RICHMOND, Va. -- GPM Investments LLC, owners of Fas Mart/Shore Stop Convenience Stores, has announced a new method of payment card: Fas Cashback. The program launches on April 8, 2013.
The company has 305 company-operated and dealer locations primarily in Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware.
Customers who enroll for a card will receive five cents off each gallon when they buy regular-grade gasoline and 10 cents off per gallon on plus and premium grade gasoline. In addition, the company will sponsor Member Appreciation Bonus Days in which the discount could be as high as 20 cents per gallon.
"We are very excited to bring this innovative program to our customers," said Barry Khosropanah, Fas Mart/Shore Stop senior vice president of information technology. "We are able to use our new payment card program to lower our swipe fees and pass those savings onto our customers instead of paying Visa and MasterCard their much higher fees for processing payment card transactions. We win and our customers win."
When they enroll, consumers link their checking account to their card. They use the card at the pump just like they would use a bank-issued payment card. Each time they use their card, they receive an email confirming each purchase they make--a feature they do not get when using a bank-issued payment card.
"Fas Cashback provides our customer savings at the pump right before their eyes," said Bill Reilly, Fas Mart/Shore Stop senior vice president of marketing. "The gas experience is now magical. Watching the pump roll back the price of a gallon of gas really captures the customers' attention, especially when so many of our customers are looking for a break at the pump. We believe we are the first to offer the customer up to 20 cents per gallon on Member Appreciation Days."
He added, "Our goal is always to get the gas customer to shop our stores, so in conjunction with the rollout of Fas Cashback, we are launching Fas App for Smartphones to help us push coupons while they are pumping fuel. The customer can register for their own Fas Cashback card directly from their Fas App, adding one more example of embracing convenience, our core business."
Richmond, Va.-based GPM Investments chose to partner with National Payment Card Association (NPCA) to launch Fas Cashback.
"Retailers gain more than just a low-cost payment transaction when they implement our program," said Danilo Portal, COO of NPCA. "They also gain a customer data base that they can use for many types of marketing purposes, including ways to drive additional in-store sales, which was an important factor to Fas mart in their decision to work with our company."
Consumers who want to learn more about the program can go to www.fasCashback.com. To join the program, they can pick up a card and program brochure at any Fas Mart or Shore Stop location. They can enroll online at the same website or download the Fas App and use their Smartphone to enroll.
Coconut Creek, Fla.-based NPCA works with clients to bring sustainable fuel loyalty programs to market. Historically based on traditional magnetic strip cards, NPCA is expanding to mobile solutions for both enrollments and use in facilitating payments.
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