Mobile fuel payment comes to Kum & Go
A regional convenience store chain is enabling fuel payment in its consumer app.
Responding to customer concerns about brutally cold Midwest winters and the time and effort required to manually pay at the pump, Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go decided to implement contactless fuel pay in early 2020. The retailer worked with digital consultancy Mobiquity to create an in-app experience that was easy to understand and use, and connected to its rewards and loyalty program.
From their car, app users can select their Kum & Go store and indicate the pump they are at by typing in the pump number. Customers then select a digital payment option, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a credit card, and receive a digital receipt upon payment acceptance.
Right from the fuel pay feature, users can apply any rewards available to them to save money on their fuel costs. The digital receipt shows users how many reward points they’ve earned as a result of their transaction. The mobile app also serves up timely offers on food and beverages and enables them to track prior purchases.
Kum & Go released its in-app fuel payment feature in May 2020, as COVID-19 concerns were heightening consumer interest in contactless payment. Customer response included finding payment often much faster than the traditional payment process; as well as appreciation for decreased contact with the credit card keypad, ease of applying rewards and saving information such as preferred store location and payment data, and safety features such as restricting the ability to activate a pump unless you are physically at Kum & Go.
“At Kum & Go, we push the state of the art for convenience at the pump,” said Kum & Go VP of fuels, Ken Kleemeier. “The Kum & Go app helps customers fuel better by linking the gas pump with the mobile phone, allowing us to radically streamline the process of fueling up, while also seamlessly integrating with the &Rewards program. Kum & Go uses technology to elevate the entire experience. It’s putting the convenience back in convenience store.”
Kum & Go operates 400 stores in 11 states: Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.