Private motorists can now fill up quickly, conveniently and more securely after the launch of BP FuelMaster Express, which uses the latest generation contactless smart card technology to lighten the onerous task of refuelling.
A concept that met with great success among fleet managers, BP`s original FuelMaster programme has now been broadened to bring private motorists into the fold under the auspices of FuelMaster Express. This leg of the programme involves some 135 BP service stations in the Western and Eastern Cape. A nation-wide rollout will start in the new year.
"This means a great deal more speed and convenience for Standard Bank Garage Card holders who avail themselves of this free facility. The FuelMaster Express tag remains in the customer`s sight at all times. There is no need to worry about signing a voucher as the system is fully electronic. With conventional plastic cards, filling up used to mean waiting for a voucher to sign and a feeling of insecurity while the attendant disappeared with your card to process it," says Bill Burridge, marketing technology manager at BP.
He says the FuelMaster Express system consists of a key fob or tag affixed to one`s car keys, carrying a fully secure microchip with the user`s account information. The petrol attendant simply holds the tag to an antenna on the fuel pump nozzle, which "reads" the customer and account data encoded into it using radio frequency as a means of communication. This data is checked for validity against the bank files, which are downloaded to BP sites on a daily basis, and if all is in order refuelling can commence.
Standard Bank Garage Cardholders are entitled to a free FuelMaster Express tag issued by BP. The customer then has a choice of using the tag or the Garage card for payment of fuel. Application forms can be picked up at BP FuelMaster service stations. Queries should be directed to the FuelMaster helpline on 0860 222 144.
Burridge says that the FuelMaster Express system allows purchases of no more than 75 litres of fuel at a time, in line with the Bank`s off line payment policy. The system uploads transaction information to users` Garage card accounts on a daily basis, allowing the bank to debit the customer in the normal way.
"In case one`s tag is stolen, it may be deactivated like a credit card, and the process of making good any losses is the same as with credit card loss or theft," Burridge says. "System users are covered from the time of notification of their loss."
The technology, encoding and database administration is supplied by On Track Innovations, an Israel-based company specialising in contact-less smart card systems.
"OTI Africa has been appointed by BP to provide encoding, installation, driver training, maintenance, repair, quality control, customer care, technical support and development services for the FuelMaster programme, and now the FuelMaster Express programme," says Charlotte Hambly-Nuss, MD of OTI Africa.
The latest order to the agreement between OTI Africa and BP was to outfit 50 additional forecourts with OTI`s Gasoline Management System (GMS) - which brings the total to 450 FuelMaster stations in South Africa. The continued success of BP`s FuelMaster as well as the launch of FuelMaster Express were the driving force behind this order.
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