US drivers to pay for fuel using NFC

Sheetz convenience stores and fleet card operator Wright Express Corporation are running a multi-city trial that lets fleet card holders make fuel purchases at Sheetz locations with their mobile phones.

PAY PHONES: Fleet drivers will be able to pay for fuel with NFC phones at more than 350 Sheetz gas stations
PAY PHONES: Fleet drivers will be able to pay for fuel with NFC phones at more than 350 Sheetz gas stations

Sheetz convenience stores and Wright Express Corporation have announced the launch of a multi-city NFC trial that enables drivers to make fuel purchases at Sheetz locations using their mobile phones.

Drivers participating in the pilot, who are all part of the Sheetz Business Advantage fleet program, will download a fleet card over-the-air (OTA) into a specially provided NFC phone. They will then be able to purchase fuel by tapping their phones at the contactless payment readers installed in more than 350 participating Sheetz locations throughout Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina.

“There are indications that the wireless phone will be the electronic wallet of the future,” says Russ Lamer, Wright’s manager of emerging technologies. “The goal of this field test is to enable us to better understand NFC mobile payment technology and position Wright Express to rapidly achieve leadership in this exciting new market as it develops.”

“The main reason Sheetz was selected to pilot this payment technology is because they are considered a leader in convenience store technology,” he explained. “Sheetz has had the contactless readers at their stores for several years now and have been accepting contactless chip cards, using RFID technology for payments at the pump and in-store. Vivotech was an obvious choice as the primary technology partner since they are the leader in NFC mobile payment software and contactless acceptance solutions,” he added.

Vivotech provided the complete end-to-end NFC mobile solution for the trial including a mobile wallet, Over-The-Air (OTA) fleet card provisioning infrastructure software, promotion management software, and the contactless/NFC terminals installed at Sheetz locations.

Wright Express’ charge cards are used by commercial and government fleets to purchase fuel and maintenance services for approximately 4.5m vehicles and the company markets its services directly to fleets and as an outsourcing partner for its strategic relationships and franchisees. The company’s business portfolio includes a MasterCard-branded corporate card as well as TelaPoint, a provider of supply chain software solutions for petroleum distributors and retailers, and Pacific Pride, an independent fuel distributor franchisee network.

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