Waltham Business Rolls Out Pay By E-ZPass At Gas Stations

WALTHAM, MA — If you ever wished your E-ZPass transmitter worked at a gas station like it does at a toll, well, you're not alone: A Waltham-based company has made it happen.

Global Partners LP is working with PayByCar to offer the service at certain gas stations in Marlborough, Framingham, and Wellesley. Those with E-ZPass toll transponders who register for the service on the PayByCar website can now pay for their fuel by using their transponders. If you are one of the 20 percent of drivers that doesn't have a toll transponder, you can ask for a non-toll sticker if you enroll.

“Following the success of PayByCar’s first in the nation breakthrough test pilot program at Alltown of Westborough last year, we are proud to broaden our reach of pay-by-text service to three new Alltown locations in the Boston Metrowest area,” said Kevin Condon, founder of PayByCar.

When you drive into the participating gas stations, PayByCar will recognize your car’s transponder and send a text to your smartphone. You reply with the pump number and PayByCar will turn that pump on, register the transaction, charge your card, and sends you an e-receipt.

The payment goes through merchant's machines, Condon said.

"We’re not processing the payments, and we do not use E-ZPass for payments," he said. "We use the transponder ID onsite to recognize the vehicle, that’s all."

In addition to reducing or eliminating the need to touch a touchpad, or open an app to swipe and show, the process also cuts transaction and refueling time by about half for patrons during the winter months, according to the company.

“We’re living at a time when contactless payments are increasingly important,” said Mark Cosenza who owns Alltown convenience stores.

The service is now live at four Alltown Gas Stations and the company said more are coming later this year.

Condon said he got the idea sitting in traffic one day heading down to the Cape. The technology will also eventually be available for other kinds of transactions — from paying at convenience stores, car washes, drive-thrus and restaurants.

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.