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Phillips 66 Co., which has long been a leading player among petroleum companies in digital payments, has taken a step into in-car commerce in a tie-up with Honda Motor Co. Inc. that will allow customers to find the nearest station, claim a pump, and pay for gas from the infotainment system in their cars.
The new arrangement, under development with Honda Developer Studio, is expected to work at stations flagged under the Houston-based petroleum company’s three brands, which in the United States include 76 and Conoco as well as Phillips 66. Some 7,550 independently owned outlets in 48 states sell the company’s products.
The company also said it will continue rolling out its My Phillips 66 mobile app, which launched last year and works in-store as well as at the pump with both Apple Inc. and Google devices. Google is a unit of Alphabet Inc. The app integrates Mastercard Inc.’s Masterpass wallet. In 2016, Phillips 66 was an early player to announce it would accept JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Chase Pay mobile wallet.
The company’s latest move is part of a larger trend toward bringing payments capability to the latest generation of infotaintment systems installed in automobiles. Honda has been an early exponent of this trend. Two years ago, the automaker worked with Visa Inc., pump maker Gilbarco Veeder Root, and parking-meter manufacturer IPS Group Inc. to demonstrate a mobile app that allowed drivers to pay for parking and fuel.
“We understand consumers want to fuel up, pay, and quickly be on their way,” said John Barbour, manager of payments and card services at Phillips 66, in a statement related to the partnership with Honda.
Honda Developer Studio is situated within a unit called Honda R&D Innovations Inc., which is based in Mountain View, Calif., and concentrates on self-driving technology as wells as in-car payments.
