Since mid-April, it is possible to pay for fuel at Circle K gas stations (DUS) using the license plate recognition app “Easy Fuel”.
The technological solution that made it possible to implement a project of this scale was implemented in cooperation with Citrus Solutions, a subsidiary of Tet. Currently, approximately 5% of customers use the “pay with car number plate” payment option in the 83 DUS stations in Latvia, filling their cars with an average of 30,000 liters per day, which is the volume of one full fuel tanker.
This solution allows the fuel payment process to be fully automatic. The cameras at the Circle K DUS, installed by Citrus Solutions, read the customer’s license plate, the system confirms the payment, activates the pump, and when the customer finishes refueling, the bank card is charged for the fuel.
“Customers value this service very highly – the interest and frequency of using Easy Fuel is significantly higher than we originally planned. The main reasons why customers most often hesitate to use the service are fears about the security of the app, as well as incorrectly set settings on the smartphone, which do not always determine the location of the owner of the phone. We are working to educate our customers and encourage them to use the app, because there is no reason to worry about its safety,” says Gatis Titovs, head of the fuel category at Circle K Latvia.
“In many areas, we are the first to introduce new, so far unknown technologies and solutions in Latvia, which make everyday life more convenient for citizens. This time, we are pleased that the colleagues of Citrus Solutions implemented what they had planned in a limited and intensive period of time. Gas stations in the regions were a kind of challenge, because it was important to be ready to adapt to the situation and to make technical decisions promptly at the place of technology installation. It is encouraging to see that the solution is actively used and makes the work of station employees easier and the refueling process more convenient for motorists,” emphasizes Uldis Tatarčuks, chairman of the Tet board.
Citrus Solutions provided the 83 Circle K DUS in Latvia with appropriate equipment and video cameras to implement the license plate reading function. Technologically, each DUS has a special workstation that receives and processes the video stream from the recording equipment and cameras. The cameras, on the other hand, are assigned a specific field from the overall image that it sees, in which it is necessary to find the car number, so that the system understands that the specific car is at the specific pump, and not a nearby vehicle. Once the number from this image is obtained, it is processed by the program on the workstation and compared with the data indicated in the Easy Fuel app, and the transaction is carried out after confirmation in the app.
How Circle K Easy Fuel Works
Customers need to register their car number plate in the Easy Fuel app and add their bank card. Around 15,000 users have already downloaded the app since the feature appeared. Once the car is registered in the app, DUS can start refueling. Cameras in the area read the car’s license plate, the system confirms the payment, activates the pump, and when the customer has finished refueling, the bank card is charged for the fuel.
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2023-06-05 13:15:04
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