Local Company Wants You to Use Your E-ZPass to Buy Gas & Pay For Lunch

WCVB:

A Boston company wants to enable drivers to pay for gas, food or a car wash with their E-ZPass.

Verdeva, Inc. officials announced Tuesday that they company had inked a deal to allow the creation of a service called PayByCar. The payment service would be part of the Driven by E-ZPass program, which allows drivers to link a second payment account to their transponder for non-toll charges.

PayByCar authorizes payment by recognizing the transponder in a car and also confirming the presence of the driver's cellphone, company officials said.

The company has selected three gas stations in "central Massachusetts" for the initial testing of their service, according to Kevin Condon, founder and CEO of Verdeva. Additional details about the locations will be announced within a few weeks, he added.

"With millions of vehicles already equipped with transponders, PayByCar provides the quickest and most expansive way to make in-vehicle payment a reality," Condon said in a statement.

"And with our agreement with E-ZPass - a brand consumers already use and trust - we think drivers will be excited about adding the convenience of PayByCar."

Condon told WCVB that the tests are slated to last up to a year, but are expected to transition seamlessly into a larger roll-out of the service.

E-ZPass is used for toll collection across 17 states and is the largest interoperable toll collection program in the world.