Apple Pay and other smart wallets have been among the essential innovations in fintech over the past few years. Apple Pay is convenient and secure. This technology has been around for a few years, so more and more merchants accept Apple Pay, including gas stations.
However, figuring out how to use Apple Pay at a gas station payment terminal is sometimes complicated since some stations haven’t evolved to accept this payment method yet. Here is everything you need to know about using Apple Pay at gas stations, including how to find gas stations that take Apple Pay.
What Is Apple Pay?
Apple Pay is a modern payment method that replaces cards and cash with a digital wallet on your phone or smartwatch. Apple Pay is only available to users with Apple products, such as an iPhone or Apple Watch (Google Pay is the Android equivalent).
To use Apple Pay, add your existing credit or debit cards to the Wallet feature on your phone or watch. That way, you can still use your rewards and earn points without carrying around your physical card (and risk losing it or being the victim of theft). Then, tap your phone on the contactless payment terminal, ensuring that the NFC feature is turned on.
Do All Gas Stations Accept Apple Pay?
According to Apple’s statistics, about 85% of retailers in the United States accept Apple Pay and other smart wallets. However, that means there are still a few retailer holdouts out there who haven’t modernized their payment methods. You don’t want to fill up at the pump only to find out that the gas station doesn’t take Apple Pay and your physical wallet is at home!
The good news is that finding gas stations that take Apple Pay is pretty straightforward. Most major chains such as 7-Eleven, Casey’s General Stores, Cumberland Farms, and Wawa accept Apple Pay. Others accept Apple Pay but with restrictions—for example, Costco gas stations only accept Apply Pay if it is linked to a Visa credit card. Other chains require you to link your Apple Pay to their rewards and payment app or can’t guarantee Apple Pay at all of their locations.
Most gas station chains can’t guarantee that they will accept Apple Pay at all locations, especially at more remote pumps that haven’t been modernized or where the local pump owner doesn’t understand the benefits of Apple Pay. Luckily, the Internet can help you figure out if a station accepts Apple Pay before getting caught out at the pump. Look up a location on Google Maps, and the site will usually state whether the station takes Apple Pay under “Useful Information.”
How to Use Apple Pay at the Gas Station
How you use Apple Pay at gas stations will depend on where you have to pay—at the pump or inside.
If you are paying at the pump, look for the NFC terminal or Apple Pay “Tap to Pay” logo that gas station terminals that accept Apple Pay have to have. Then, once you’re filling up your tank, select “Apple Pay” as your payment method.
Then, hold your phone or Apple Watch near the NFC reader. You don’t have to do anything to turn on the phone; as soon as it senses the NFC reader, it will automatically launch Apple Pay. Then, follow the instructions on your device to authenticate the payment using face or touch ID and the instructions on the terminal to complete the payment.
If the gas station you’re at requires you to pay inside at the register, using Apple Pay to pay is the same as it is at any retailer. Go to the register, select Apple Pay as your payment method, authenticate that it’s you, then follow the instructions on the terminal to complete the payment.
Using Apple Pay with the Retailer App
Some gas station chains, such as BP and Exxon, only let you use Apple Pay if you use their app. Luckily, adding Apple Pay to their apps is easy and worth it if you go to one location frequently.
Download the app for your nearest gas station chain. When it asks you to add a payment method, connect it to your Apple Wallet. Then, open the application the next time you’re at the pump and tap your phone as you would when using Apple Pay.
Apple Pay and Gas Stations
While not all gas stations have caught on to the benefits of Apple Pay, most have. Using Apple Pay is as easy as tapping your device on the payment terminal, whether you pay at the pump or indoors.
