Dubai: No cash, no card, no worries. Motorists in Dubai can now refuel their vehicles in a new RFID-enabled cashless and cardless system at all petrol stations operated by Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc).
Known as VIP or Vehicle Identification Pass, the prepaid system, similar to Salik, has been in place for two years for corporate customers only. However, Dubai’s biggest oil retailer has now decided to open its Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based fuelling service to all motorists.
Motorists registered with the system will have to just drive into the service station, refuel with the help of an attendant and drive off.
Going live from Monday, car users can register for VIP at 112 Enoc/Eppco stations by completing an application form and installing the RFID tag near the vehicle’s fuel tank. The registration and tag cost Dh250.
The documents required to register for VIP are Emirates ID for residents or passport copies for visitors, and the vehicle registration card.
Available in the region for the first time, all vehicles registered in other emirates as well as other GCC countries can avail of the service.
“Once registered, the vehicle owner will have an account with Enoc and balance in the account can be topped at the fuel stations or online at www.vipselect.enoc.ae. People can register multiple cars under a single account but separate tags will have to be purchased for all the vehicles,” said Saeed Al Amiri, sales manager for VIP at Enoc.
Part of Enoc’s new unified ‘ENOCPay’ platform, the VIP tag allows the nozzle to automatically recognise the fuelling preferences individuals have set for their car, calculate the amount of fuel filled from the dispenser, and deduct the money automatically from the individual’s VIP account.
This speeds up the refuelling process and enables customers to better manage their accounts and set budgets for each fuelling transaction.
The system is expected to save an average of three minutes per customer at petrol stations, by reducing human interference.
“All that an attendant needs to do is place the fuel nozzle inside the fuel tank. Everything else is automated. Customers can even preset the amount for each refuelling and the type of petrol can also be pre-selected,” said Burhan Al Hashemi, managing director - Retail, Enoc, after launching VIP at a petrol station in Al Twar.
Motorists will receive an SMS and email after every transaction and will be able to manage their accounts online.
“This system is particularly helpful for those who own more than one vehicle and would like to manage the fuel budget through a single account. Customers will be able to monitor online their fuel transactions as well as the history of bills and top up,” Al Hashemi added.
Al Hashemi said that Enoc will launch the VIP mobile app in the third quarter of this year, which will enable motorists to carry out all the transactions online.
The VIP service has been available for corporate customers since early 2014, with over 75,000 commercial vehicles, including 8,000 taxis, using the technology.
Burhan added that Enoc is committed to contributing towards Dubai’s smart city initiative, with a plan to launch the ‘ENOCPay’ mobile app, which will aggregate all current and future payment methods into a single interface. It is expected to be available on iOS and Android phones by the end of this year.
‘ENOCPay’ platform will offer mobile payment services through its partnership with Beam Wallet, as well as the UAE Ministry of Finance’s e-Dirham mobile application.
Beam uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Beacons at the stations to enable the payment transaction.
BEAM is currently enabled at 11 Dubai service stations and will be rolled out to the full network of 112 stations in Dubai and the northern emirates by June.
Enoc is also planning a 40 per cent expansion by 2020, with the construction of 54 more stations in Dubai. Two of the existing stations, in Oud Metha and Dubai Media City, are currently under renovation and will be equipped with solar power for its daytime consumption.
Photo-voltaic (PV) solar panels will be installed on the main canopy of the service stations to generate power using the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) grid system.
