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Posted By

Aaron Mireles

PODCAST HOUSTON FINTECH STARTUP TAPS INTO NEW TECH TO MODERNIZE 'DAILY JOURNEYS'

Before Don Frieden started his company, gas stations hadn’t innovated their payment technology
since 1997. He knew that needed to change.

Original Post | Innovationmap

Before Don Frieden started his company, gas stations hadn't innovated their payment technology since 1997. He knew that needed to change.

P97, founded in 2012, exists to use innovative technologies to simplify and energize daily journeys, Frieden explains on the Houston Innovators Podcast.

The fast-growing company — which has nearly 200 employees, most of whom work from Houston — has raised over $100 million in venture funding, according to Crunchbase, most recently closing a $40 million series C round earlier this year. This funding has supported P97 as its expanded its technology, even expanding outside of gas station payments and into other sectors, like consumer packaged goods, mobile app development, and alternative fuel sources.

Part of what P97 is focused on too is adapting new technologies, including biometrics, and applying them to the payments world. Voice-enabled payments is something in particular that Frieden is working on.

"One of the things we’re most excited about is voice enable payments through our partnership with Amazon's Alexa," he explains. "The landscape of payments at gas stations underwent this next revolution, and we're using cutting-edge speech recognition and artificial intelligence to allow drivers to pay for fuel just using their voice.

"It makes the process faster and more efficient, and is completely hands-free," he continues, explaining that biometrics are also safer compared to card transactions. "From this time I say, 'Alexa, buy gas,' six seconds later, the gas would be turned on and any loyalty rewards I have would be applied, all from the comfort of my car."

Frieden shares more about the future of P97, payments, and the energy industry as it intersects with P97 — including the future of alternative fuels — on the podcast. Listen to the interview below — or wherever you stream your podcasts — and subscribe for weekly episodes.

MANILA, Philippines–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Unioil Petroleum Philippines, the most diverse and innovative petroleum company in the country is pleased to announce its selection of P97 Networks, a leader in digital commerce innovation, to enhance the Unioil Mobile App with point of sale to fuel pump integration, loyalty card integration, mobile payment integration, offers, rewards, station locator and fuel price comparison functionality.

“Our commitment to taking an innovative approach in meeting the needs of our customers has helped us revolutionize how a fuel retailer can do business with both small and large customers. Adding the P97 Digital Commerce Platform will truly enhance our consumer offering and provide more value for our customers. Pump attendants no longer need to carry the wireless EDC terminal for customers to scan for mobile payment. This is really crucial for the convenience of the customer as it cuts down the duration and extra steps when refuelling at our stations,” said Ed Pasion, Unioil VP of Retail.

Unioil offers a complete line of Euro-5 standard fuels—from gasoline variants to its diesel–all of which significantly decrease emissions up to 77 percent. This makes Unioil’s specially formulated fuels the country’s cleanest range since 2017. Filipino drivers will soon have a safe, contactless and rewarding fuelling experience by 2021 with Unioil Mobile App.

“The new Unioil mobile app on the P97 Digital Commerce Platform will help continue to provide better digital experiences for Unioil’s customers. P97 are thrilled to be a part of Unioil’s retail expansion and improving their frictionless customer experience at the pump,” said Brad Jones, Managing Director of APAC, from P97 Networks.

COVID-19 accelerated the use of payments with mobile apps, as it provides a contactless payment solution versus the use of banknotes, providing a safer experience for consumers. It is estimated that nearly 76% of purchases in 2021 will be made within a mobile app.

P97’s pioneering Digital Commerce Platform is built on Industry Standards that enable fuel retailers to connect and communicate with their consumers, and has more than 40,000 stations connected today. P97 is proud to enable an enhanced mobile app experience at all Unioil locations, to purchase fuel products and earn rewards – all with the Unioil mobile app.

In today’s current environment, offering customers a fast, safe and personalized way to shop is essential. Unioil’s commitment is leading in innovative ways to engage with their customers to provide better experiences for their consumers to find, pay and get rewarded. Learn more about the P97 solution by visiting www.p97.com.

About Unioil Petroleum Philippines, Inc.
Since 1966, Unioil has led the way in innovative petroleum solutions, establishing itself as a highly innovative business partner for specialty oils, fuels and lubricants. Unioil runs retail station operations, provides Lubricants blending and marketing along with fuels trading, specialty oils trading and Bitumen (asphalt) distribution. Learn more at https://unioil.com.

About P97 Networks
P97 Networks provides a secure, mobile commerce and behavioral marketing platform that transforms mobile commerce for the convenience retail, fuel, and vehicle manufacturing industries. P97’s platform enhances the ability to attract, engage, and retain customers by securely connecting millions of individual mobile phones and connected cars with merchants using identity, geolocation-based software that creates a unique mobile consumer experience. For more information, visit www.p97.com.

Contacts

P97 Press Contacts
Ed Pasion
Unioil
Vice President for Retail
ecp@unioil.com

Aaron Mireles
P97 Networks, Inc.
281-954-1706
Aaron.Mireles