New app launches to streamline car ownership

A new phone app has been launched that aims to be the only app you need to manage all of your car documents and fees.

London-based Caura lets drivers pay for parking, tolls, road tax, car insurance and congestion charges as well as organising MOTs, all through one app.

Owners have to enter their vehicle registration and the app displays the status of their car’s tax and when their MOT and car insurance expires. The app can also send notifications to drivers when any of the above need to be updated or paid for, which can be done through the app.

Caura has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority and users can pay through Apple Pay or store their card details securely in the app.

Sai Lakshmi, CEO and founder of Caura, said: “The billions of pounds in penalty fees UK consumers incur from mistakes or late payments for parking, congestion charges, road tax, tolls, MOT and insurance are totally avoidable.

“The incumbent system – fragmented, confusing and outdated – is not only costly but a massive source of anxiety. By eliminating the need for dozens of apps and services, we are removing hassle, confusion and unnecessary expenses of car ownership.”

Through Freedom of Information requests, Caura says it has discovered that 368,000 car tax penalty charge notices (PCNs) and 220,000 insurance-related PCNs were issued in the 2018/19 financial year.

Meanwhile, 25 per cent of MOTs were completed late in 2018, meaning there could be up to eight million cars with dangerous defects on the road at any given time.

Caura is currently only on iOS and will be available for Android within a year.