Farmington Hills, Mich. — Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC (MBFS) added an in-vehicle account management app to its suite of mobile tools for its customers in the United States. The app, called My MBFS, will automatically be added to the cloud-based infotainment system on model year 2013 and newer Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with the COMAND Navigation and a subscription to mbrace2 with Mercedes-Benz Apps. My MBFS joins existing apps from Google, Yelp! and Facebook.

“The same great account management features we provide on our My MBFS smartphone app are now available in Mercedes-Benz vehicles,” said Michael Kanzleiter, senior manager, Marketing, MBFS. “As a result of this launch, we are now the first auto finance company offering customers account management through an in-vehicle app.”

Since establishing itself as a mobile technology innovator with its iPhone app in October 2009, MBFS has followed a steady path of introducing mobile technology to its customers. The 2009 iPhone app launch was followed by the launch of a mobile version of its Web site, mbfs.com, in early 2010, making it accessible from all smart phone devices, with the capability to make payments, receive payoff quotes and obtain account information. In 2011, MBFS further enhanced the app for iPad compatibility.

“Today, more than 20 percent of our customers’ online account management activities are taking place on mobile devices,” Kanzleiter said. “We are seeing more than a thousand customers daily logging in with a mobile device to make a payment or to access account information. Since we launched the app in late 2009, we have received more than $150 million in payments via mobile channels.”

To start managing their MBFS account in-vehicle using the My MBFS app, customers need to register their account online at mbfs.com. Once mbrace2 connectivity is made through the vehicle’s COMAND system, registered mbfs.com users can select and log in to the My MBFS app to start using any of the account management features.

The vehicle’s COMAND system automatically prevents driver distraction by disengaging the My MBFS app when the vehicle is in motion.