Shell and PayPal let Brits pay by mobile at the pump

Source: PayPal

Paying at the pump is moving across the pond! Soon, Shell customers in the UK will have a wallet- free way to pay for gas through the Shell Motorist App or the PayPal App (available for Android or iOS NB: also Windows Phone through PayPal app) - bringing customers a more secure and fast way to pay using their mobile device.

This innovative new service, which is similar to our collaboration with MAPCO in the US, is the first ever mobile payment option that will be available at more than 1,000 Shell stations in the UK.

At PayPal, we are driving mobile innovation globally to deliver payment products for consumers who are eager to use their mobile phones to pay. Today consumers can use their mobile to pay at over 8,000 UK shops and restaurants with PayPal. And in the US, mobile- based payments are expected to reach $142 billion in volume in 2019. Through our efforts with Shell, we're excited to bring mobile commerce beyond stores and restaurants, offering drivers in the UK a faster way to fill up their car and pay, and get back on the road.

Using the New Service... This service plans to offer a new level of choice and convenience to customers looking to fuel up and pay as quickly as possible. After driving into the station the customer simply selects the corresponding pump on the Shell Motorist App or the PayPal App. The app then authenticates the transaction and the customer can fill up and go. When fueling is complete a receipt is automatically sent through to the phone.

From busy parents who want the ease of remaining by their vehicle with their children, to those in a rush, or even those who simply left home without a wallet, we are thrilled to team up with Shell to bring the convenience of mobile payment at the pump to the UK! 

Comments: (5)

A Finextra member
A Finextra member 11 February, 2015, 05:53Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes

If only something like this could come to Australian petrol stations.

Paul Love
Paul Love - Konsentus - Nottingham 11 February, 2015, 07:25Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes

This is Uber for the forecourt - it promises  a great user experience.

I also saves me from unnecessary impulse buys in the forecourt shop - a double benefit.

A Finextra member
A Finextra member 11 February, 2015, 08:03Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes

Not sure what this brings over and above chip and PIN at the pump. You need to bring up the app, do something in it to select a pump then fill up. Old customer experience was put card and PIN into the pump you want to use.

The only thing this adds is a receipt being emailed as far as I can see.

A Finextra member
A Finextra member 11 February, 2015, 08:46Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes

I agree with you on ease of use being less than the ideal. I would prefer contactless credit card use, or Apple Pay. Apple Pay would be ideal.

A Finextra member
A Finextra member 11 February, 2015, 09:47Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes

Interesting comment Paul - that'd be a good reason for Shell not to want to roll out such a service - they'll lose shop revenue. I wonder how much research into consumer behaviour Shell put into this before launch. Will consumers really choose to fill up at Shell rather than other petrol stations based on being able to pay this way, and will it compensate for loss in impulse buying at the shop?