THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 14, 1995 TAG: 9507140537
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
To boost sales of its gasoline, Mobil Corp. has begun selling prepaid transaction cards to customers.
The ``smart'' cards have been introduced in Dallas and will be available in September at all of Mobil's 8,600 stations, including those in Virginia, the Fairfax-based oil company said.
Mobil is selling the cards in amounts of $25, $50 and $100. They can be used for payment of gasoline purchases by inserting them into a Mobil pump or for payment of goods and services at a Mobil station.
Beginning in September, users of the Mobil card will be able to add value to them by dialing a toll-free telephone number and transferring funds from a conventional credit card.
Unlike credit cards and debit cards, smart cards do not require a customer's signature or use of a personal identification number, which adds to their convenience.
``About half of our customers pay for gas with cash. The new card is a convenience that we believe some customers will appreciate,'' said John Lord, a Mobil spokesman.
``Small increases in gasoline sales mean a lot in the long run because there is not much growth in gasoline sales in the United States,'' Lord said.
The technology for its credit-card-sized smart cards has been around for years, but applications have been slow to develop in this country. Mobil said it is the first oil-marketing company in the United States to make them available.
Mobil stations began accepting debit cards for payment in the early 1980s. However, ``we know that some people are averse to using debit cards except in a bank teller machine,'' Lord said. by CNB