Mobil adopts no-physical-connection electronic payment token

[Robert Hettinga]

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Date: Wed, 19 Feb 1997 12:01:14 -0500 (EST)
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Forwarded by Robert Hettinga

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Date: Wed, 19 Feb 1997 09:02:14 -0500
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 FYI, from today's WSJ:

  ------------------------------ snip! ------------------------------

     Mobil Aims to Turn Gas Pumps
     Into Automatic-Payment Sites

     By PETER FRITSCH
     Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

     Mobil Corp. hopes to make life in the fast lane a little bit faster.

     The oil company will introduce Wednesday a miniature
     electronic-payment device that busy motorists can simply wave at
     a gasoline pump to fill 'er up.

     The tiny electronic tag -- called a Speedpass -- clips onto a
     driver's key ring. Mobil is betting the technology will catch on with
     drivers tired of fumbling for cash or waiting for a pump to authorize a
     credit-card purchase.

     Whether drivers are in such a hurry that they will be interested is
     an open question. "My key chain already looks like a janitor's,"
     says Carol Coale, a Houston securities analyst.

     Mobil, which tested the Speedpass over the past six months with
     10,000 consumers in St. Louis, says the added convenience can
     save the motorist valuable time.

     Mobil's technology, developed in partnership with Texas
     Instruments Inc. and Dresser Industries Inc., is similar to that used
     by drivers at bridge and highway toll booths. Once a driver waves
     the tag at the pump, the pump instantly contacts Mobil's credit
     department and charges a credit card preselected by the customer.

     The marketing effort challenges the conventional wisdom of
     gasoline retailing. Most drivers say location is more important
     when the gasoline gauge reads "empty" than brand name or price.
     Mobil's thinking is that the gee-whiz factor of owning the
     Speedpass, combined with the convenience, will persuade people to
     go an extra mile to buy from one of Mobil's 7,700 branded stations.

     Speedpass is also an attempt to help Mobil build on its position as
     the nation's top gasoline seller. With a 9.9% share of the market,
     Mobil in 1995 overtook Shell Oil Co. as the leading gasoline seller,
     as measured in gallons sold. (Figures for 1996 aren't available.)

     Mobil, which was among the first oil companies to use
     pay-at-the-pump technology, will introduce Speedpass in key
     markets by May 1.

  ------------------------------ snip! ------------------------------

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-----------------
Robert Hettinga (rah at shipwright.com), Philodox
e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"Never attribute to conspiracy what can be
explained by stupidity." -- Jerry Pournelle
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