Pay at the Pump: VeriFone to Test Drive New Mobile Payment Solution at Gas Stations

VeriFone announced at the National Association of Convenience Stores show last week that it will be working with National Payment Card Association (NPCA) to provide Gas Stations and convenience stores with a mobile payment solution.

According to the press release, the solution will work through VeriFone’s Smart Fuel Controller and allow gas station and convenience store merchants a way to “implement a fixed low-cost mobile payment and rewards program.”

The solution will allow merchants to either design their own branded app or simply integrate their brand into a template supplied by the NPCA.

VeriFone seems to be banking on the mobile solution’s rewards program to entice customers, saying that that rewards will be integrated into already existing merchant debit card programs. They also mention that using the mobile payment solution will allow customers to save on gas, stating, “Fuel discounts are funded from interchange savings that retailers would otherwise pay to banks.” Those looking to save on gas will have to wait however, as beta testing doesn’t begin until November.

The results of this latest venture by VeriFone should be interesting. The mobile payments industry has been struggling to gain main stream popularity; utilizing the widespread availability of gas stations and offering savings on fuel as an incentive might be just what the industry needs to make mobile payments a more regular practice.