Tag: Geolocation

The vast majority of drivers enjoy using their smartphones to complete transatctions at the pump.

Recent data released by the Carrefour fuel station revealed its gas station mobile payments are highly popular. In fact, the company’s report said that 9 out of every 10 drivers approved of this smartphone based service.

Ninety percent of Spanish customers who had used the mobile service called it “very satisfying.”

Since the summer when the gas station mobile payments option became available at Carrefour in Spain, there have been over 10,000 people who have tried it. Among them, nine out of every ten said that the experience was “very satisfying.”

There are currently 125 Carrefour stations throughout the country and that offer the Pass card holder mobile payment option. This started in June 2016 by way of the Mi Carrefour app. In this way, customers could fuel up and could then get back into their vehicles to pay.

The gas station mobile payments service used geolocation to determine the exact position of the driver.

That allowed the app to recognize the fuel station where the customer was located. The mobile app then prompts the driver to select the supplier, product and amount before starting to pump the gas. Once the car has been fueled up, the customer can confirm the details and simply drive away.

Moreover, the app also occasionally provides discount coupons at the time of payment. This not only gave drivers the chance to save money on their next visit, but it encouraged them to come back and use the mobile payments option again.

According to a statement from the retail chain of gas stations, “The new system has already changed the habits of its users.” It went on to add that “More than 10,000 customers have already tried this option to pay for their fuel stops and nine out of 10 have highlighted this as much more comfortable and safe. Along with pricing and discounts, [these are] the main advantages of Carrefour service stations.”

There are a few companies, such as Starbucks, that have very successfully implemented mobile payments as a transaction option. Carrefour has illustrated the way in which it may be done at fuel stations moving forward.

This new opt-in feature is designed to boost security while decreasing the number of card declines.

U.S. Bank announced the adoption of geolocation technology to help improve the security of payment transactions for travelers. The idea is that a shopper can use his or her mobile phone to confirm his or her identity when using a credit card.

If a credit card purchase is made at a different location from that of the mobile device, it will be declined.

The concept of this use of geolocation technology is to stop transaction declines from happening unnecessarily. Instead, a traveler’s identity will be further confirmed by the presence of his or her mobile phone in the same location as the transaction. In this way, it stops a person who has stolen the card from being able to successfully complete a transaction. After all, if they grab the card – or card info – and run, they will be too far away from the actual cardholder to use it.

This avoids the dreaded auto-decline message some travelers get when they try to make a purchase that is out of sync with their typical buying patterns. That said, it’s important to note that this geolocation service is opt-in. It is not being automatically implemented for all U.S. Bank issued Visa cards.

Furthermore, this geolocation technology service is activated only by cardholders who are traveling.

Purchases made closer to home will not qualify for this additional mobile security component for credit card transactions. The fraud prevention program is being released in waves.

According to U.S. Bank’s Retail Payment Solutions division senior vice president and head of product and marketing, Clifford Cook, “We’ve all experienced that embarrassing moment when your credit card is declined at dinner while on vacation because the bank thinks you should be at home in Minneapolis, but you’re eating dinner in Seattle.” Cook explained that “When your phone is on and you’ve opted-in for geolocation, U.S. Bank can validate that the expense is legitimate and avoid customer frustration.”

To start, U.S. Bank FlexPerks Visa cardholders will be able to opt into the geolocation technology program when they travel. All they need to do is activate the feature using the FlexPerks mobile app.