The gas station of today is in the middle of making a huge leap to tomorrow.
Understanding the future of the “gas pump” can be very helpful for the storeowner when planning their EMV CRIND update.
Most gas station owners are aware that all gas pumps must be upgraded to accept EMV chip cards by 2020.
What remains less clear are the various aspects a gas station owner should be considering when upgrading their gas pumps to EMV.
What does it all mean?
The following 3 considerations are a good place to start:
1) Shortage of ASO Services and what will this do to my EMV plans?
2) What is IoT and is my gas pump an IoT device?
3) What will my gas pump be required to do in 5 years, 10, years, and beyond?
Let’s take a closer look at each of these questions.
Shortage of ASO Services and what will this do to my EMV plans?
Most storeowners understand when they need some work done on their gas pump they call their local service technician. Across the US there are approximately 750 authorized service organization (ASO) who possess the necessary certifications to perform work on the gas pump. Keeping in mind that there are over a million gas pumps in the US, all of which will need upgraded to EMV by 2020, it doesn’t take long to realize there is a REAL shortage of ASO services.
Key Message: Don’t wait. Start planning now.
IoT?
You’ve probably heard the term or maybe not. It’s the future. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the inter-networking of physical devices, vehicles (also referred to as "connected devices" and "smart devices"), buildings, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity which enable these objects to collect and exchange data.
What does that mean? It means that the gas pump is about to become an IoT device, which means it will be need to securely be part of the network. Therefore it MUST have Ethernet or Secure Wireless Ethernet connecting it. This brings with it many benefits including security, lower maintenance costs (less truck rolls), digital media advertising, analytics, etc, etc, . If your EMV CRIND update does not include pulling Ethernet cable to each pump or using Secure Wireless Ethernet, you will likely be back to updating all your pumps within a few years to keep up with the fast moving trends of the new digital era of IoT.
Key Message: Pull Ethernet cable to each pump or use Secure Wireless Ethernet when upgrading to CRIND EMV.
What will my gas pump be required to do in 5 years, 10, years, and beyond?
To know the answer to that question we have to consider the thousands of reports written about the millennial generation consumer. It’s somewhat comical when you think about a 16 year old driver struggling to learn how to “pump their own gas” for the first time. Do we have any doubt if the gas pump was an iPhone that same 16 year old could run circles around us “old folks” on how to use it? The key point is the gas pump is about to become a digital advertising kiosk that does much more than dispense fuel. Digital Media, customer rewards, and point of purchase advertising integrating AI about the user is all maturing very fast. It’s here today. This means that the gas pump could very well be the “convenience” store of the future. We used to have to walk into the store to pay for our gas. That wasn’t convenient enough so gas pumps were upgraded to accept credit cards at the pump. The next convenience step will be a quantum leap past that. Think Amazon convenience. That’s what storeowners will have to compete with to stay relevant. Best price, best rewards, most targeted advertising, and potentially a gas pump kiosk that knows exactly who we are, what items we need to buy, and suggests those to us as instant add-ons to our gas sale. Then ships those items to our house, or if it’s a soda, dispenses it. It’s important to take this EMV upgrade as an opportunity to future proof your IoT gas pump digital AI shopping kiosk in order to compete with the station down the street!
Key Message: Millennials are going to fill up where they get a whole lot more than just fuel. It has to be simple, ultra convenient, cool, and revolve around their digital world. Think future proof now.