I’ve been thinking about how different industries have very different customer journeys, and how those differences should shape the way payments work.
In automotive, that journey can be particularly complex.
A customer might research a vehicle online, call the dealership with questions, put down a deposit over the phone, visit the showroom to complete the purchase, and return weeks later to pay for service.
From the customer’s perspective, it’s one relationship.
From the dealership’s perspective, those can be very different transactions.
And the customer increasingly expects those interactions to feel connected.
Cox Automotive’s 2025 Car Buyer Journey Study found that 63% of vehicle buyers believe the ideal buying experience combines online and in person activities.
That expectation doesn’t end when the vehicle is sold.
Cox Automotive’s 2025 Service Industry Study found that 45% of dealership service customers experienced at least one frustration during their visit, with taking too long being the most common complaint.
Payments can either add to that friction or help remove it.
For automotive, an omnichannel payment environment can support customers paying online, by phone, in person, or with a physical card or mobile device.
But the benefits go beyond payment choice.
A connected payment environment can integrate with dealership management systems and other automotive technology, support sales, service and parts, automate payment processes, reduce manual work, and help maintain PCI DSS compliance.
That connectivity matters because automotive dealerships rely on a broad technology ecosystem. We can integrate with platforms including Bluebird Auto Rental Systems, CDK, Elite Extra, LivePerson, ProfitNet, RedCap, SimplePart, TSD, and X Time, helping payments work within the systems dealerships already use.
There are also standalone capabilities that can matter in automotive, including secure card storage, recurring payments, virtual terminals, and tools designed to make transactions easier across different customer touchpoints.
Because automotive customers don’t think in terms of payment channels.
They think:
“I already started this. Why do I have to start over?”
That may be the real value of omnichannel payments.
Not simply accepting payments everywhere, but making the payment experience feel like part of the same customer journey.
For an industry built around long term customer relationships, that distinction matters.
Interested in taking a closer look at how your payment experience works across sales, service, and online? Reach out to the team at Cartis Payments. We’d be happy to have a conversation.