You’re driving along one day and you hear your favorite song on the radio. You then press a button and the car automatically detects what song is playing, connects to an online music store and requests to purchase it. You insert your credit card into a small slot on your dash and the song is downloaded to your car’s media center, ready for you to enjoy whenever you like.

This is a scenario that BMW hopes its customers can one day experience. A prototype developed by BMW in conjunction with VISA has been displayed in a 530i sedan at this year’s CARTES electronic expo in Paris. This project shows that the BMW credit card service can be far more than a pure payment medium. The technology may spur on the development of new business models that may even include purchasing household items and groceries from your car without even setting foot in a store. When you arrive, you simply drive through and pick up your prepaid items.