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For a moment, I thought I was a thief.
For a split second as I drove away from the ExxonMobil fuel pump, I thought I forgot to pay. In actuality, I had just used the ExxonMobil Speedpass+ app to make a contactless payment for fuel for the first time.
ExxonMobil Corp. launched the app—notable because it enables consumers to use Apple Pay within the app after scanning a quick response code to set their location at the pump—in 2016, and now more of its stations accept that payment method. The Speedpass+ app means consumers don’t have to dip their credit or debit cards into the pump’s card reader. It is available for iOS and Android devices and works with Samsung Pay as well as Apple Pay.
In my experience, the process went smoothly, though the unfamiliarity of it impeded the overall experience. Because it’s a change in behavior, like using EMV chip cards to dip into a terminal instead of swiping a magnetic stripe, it’s going to take some time for consumers to adopt it, and that’s assuming they know about it.
Fuel retailers have until Oct. 1, 2020, to add EMV-capable readers to their automated fuel pumps, a three-year delay announced in December by Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. Speedpass+ and similar services, such as Gulf Oil L.P.’s upcoming Gulf Pay and Chase Pay acceptance at fuel retailers like Phillips 66 and Shell, offer ways for consumers to skip the whole card-dipping experience at the pump.
My first instinct when I pulled up to the pump was to get my card out of my wallet and dip it in the reader. But I stopped myself because I had been wanting to use Speedpass+.
I opened the app and tapped the Pay for Fuel button in it. That triggered the iPhone’s camera app to open so I could scan a QR code pasted onto the pump. I confirmed I was at the correct pump and held my finger against the phone’s Touch ID sensor to authorize the transaction to pay with Apple Pay.
A notification appeared in the app that the pump was authorized, and the pump’s display said it was ready and to select a fuel grade. I did so and filled the car’s tank, returning the nozzle to the pump.
The receipt appeared in the app, and just before I drove off came the moment when I thought I was driving away without paying. I double-checked the receipt in the app. I was good to go.
