By Sarah Clark[1] • • nfcw.com[2]
7-Eleven is running a pilot of a new mobile payments service that includes an option for iPhone owners to use Siri to pay for their fuel from their vehicle using only their voice.
The pilot is taking place “in participating 7-Eleven stores in North and South Orlando, Florida, North Texas and Woodbridge, Virginia” and uses “internally developed technology” to “provide contactless payment options to reduce touch and drive instantaneous savings at the pump”.
To use the new service, drivers need to download the latest version of the retailer’s 7Rewards[3] loyalty app and link a credit or debit card. Then, the next time they need to buy fuel, they can simply enter their pump number and the amount of fuel they wish to purchase in the app, authorise payment and fill up.
For the voice command option, iPhone owners are prompted to set up a customised Siri shortcut on the payment confirmation screen of the app.
Once the ‘Siri, fuel now’ feature has been set up, “customers won’t have to open their app during future visits to get the fuel rewards or pay,” 7-Eleven says. “Instead they simply instruct Siri using their new shortcut to select a pump and authorise payment.”
“Customers who use the programme will receive a discount of 11 cents per gallon on the first seven fill-ups on all fuel grades; after which members will receive a 3-cent per gallon discount on all fuel grades,” the retailer adds. “The per-gallon discount will automatically show on the pump display.”
