Gilbarco Veeder-Root to get Panasonic smart card technology

CSP Daily News: Panasonic Industrial Co. said its contactless smart card technology will be installed in Gilbarco Veeder-Root fuel pumps at 3,100 fueling positions at Sheetz Inc. convenience stores, beginning this February.

The Gilbarco-brand pumps will be retrofitted with a Panasonic "hybrid" card reader, incorporating both contactless payment (RFID) and magnetic stripe read capabilities. In test market trials conducted in late 2004, consumer reaction was "extremely positive" toward the speed and convenience of contactless payment, in which the consumer pays by a wave of his or her card, the company said.

American Express and MasterCard International are actively pursuing contactless payment-enabled solutions, and Panasonic is moving to make this technology even more accessible to its industrial customers and the consumers they serve, it said.