PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Gas Pos is rolling out Switchly, an EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa) upgrade module that plugs into existing gas pumps and establishes an encrypted connection between the point-of-sale (POS) at the pump and an in-store communication station.
The product is being marketed as a solution to the costly October 2020 outside EMV deadline, which requires fuel retailers to replace outside magnetic stripe card readers with EMV card readers or be held liable when fraud occurs.
“My family, we’re merchants,” said CEO Joshua Smith. “We’re retailers, grocery-store owners, restaurateurs. We’re small business owners. Our passion has always been and remains helping customers. With Gas Pos, we’re here to fix something that I think is wildly wrong. This was a case of planned obsolescence and a money-grab worth billions to a few big corporations, no matter who got hurt. We want to eliminate the pain.”
The outdoor EMV deadline puts many retailers in a costly and difficult situation. Fuel merchants have until October 2020 to either pay for costly pump upgrades that many retailers simply cannot afford or be liable for any instance of payment fraud at their pumps. The industry’s progress on this front is not promising either. Earlier this year, Chicago-based consulting group W. Capra surveyed about 20 petroleum retailers covering between 30,000 and 35,000 gas stations about their EMV upgrade progress. While 70% of respondents said they would begin implementing outdoor EMV in 2018, a full 20% said they would not be ready by the 2020 deadline.
Switchly is part of a subscription software as a service (SaaS) from Gas Pos, which includes:
- Installation of the Switchly hardware and software.
- Lifetime warranty on all equipment.
- Training on the product.
- Inventory tracking.
- Pricebook management.
- Reporting.
Additionally, Gas Pos installations average three weeks, and come with a 90-day money-back guarantee. The installation itself takes four hours, according to the company.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Gas Pos is a SaaS platform for the fuel industry. It includes an EMV-compliant POS system that provides payment security for convenience stores, gas stations, travel plazas and truckstops. Payment security includes EMV, compliance of payment card industry standards and point-to-point encryption. The platform carries no capital expense investment costs for retailers. Gas Pos also provides an inventory system with the ability to track item inventory, create custom price groups and more.
Photograph: Shutterstock
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