MIAMI — ACI Worldwide, a global provider of digital payment software, has joined the Fuels Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to evaluating issues affecting the vehicles and fuels markets.
ACI has also become part of the Fuel Institute’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Council. As the United States sees greater EV adoption, the EV Council is helping all participants in this ecosystem prepare for the surge in electric fuel.
ACI serves fuel and convenience merchants which utilize ACI Omni-Commerce, an omnichannel payments product.
“We are excited to welcome a global payments leader like ACI to the Fuels Institute,” said John Eichberger, executive director of the Fuels Institute. “As EV infrastructure expands and hundreds of thousands of EV charging stations expect to deploy across the country, payments are a critically important factor for retailers, and organizations like ACI will help ready the industry for this evolution.”
“As the EV market continues its rapid ascent, merchants will see greater opportunities for growth in the form of additional consumer purchases,” said Debbie Guerra, executive vice president of ACI Worldwide.
While there is growing demand, mass EV adoption will occur with advancements in capacity and infrastructure:
- Drivers require a network of convenient quick-charge stations, and while there are approximately 41,400 EV charging stations in the United States, fewer than 5,000 are quick-charge stations, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
- The Biden administration is prioritizing a national EV charging network, promising to have at least 500,000 units installed across the United States by 2030. Many fuel and convenience merchants have plans in place to be part of this network, already installing charging stations in early adoption areas. Recently, 7-Eleven announced plans to install 500 EV charging ports at 250 locations by the end of 2022.
- Seven percent of U.S. adults indicated they currently drive an EV or hybrid vehicle, and 39% said they were at least somewhat likely to purchase an EV for their next car, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
The Fuels Institute was founded by NACS, Alexandria, Va., founded in 1961 as the National Associaton of Convenience Stores.
ACI Worldwide, based in Miami, is a global software company that provides payment software to corporations.
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