Phillips 66 Bolsters Mobile Payment Loadout With Visa Checkout

If ever you needed proof that mobile payments tools are gaining at least some ground, look no further than Phillips 66, who recently dropped word that it was planning to add Visa Checkout to several of its mobile apps starting in the early days of 2019. That includes My Conoco, My 76, and My Phillips 66, and will not only allow payments at the pump itself, but also in the convenience stores commonly attached to said pumps.

The system will be available at “participating locations” throughout the United States, so it may be a good idea to have some cash on hand just in case the one you find isn’t accepting the app’s payments systems at the time.

Given that the tool will be available at both Phillips 66 and 76 as well as Conoco—as implied by the apps that would accept Visa Checkout—it’s likely that many locations will accept the apps as payment so as not to cannibalize their own business or lose it to competitors, of which there are many.

Phillips 66’s general manager of branded marketing Rod Palmer noted “With Visa Checkout integrated into our Phillips 66, 76, and Conoco apps, consumers will enjoy a simple and secure fueling experience. Visa Checkout will give our consumers more choices when buying gasoline and goods at Phillips 66, Conoco, and 76 branded sites.”

Phillips 66 is looking to provide what customers want: choice and security. Sure, this might have gone better, depending on what percentage of stores turn out to not be “participating locations,” but for the most part, it should go quite a way to get people to pick Phillips 66 locations. There’s a lot of market inertia to overcome here, and people tend to find one station they trust more than others, revisiting out of habit. Breaking customers out of habit requires big moves, and this might be big enough for some.

Only time will tell if Phillips 66’s move is sufficiently big to get customer interest going in earnest, but it’s certainly a good start made. Mobile payments do have an excitement factor to them, which could be just what Phillips needs to call in new customers.