Wright Express Successfully Completes NFC Mobile Payment Pilot

“The mobile payment pilot was a huge success, meeting and exceeding our initial objectives,” said Russ Lamer, Wright Express manager of emerging technologies. “It helped us gain insight into the benefits of using a mobile phone as a payment device, document fleet driver usability at the pump and inside the store and also better understand the mobile payments operating systems.”

Post interviews with participating fleet drivers showed they overwhelmingly approved the NFC mobile technology, saying that the phone was an “easy, fast and convenient” payment method. Some mentioned that they preferred purchasing with the phone “because they always carry a phone, but sometimes forget their wallet.”

One important feature of the pilot program was the ability to make mobile phone purchases both inside the store and at the pump. Sheetz stepped up for the industry to show that using a mobile phone for purchases at the pump is both safe and convenient. Sheetz has enabled all of its locations with contactless payment technology at the pumps (Outside Payment Terminals or OPTs) and inside the store at the cash register (Inside Payment Terminals or IPTs).

“Petroleum and convenience stores were among the pioneers in introducing contactless payments to consumers in the late 90s, breaking ground for the technology that the entire payments industry is now adopting” said Mohammad Khan, ViVOtech President and Founder. “Now, with Wright Express and Sheetz taking the lead, companies in this industry are once more showing how mobile handsets will bring a new wave of rich experience to commercial payments.”

“Our next steps are to work on a business model and evaluate how we can eventually be ready to offer commercial mobile payment services to our customers once NFC phones become widely available and accepted by our merchants,” said Lamer.