Shell lets customers buy petrol with PayPal

Drivers will be able to pay for petrol on their smartphones thanks to a new tie-up between Shell and PayPal. The firm will allow customers to buy their fuel using the PayPal app, saving them from having to enter the store to pay. 

PayPal payments will initially be offered to members of the Shell Drivers’ Club from April, before being rolled out to all customers later this year. In addition to making payments via the PayPal app, drivers can also settle the bill via the the Shell Motorist app. 

Customers using the apps will be asked to select which Shell petrol station and pump number they are using. Once they’ve finished filling their car up, they can drive off and the final amount will be deducted from their account, according to a report in City AM.  

“At PayPal, we’ve always believed people will use their mobile phones to pay if there’s a clear benefit,” said PayPal UK mobile commerce director Rob Harper. “With today’s announcement, we’re offering drivers a faster way to fill up their car and pay, and get back on the road.”

PayPal is just one of the companies vying to provide retail payments via smartphones instead of cash or debit/credit card. Both Apple and Google and rapidly developing their own smartphone payment systems, with Apple Pay built into the latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets. Retailer support remains patchy to non-existent in the UK, but Apple is rapidly signing up major retailers in the US, including McDonald’s, Staples and the Disney stores.

PayPal is in the process of being spun-off from parent company eBay, partly in a bid to establish the company as an independent e-payments provider, not just a means of paying for goods on the auction site. PayPal payments are already accepted in thousands of UK stores, including the Wagamama and Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) restaurant chains.