As most of you know, I am a huge fan of contactless payments. I enjoy the convenience, the speed, and the overall experience. Of course, like anyone else who enjoys contactless payments, I get extremely disappointed when I can’t use them. I hate having to get out my card, wait for it to be processed, and then click a bunch of buttons on a screen that don’t even work half of the time, all for one simple transaction. While all of that may seem like it shouldn’t be a big deal, it is something that becomes an annoyance once you have experienced the benefits of mobile payments a few times. Only then do you understand exactly how much mobile payments make transactions and the overall customer experience better.
Throughout my day, I am in situations where I wish contactless payments were accepted. Whether it is at a grocery store, restaurant, or convenience store, I always wish that I could just pay with the phone that is already in my hand. In fact, I find myself going to Walgreens instead of a competitor just so that I can use Apple Pay and their NFC enabled Balance Rewards card. I find the experience completely worth it. But out of all places that I wish had contactless payments, one remains at the top of my list. Gas Stations.
Gas pumps have the slowest transaction time of all places due to the amount of information that must be entered after a credit card is swiped. First, they want you to select whether you want debit or credit, then enter a zip code, then select a car wash, then select whether or not you want a receipt. None of this except the car wash question is necessary. A simple tap of the phone and a digital receipt would be perfect.
Security
At first, contactless payments at the pump may not seem like a big deal, but it actually is. First and most important, contactless payments at a gas pump would be extremely secure. Currently, someone could use a stolen credit card and all they would need to know is the zip code of the credit card. In order for a thief to use a phone, they would need to duplicate someone’s fingerprint or chop off their finger. Neither of which are likely to happen.
The other way criminals are taking advantage of credit cards at the gas pump is through credit card skimmers. Skimmers are attached to the credit card reader and collect every credit cards data that is swiped. There have been multiple reports recently of these being found at atms and gas pumps, which just gives gas stations one more reason to adopt contactless payments.
Convenience and Loyalty Programs
Above, I talked about how convenient it would be if I could just tap my phone and start pumping gas. It would be faster, easier, and it would make it much more advantages for loyalty programs. As proof, check out Exxon’s speed pass.
Speedpass is a form of contactless keychain that can be used at thousands of Exxon and Mobil stations. It serves as a credit card and a loyalty card and can be used both at the pump and in stores. Integrating the loyalty card and the credit card is the ideal option for businesses. The second easiest way to do that is through something like the Speedpass. The easiest way to do that it is through the mobile wallet. Making contactless payments and NFC enabled loyalty cards a very good choice for gas stations.
Is anyone making it happen?
Luckily, there are in fact a few gas stations incorporating contactless payments at the pump. Chevron was the first gas station to sign on as an official Apple Pay partner. They originally were looking at a 2015 release but instead have slowly rolled out Apple Pay at the pump on the west coast. We should be seeing it grow around the country throughout 2016.
“We are thrilled to innovate in the area of retail fuel transactions by making the customer experience for payment and loyalty as smooth, seamless and secure as possible,” said Glenn Johnson, general manager for Americas products marketing sales and services at Chevron. “Offering Apple Pay to our customers further solidifies our commitment to delivering high-quality products and services while in a secure and convenient manner.”
During a visit to Phoenix, Arizona, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon an ARCO gas station that had contactless payments at the pump. But after trying multiple times to use Apple Pay, I was disappointed to find out that contactless payments were not yet active. However, I was still thrilled to see gas stations heading in the right direction.
Will contactless payments take over gas pump transactions?
I believe that once gas stations, as well as consumers, realize the benefits of contactless payments at the pump, it will become the most used type of payment. It is the easiest, fastest, and safest way to pay. I am waiting patiently for the day that I no longer need to use my credit card anywhere I go. But until then, it looks like I don’t have much of a choice.
Would you like to be able to use contactless payments while getting gas? Let me know!
