Dive Brief:
- Global Partners LP has expanded its partnership with mobile payments company PayByCar to use its pay-by-text E-ZPass solution at more than 300 c-stores in New England, New York and Virginia by the end of 2025, the companies announced last week.
- When a user with E-ZPass pulls up to a participating gas station, the site recognizes the transponder and sends a text message to the customer, who answers with the pump number. The system then activates the pump and charges the user’s on-file payment method.
- E-ZPass, an electronic toll payment system for vehicles, is accepted in 20 states in the eastern half of the U.S, with more than 59 million transponders currently in use.
Dive Insight:
Global Partners first piloted E-ZPass at 27 Alltown gas stations in Massachusetts in 2022. It will now expand to more than 300 of the company’s locations in the next year.
Global Partners is currently the only c-store company using this technology, a PayByCar spokesperson said.
"At Global Partners, we are always looking for new ways to delight our guests and elevate their experience," said Mark Cosenza, senior vice president at Global Partners, in a statement. "We’re excited to expand PayByCar across our footprint.”
Customers who already have an E-ZPass just need to register with PayByCar to be able to use pay-by-text at participating sites. Vehicles without a toll transponder can get a sticker from PayByCar to use the program.
With competition high for fuel customers — nearly 80% of the nation’s 152,000 convenience stores sell gasoline — c-stores are increasingly looking for ways to draw customers to their locations. Some companies look at discounts, as BP did recently through a partnership with Amazon Prime, and Global Partners is touting safe and convenient payment methods with PayByCar.
Waltham, Massachusetts-based Global Partners owns and operates approximately 370 c-stores across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Houston under a variety of brands including Alltown Fresh, Xtramart, Honey Farms and Jiffy Mart. The company also supplies fuel to about 1,700 locations in 12 states.
