Gas station customers aren’t paying for candy with their phones — yet

I have to confess that when it comes to paying for things with my phone, I’m a horrible Millennial. Apple Pay is a pain to set up, and I can never remember which places even take it. So I just pull out my trusty, insecure credit card for most things instead. 

 

It turns out I’m not alone (although maybe I should be). In fact, only 7 percent of survey respondents said they prefer to pay with a mobile app at a gas station or a c-store — that’s according to an online survey of 1,270 adults by YouGov and ACI Worldwide, a leading global provider of real-time electronic payment and banking solutions. 

 

When asked which method of payment is preferred at fuel and convenience stores, 55 percent prefer a credit/debit card and 21 percent prefer cash. 

 

Yet, of those who have used a mobile app (10 percent), four in five (83 percent) are satisfied with their experience in terms of speed and convenience. Basically, if I would just try it, I’d probably like it.

 

And of course, the more places that offer the option, the more likely people are to start using it. 

 

“As Gen Z continues to gain purchasing power, retailers and merchants need to consider offering digital wallet payments as an option or be left out,” said Benny Tadele, v.p., merchant solutions, ACI Worldwide. “By addressing security through tokenization, point-to-point encryption and fraud prevention and detection tools, merchants are increasing consumers’ confidence in using these convenient channels of payment.”

 

I’m old enough to remember when we all made the switch from cash to debit cards. I remember being amazed and intrigued by my local McDonald’s accepting credit and debit. That was a huge shift. 

 

Paying with our phones also will likely be a huge shift, and after it happens, we’ll all wonder how we possibly managed to carry around our credit and debit cards all the time — how inconvenient! After all, everyone has a cell phone with them at all times these days (even former Candy Industry Magazine Editor-in-Chief Bernie Pacyniak got one recently!), and it only makes sense that eventually we’ll all be using them for even a quick run to the local c-store for some Cadbury Cream Eggs. 

 

Of course, which c-store we run to will soon depend on which ones take Apple Pay, or whatever hot payment app comes on the scene next. Best not to be left behind when that happens.