of the vehicle upon arrival at the re-fueling station;
calculate, at the remote concierge system, a cost representation for purchase of the first fuel amount;
transmit, from the remote concierge system and before the vehicle is physically connected to a component of the re-fueling station, the cost representation and payment details for an account linked to the vehicle to a payment processor for the re-fueling station; and
receive, from the payment processor and at the remote concierge system, confirmation that the purchase of the first fuel amount has been pre-authorized.
13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
query, by the remote concierge system, the re-fueling station to determine a current charging activity of the re-fueling station and an estimated wait time before a charging component becomes available for the vehicle;
calculate an estimated energy depletion of the battery during the estimated wait time based on a predicted operation of the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system while the vehicle is stationary at the re-fueling station; and
adjust the cost representation to include a cost of energy corresponding to the estimated energy depletion during the estimated wait time.
14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the vehicle is an electric vehicle, and the fuel level refers to the state of charge (SoC) of a battery for the electric vehicle.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to receive, at the remote concierge system, battery-related data including one or more of an age of the battery, a make and model of the battery, and historical charging and discharging rates for the battery, wherein the battery-related data is used to predict the state of charge of the vehicle upon arrival for estimating the first fuel amount.
16 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to receive, at the remote concierge system, vehicle usage-related data including one or more of a weight load carried by the vehicle including passengers and cargo, and activity data for a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle usage-related data is used to estimate the first fuel amount continuously update the predicted state of charge of the vehicle upon arrival based on changes to the real-time vehicle usage data received during travel to the re-fueling station.
17 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to receive, at the remote concierge system, historical driving behavior data for a current driver of the vehicle, wherein the historical driving behavior data is used to predict the state of charge of the vehicle upon arrival for estimating the first fuel amount.
18 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
receive, at the remote concierge system, information about a planned route to the re-fueling station from the vehicle's current location; and
pull, from a traffic database, real-time traffic data for traffic along the planned route, wherein the real-time traffic data is used to predict the state of charge of the vehicle upon arrival for estimating the first fuel amount.
19 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
receive, at the remote concierge system, information about a planned route to the re-fueling station from the vehicle's current location; and
pull, from a weather database, real-time weather data for roadways comprising the planned route, wherein the real-time weather data is used to predict the state of charge of the vehicle upon arrival for estimating the first fuel amount.
20 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
receive, at the remote concierge system, information about a planned route to the re-fueling station from the vehicle's current location; and
pull, from a road network database, real-time road conditions data for roadways comprising the planned route, wherein the real-time road conditions data is used to predict the state of charge of the vehicle upon arrival for estimating the first fuel amount.