Sheetz announced its partnership with Flexa and NCR to enable digital currency transactions directly at the fuel pump for an instant fraud-proof form of payment.
Customers of the Mid-Atlantic restaurant and convenience chain will be able to pay for items inside the store or fill up their vehicles at the pump using digital currencies such as bitcoin, ether, litecoin, dogecoin, and more.
Sheetz will begin accepting digital currencies using Flexa’s instant, scalable, and climate-neutral payments technology at select Sheetz Cafe Stores later this summer, with a planned roll out later in the year for acceptance at Sheetz’s fuel pumps as well, the company said.
“Above all else, our mission at Sheetz is to continue providing our customers with the ultimate one-stop-shop where they can refuel their car and refresh their bodies. As a result, we are constantly innovating and exploring new offerings to truly give our customers what they want, when they want it, 24/7/365, which includes accepting many payment forms. We’re very excited to be working with Flexa to roll out support for cryptocurrencies and other types of digital assets at our stores,” said Linda Smith, Payments Manager for Sheetz.
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Sheetz currently operates 622 stores in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland. Sheetz customers will also have the option to link their My Sheetz Rewardz loyalty account when paying with Flexa-enabled apps.
“With interest in digital currencies reaching all-time highs, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that there are real, tangible benefits for the merchants who accept them—not only reduced fraud and cost savings, but also a better and more mobile customer experience,” said Trevor Filter, co-founder of Flexa. “Sheetz is one of the most forward-thinking brands in the business and understands their customer base better than anyone else. So we’re absolutely elated that Flexa can help them become the first convenience and retail chain to accept digital currencies directly at the pump.”
According to the convenience chain, to seamlessly enable Flexa’s instant, fraud-proof authorization process for digital currency payments, Sheetz turned to its relationship with NCR, its point-of-sale technology partner.
“Connecting through the existing POS solution to the NCR payment gateway enables retailers to quickly integrate new solutions making it easy to introduce innovations enabled by digital currencies. As a result, retailers benefit through increased loyalty, lower transaction fees, and reduced fraud while improving convenience and choice for shoppers,” said Tim Vanderham, Chief Technology Officer of NCR.
This groundbreaking partnership between Sheetz, NCR, and Flexa marks the first time digital currencies have been accepted for convenience purchases and greatly expand digital currencies’ utility for everyday spending. Sheetz customers who would like to be informed when Sheetz payments are available on Flexa can download a Flexa-enabled app at flexa.app.