What you need to know
- Apple Pay and App Clips are making buying fuel less of a pain.
- ExxonMobil is adding App Clips and Apple Pay support to its pumps.
- Drivers will scan a QR code and pay for their fuel right from the pump.
Paying for your fuel will be easier and quicker than before.
Fuel company ExxonMobil is bringing App Clips and Apple Pay to more than 11,500 Exxon and Mobil fuel stations across the United States, making paying easier than ever. The new payment method will require users to have iOS 14 or later installed, however.
Drivers will simply scan a QR code located on the fuel pump and then pay via an App Clip version of the ExxonMobil app according to Digital Transactions and Apple Insider reports. Those who already have the full app installed will see the app launch instead of the App Clip.
On iPhones, for consumers without the ExxonMobil app, the contactless connection prompts an Apple Inc. App Clips feature to display a portion of the full-fledged app without requiring the consumer download it at that moment. Instead, a small part of the app is activated—the payment part. Once the transaction is authorized, the app clip shows the status of the transaction and a prompt to get the full-fledged app.
App Clips is a feature of iOS 14 and later, meaning users will need to have a recent version of the software installed for this all to work properly. App Clips are small, lightweight snippets of apps that allow users to use a portion of the full app's functionality without having to download it first. This ExxonMobile play is a perfect example of where App Clips can be used and one that we might see more companies following.