Speedpass

Last updated
Speedpass
Speedpass+ Key Tag.jpg
Product type Radio-frequency identification
Owner ExxonMobil
Country United States
Introduced1997;25 years ago (1997)
Previous owners Mobil (1997–99)
Website esso.ca/speedpass

Speedpass was a keychain radio-frequency identification (RFID) device introduced in 1997 by Mobil (which later merged with Exxon to become ExxonMobil in 1999) for electronic payment. It was originally developed by Verifone. By 2004, more than seven million people possessed Speedpass tags, which could be used at approximately 10,000 Exxon, Mobil and Esso gas stations worldwide.

Contents

Speedpass was one of the first widely deployed consumer RFID payment systems of its kind, debuting nationwide in 1997 far ahead of VISA and MasterCard RFID trials.

History

The ExxonMobil Speedpass was based on the Texas Instruments TIRIS RFID platform. It was originally designed by Verifone in two configurations; one intended for installation inside the fuel dispensing "pump", and a convenience store model known as the Verifone RF250 (which was a redesign of the Ingenico iSC250 reader for smart cards).

Speedpass with Spanish pieces of eight Speedpass with Pieces of Eight.jpg
Speedpass with Spanish pieces of eight

The ExxonMobil Speedpass used a cryptographically-enabled tag with a Digital Signature Transponder (DST) which incorporated a weak, proprietary encryption scheme to perform a challenge-response protocol. On January 29, 2005, RSA Security and a group of students from Johns Hopkins University broke the proprietary encryption algorithm used by the Exxon-Mobil Speedpass. They were able to successfully copy a Speedpass and use the copied RFID tag to purchase gas.

In an attempt to prevent fraud, Speedpass users ultimately were required to enter their zip code into scanners at some gas stations. [1]

Convenience Stores and the "Flying Red Horse"

At one point, Speedpass was deployed experimentally in fast-food restaurants and supermarkets in select markets. McDonald's alone deployed Speedpass in over 400 restaurants in Greater Chicago.

During the 1998 development of the RF250 convenience store reader, some prototype units were shipped from Verifone in Rocklin, California, to a Verifone office in Florida. The units did not arrive on time and were thought to have been lost in transit.

They were later found, and despite each unit having a Verifone logo and being encased in boxes showing the Verifone logo; the shipping company had nothing in their lost goods database showing that name. Rather, the units turned up via a query for "flying red horse", apparently since the units displayed a small Mobil logo—and the Mobil logo was and is a red Pegasus. The internal codename for the project was thus changed to "Flying Red Horse" [2] [ unreliable source? ]

The test was deemed a failure and McDonald's removed the scanners from all their restaurants in mid-2004. Additionally, the New England grocery chain Stop & Shop tested Speedpass at their Boston area stores; the units were removed in early 2005. Speedpass has also been previously available through a Speedpass Car Tag and a Speedpass-enabled Timex watch.

Discontinuance

Exxon Mobil announced that the RFID based key tag would be fully retired by June 30, 2019. Exxon Mobil directed users to use the Speedpass+ app on their smartphone. The smart phone app uses the phones location data to pay at the pump using the app. The app detects the users location which then prompts the user to input the pump number they are using. Conversely if location services are not activated for the app, the user can scan a QR code on the pump to activate pay at the pump functionality.

See also

Related Research Articles

Exxon Brand name

Exxon Corporation, formerly known as the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey until 1973, was an American oil company and descendant of Standard Oil which merged with Mobil to form ExxonMobil in 1999. Once one of the Seven Sisters that dominated the global petroleum industry, Exxon was one of the largest companies in the world, being one of the top five companies on Fortune 500 between the first edition of the list and the year of its merger with Mobil and reaching the #1 spot on the list a few years between 1970 and 1995.

Mobil Corporation was an American oil company that merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Prior to its merger with Exxon, Mobil was one of the Seven Sisters that dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s until the 1970s. As one of the 34 original companies to descend from the breakup of Standard Oil, Mobil was originally known as the Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony). Mobil credits itself with being the first company to introduce paying at the pump at its gas stations, as well as the first company to introduce a mobile payment device, today known as Speedpass.

7-Eleven, Inc. is an American chain of convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas in the U.S. state of Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. After 70% of the company was acquired by an affiliate Ito-Yokado in 1991, it was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings.

Standard Oil of Ohio Former American Oil Company

The Standard Oil Company (Ohio) was an American oil company, a successor of the original company established in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. It was established as "Standard Oil Company of Ohio" as one of the separate entities created after the 1911 breakup.

Filling station Facility which sells gasoline and diesel

A filling station, also known as petrol station or gas station (US), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline and diesel fuel.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromagnetic interrogation pulse from a nearby RFID reader device, the tag transmits digital data, usually an identifying inventory number, back to the reader. This number can be used to track inventory goods.

Esso Oil and gas company

Esso is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso", to which the other Standard Oil companies would later object.

Near-field communication Radio communication established between devices by bringing them into proximity

Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 cm or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used to bootstrap more-capable wireless connections. Like other "proximity card" technologies, NFC is based on inductive coupling between two so-called antennas present on NFC-enabled devices—for example a smartphone and a printer—communicating in one or both directions, using a frequency of 13.56 MHz in the globally available unlicensed radio frequency ISM band using the ISO/IEC 18000-3 air interface standard at data rates ranging from 106 to 424 kbit/s.

Microchip implant (animal) Implant used in animals

A microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of an animal. The chip, about the size of a large grain of rice, uses passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, and is also known as a PIT tag. Standard pet microchips are typically 11–13 mm long and 2 mm in diameter.

Verifone is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Coral Springs, Florida, that provides technology for electronic payment transactions and value-added services at the point-of-sale. Verifone sells merchant-operated, consumer-facing and self-service payment systems to the financial, retail, hospitality, petroleum, government and healthcare industries. The company's products consist of POS electronic payment devices that run its own operating systems, security and encryption software, and certified payment software, and that are designed for both consumer-facing and unattended environments.

The Texas Instruments digital signature transponder (DST) is a cryptographically enabled radio-frequency identification (RFID) device used in a variety of wireless authentication applications. The largest deployments of the DST include the Exxon-Mobil Speedpass payment system, as well as a variety of vehicle immobilizer systems used in many late model Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Toyota, and Nissan vehicles.

SmartTAG

SmartTAG is an on-board unit (OBU) vehicle-based device used as an electronic toll collection (ETC) system over long distances to complement Touch 'n Go, a card-based system. It was first introduced in Malaysia in 1999 and is also used as an Entrance Access Security.

On the Run (convenience store) Convenience store brand

On the Run is a flagship convenience store brand developed by ExxonMobil, used at Exxon and Mobil stations in the United States, BP and Mobil in Australia and at Esso and Mobil stations internationally. Alimentation Couche-Tard acquired the On the Run trademark and franchise network in the U.S. in 2009, and Parkland Fuel did the same in Canada in 2016; ExxonMobil retains full ownership of the brand in the rest of the world.

NETS (company)

Network for Electronic Transfers, colloquially known as NETS, is a Singaporean electronic payment service provider. Founded in 1985, by a consortium of local banks, it aims to establish the debit network and drive the adoption of electronic payments in Singapore. It is owned by DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and United Overseas Bank (UOB).

Mobile tagging is the process of providing data read from tags for display on mobile devices, commonly encoded in a two-dimensional barcode, using the camera of a camera phone as the reader device. The contents of the tag code is usually a URL for information addressed and accessible through Internet.

Wireless identity theft, also known as contactless identity theft or RFID identity theft, is a form of identity theft described as "the act of compromising an individual’s personal identifying information using wireless mechanics." Numerous articles have been written about wireless identity theft and broadcast television has produced several investigations of this phenomenon. According to Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, wireless identity theft is a serious issue as the contactless (wireless) card design is inherently flawed, increasing the vulnerability to attacks.

DASH7 Alliance Protocol (D7A) is an open-source wireless sensor and actuator network protocol, which operates in the 433 MHz, 868 MHz and 915 MHz unlicensed ISM band/SRD band. DASH7 provides multi-year battery life, range of up to 2 km, low latency for connecting with moving things, a very small open-source protocol stack, AES 128-bit shared-key encryption support, and data transfer of up to 167 kbit/s. The DASH7 Alliance Protocol is the name of the technology promoted by the non-profit consortium called the DASH7 Alliance.

Magnolia Petroleum Company Defunct American energy corporation

The Magnolia Petroleum Company was an early twentieth century petroleum company in Texas. The company was established in 1911, being later acquired by the Standard Oil of New York, which operated it as a wholly-owned subsidiary until its demise in 1959.

TecTile NFC application developed by Samsung for use with smartphones

TecTiles are a near field communication (NFC) application, developed by Samsung, for use with mobile smartphone devices.

References

  1. "Speedpass". Speedpass.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  2. "W6DTW : Flying Red Horse". W6dtw.blogspot.com. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2017.