PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine if, because of new fuel efficiency laws, every gas-powered car on the road became illegal to drive on New Year's Day, and the only way to keep running was to buy a new, upgraded car. Good news: This situation does not exist…for cars. Bad news: A similar predicament does exist for the gas stations selling fuel for those cars.
According to petroleum market organization Conexxus, gas stations account for roughly $400 million of counterfeit fraud annually. As a result, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express moved to mandate that all gas stations must replace their magnetic strip-based pumps with EMV chip-reading pumps — or else be held liable for any fraud incurred through those pumps. The EMV change-over deadline extended from 2017 to October 2020, but that's little solace to outlets now faced with upgrade costs that start at $25,000 and easily run north of $150,000. For some gas stations, such numbers may exceed their annual profit.
For small, often unbranded gas stations, these five- and six-figure expenses can close a business. Even larger operations may be forced to take on debt to survive the staggering up-front conversion costs. However, in a move that reflects so many modern, disruptive technology advances, startup Gas Pos has a radical solution.
"Our value prop for retailers is simple," says Gas Pos founder and CEO Joshua Smith. "We spent eight months designing and testing an EMV upgrade module called Switchly that will plug into existing gas pumps and connect with encrypted wireless back to an in-store communication station. We can come in, give them modern software, online access, and all the things they need. It doesn't cost them anything up front. The average customer will save $30,000 in day-one capital expenditures."
The above numbers are not overinflations. According to Visa, "older pumps may need to be replaced before adding chip readers, requiring specialized vendors and breaking into concrete." Replacement costs alone, before running new wires or suspending pumping operations, typically run from $6,000 to $10,000 per pump. After considering all expenses, Gas Pos saves gas stations owners roughly $17,000 per gas pump and helps them keep 30 days of fuel sales they would otherwise lose to downtime.
For more information, visit www.gaspos.co, connect with Josh on LinkedIn, or call 1-800-209-1241.
SOURCE Gas Pos
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