Gone are the days when cellphones were banned from petrol stations - now they are being welcomed.
BP has released a New Zealand-first app which allows you to pay for your fuel from inside your car.
BPMe saves your debit or credit card details, and once you've told it how much fuel you need, it's paid for automatically. For AA Smartfuel loyalty card holders, your points will be there to redeem and check within the app too.
BP general manager of fuels and marketing Debi Boffa says BPMe has been designed to shorten queues and speed up the process of refuelling at the pump.
"Removing the hassle of entering the shop is great for our valued customers who may be in a rush, mobility impaired or have young children in the car."
Ms Boffa says BP wanted to improve the digital experience for service station customers.
"Pay-at-pump is yesterday's news" she says.
For the safety-conscious, Ms Boffa says there are clear warnings in the app that you should only use your phone in the car.
"The fact that you can use it within the vehicle is what we are focusing on."
The safety rules have not been changed, people should not be using smartphones while walking around the petrol station forecourt.
Ms Boffa also says the app will not work while you are driving in to the station - you must park and be stationary before you will be given the option to choose which pump you are filling up at.
The app remembers your purchases, so your choice of fuel and the amount you buy can be repeated in the future.
For business customers, it also records transactions and emails out tax receipts.
The app will be available to business customers at selected stores from Monday. But Ms Boffa says the retail customer version "with all the bells and whistles will be available really soon".
"If you're not a business customer and you don't have a BP Fuelcard, you can still download BPMe and you'll be push-notified when the personal payment features are ready," she says.
The app will be available to download for both Android and iOS systems from Monday July 25. The full features are expected to be released in the next few months.
Newshub.
