Gilbarco and VeriFone Join Forces At The Pump

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

Gilbarco Veeder-Root, the worldwide leader in retail petroleum technology, and VeriFone Systems Inc., key player in secure electronic payment solutions, are partnering to offer next generation forecourt payment solutions and to create the largest at-pump interactive digital media network worldwide.

VeriFoneMediaLogoAs part of the arrangement, Outcast Media, Gilbarco’s forecourt media business, and Applause TV, Gilbarco’s gas station TV network, will be merged with VeriFone’s digital media and VeriFone Digital Network (VNET) businesses.

Combined with VeriFone’s own screens at the pump – believed to be about 7,000, Ed, the VNET network will be approximately 28,000 screens and expanding. Altogether, VeriFone now offers more than than 50,000 screens in taxis, gas pumps and c-stores globally. It reaches more than 115 million consumers monthly, more than 95 million consumers at the pump!

Gilbarco and VeriFone will collaborate on future fuel dispenser payment platforms to be developed and supplied by VeriFone. The solutions will meet convenience and fuel retailers’ functionality and regulatory needs in an increasingly complex payment ecosystem, as well as offer at-pump media advertising and entertainment.

Jay Parsons, senior vice-president global media at VeriFone Media told us “By October, 2017, under federal regulations for security, all credit cards used at fuel pumps MUST have the computer chip installed, so we are addressing that issue to have all fuel dispensers compliant”.   Parsons joined VeriFone three years ago after top positions at Catalina Marketing and was earlier with Smith Kline Beecham and to whom all sales and advertising staff now report.

Gilbarco will become the software and solutions integration lead and sales and service provider for forecourt payment systems developed under the partnership.

The companies will work together to transition the payment electronics in Gilbarco’s global dispenser product lines to VeriFone technology. However, both companies will continue to develop and market their point-of-sale systems for the petroleum and convenience market independently.

How to manage the content is still being discussed; like VeriFone taxis, VeriFone’s VNET at the pump has a deal with NBC for content, Outcast has had its own arrangements with several different providers of news and entertainment.

The screens on the pumps will carry both entertainment and advertising, but Parsons would not discuss whether sales staff have been let go in the merger process.

It is understood that Matthew Stoudt, previous CEO of Outcast, remains with Gilbarco on the executive team.

The pumps will also offer couponing (both via mobile and printed on the paper receipt) for special promotions both in the forecourt stores and at local retailers. Further, Parsons foresees screens in the forecourts also linked to VNET networks if the retailers so want. We believe VeriFone already has a network in some 2,000 stores.

“VeriFone’s partnership with Gilbarco, the world’s leading dispenser technology provider, is perfectly aligned with our terminal solutions and commerce enablement strategies and will allow us to offer the best payment and forecourt media solutions on the market to our clients around the globe,” says Paul Galant, CEO of VeriFone. “Our collective expertise and access to consumer insights provide significant business value to our clients, helping them increase sales at the pump and in-store.”

“Gilbarco’s leadership in the convenience and petroleum vertical and VeriFone’s expertise in secure payments and media engagement make this an ideal relationship,”
says Martin Gafinowitz, president of Gilbarco Veeder-Root. “Gilbarco has the largest installed base of outdoor payment systems in our industry, and combining our deep knowledge of systems and software integration with VeriFone’s broad payment expertise will greatly benefit our customers.”

With the EMV liability shift deadlines rapidly approaching (the earlier-mentioned October, 2017 deadline), forecourt payment system upgrades are an imperative for convenience stores to avoid taking on liability for fraudulent payment card charges. Not only do retailers’ payment systems need to comply with EMV, but many will elect to accept alternative payments as more consumers adopt new services to pay with their smartphones. Globally, Gilbarco and VeriFone have more EMV payment terminals in the field than any other industry provider, with a substantial EMV-capable installed base in the U.S. and terminals enabling EMV payment acceptance in Europe and Canada.

The VeriFone and Gilbarco partnership COULD create the industry’s largest and most powerful interactive digital media network. For consumer packaged goods marketers and brand advertisers, VNET today reaches over 95 million monthly consumers within feet of a purchase decision.

The deal means:

  • Collaboration among two industry leaders to deliver a comprehensive pump, media and payment offering, providing a richer platform to meet increasingly complex payment technology needs;
  • Joint expertise that ensures ongoing compliance with EMV, appealing to security-conscious consumers;
  • A combined offering from Gilbarco and VeriFone that simplifies the EMV upgrade process through access to upgrade offerings across dispenser platforms and delivers convenience and best-in-class security to businesses and consumers;
  • Future-proof technology and reliable solutions capable of enabling mobile payment, digital loyalty and more, and backed by the industry-leading service and support network;
  • Higher levels of engagement and new forms of media and technology to grow C-store sales and enhance a consumer’s experience while fueling, through better content relationships;
  • A platform that will soon enable smart targeting based on location and consumer preferences.

And the benefits for advertisers are:

  • Reach over 115 million consumers monthly through VNET across multiple venue types, including petrol forecourts and c-stores, as well as transportation;
  • Increase brand awareness and inside sales by driving consumers from the island into the store with timely, location-aware advertising and offers at the pump and in store;
  • Tap into engaging and entertaining content curated for the on-the-go audience;
  • Leverage advanced data and analytics intelligence for superior targeting.

“We reach the young, affluent in cities through our taxi network,” says Parsons. “In the suburbs, that 18-49 age-group takes cars, and we really want to reach them. By merging our assets., we see this as the way.“

Parsons says that it was important to brand for the consumer. And, he says, there are about one million fuel dispenser terminals out there in the U.S.. With the merging of Gilbarco’s Outcast assets, all contractually driven by VeriFone, there is major growth potential on this continent alone AND with Gilbarco’s fuel dispensers being sold globally, it seems that there could be unlimited potential for VNET.

Gilbarco Veeder-Root is the worldwide technology leader for retail and commercial fueling operations. They offer the broadest range of integrated solutions from the forecourt to the convenience store and head office. For almost 150 years, Gilbarco has earned the trust of its customers by providing long-term partnership, uncompromising support and proven reliability. Major product lines include: fuel dispensers, pump media, point of sale systems, payment systems, tank gauges, software development and integration, fleet management systems, and nozzles.

VeriFone Systems, Inc. is the global leader in secure electronic payment solutions and retail technology for petroleum. VeriFone provides expertise, solutions and services that add value to the point of sale with merchant-operated, consumer-facing and self-service payment systems for the financial, retail, hospitality, petroleum, government and healthcare vertical markets. VeriFone solutions are designed to meet the needs of merchants, processors and acquirers in developed and emerging economies worldwide.

The VeriFone Digital Network (VNET) now spans more than 140 media markets across the U.S. and the U.K., including all of the top 50 U.S. media markets, providing one-to-one, interactive media engagement across more than 50,000 screens in taxis, gas pumps, and convenience stores around the world with the merger of Outcast Media.


One Response to “Gilbarco and VeriFone Join Forces At The Pump”

  1. Darth Veeder Says:

    SO, does VNET mean no more BS?

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