BOSTON -- In-vehicle-payment company Pay By Car has released a new payment solution that uses E-ZPass tollway transponders to facilitate nontoll transactions, such as pumping gas, paying for a car wash or even paying for in-store items at the pump.
Anyone with an E-ZPass transponder in their car can enroll in Pay By Car. The E-ZPass Group is made up of toll entities in 17 states, from the East Coast to the Midwest, that operate the E-ZPass electronic toll-collection program. The first step is for consumers to enroll in the Pay By Car program online. RFID sensors installed by Pay By Car at the gas pump can sense whenever enrolled E-ZPass transponders are within range. Customers then receive an SMS text asking them to confirm which gas pump they are using. Once the customer confirms, the pump is ready and payment is made afterwards automatically. The customer does not need to take out their card or cash.
The Pay By Car program is in the pilot phase while the tech is being released, and Pay By Car is making RFID sensor installation easier for retailers who want to try out the tech on their gas pumps. “Our initial model is that we’re not charging the retailers anything at all,” CEO Kevin Condon told CSP Daily News. “I think once we develop a value and we can prove to retailers that it’s worth having it in there, then they’ll be happy to pay for it. But in the beginning, we take up that cost.”
The Pay By Car automatic payment function does not have to be limited to buying gas. Retailers could use the tech to allow customers to order and pay for food from the pump, a car wash or even automotive care.
Pay By Car is not finished expanding, according to Condon, who said the company is in talks with states with other toll programs, such as California and Florida. Condon also said that the company already has a retail partner with “a number of gas stations and convenience stores in the Northeast,” though the identity of the retailer has not been made public.
“There are tens of millions of people with toll transponders,” said Condon, “and if we can enroll people in our program, it’s a great fit.”
Boston-based Pay By Car uses toll transponders drivers already have to facilitate frictionless payments.
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