))) Mobil Speedpass Goes Global as Mobil Singapore Rolls out Asia's First RFID-Based Pay-At-The-Pump System

))) DALLAS, TX (April 5, 1999)

Since 1997, more than 2 million Americans have discovered the speed and convenience of Mobil's Speedpass™ automated payment system based on Texas Instruments' Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.

Starting this month, Singapore motorists will find hands-free convenience and faster purchasing times in store with the roll-out of Speedpass at all of Mobil's filling stations in Singapore. Billed as "the fastest way to fill up," Speedpass allows Mobil's customers in Singapore the convenience of automated payment using TI-RFid™ vehicle-mounted tags.

The heart of Speedpass' RFID technology is a small transponder vehicle tag, which is the only vehicle tag fully deployed to the industry. A reader integrated in the pump transmits a signal to the transponder that answers back in milliseconds with a unique identification code that's been linked to a customer's Easipay card account in a host database. The customer's Easipay card is then authorized for payment and the pump is activated and ready for fueling. And, with a pump attendant to "fuel up", the customer does not even need to get out of the car.

"Even before Mobil Speedpass, Singaporeans are already quite acquainted with RFID-based systems as they are using a RFID-based toll collection system named Electronic Road Pricing (ERP)," reports Michael Ollivier, of Texas Instruments' TI-RFid™ group in the United Kingdom, who managed the project.

The RFID transponders (tags) designed by Texas Instruments for both the United States and Singapore RFID systems feature a digital signature encryption protocol that has a challenge/response authentication to ensure complete consumer protection.

This technique makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible to duplicate the transponder (tag), or the secret encryption key. And, even if the key were duplicated, it would only be valid for one tank of gas, making it a very expensive tank of gasoline for a would-be criminal.

"The launch of Speedpass in Singapore, together with the widespread acceptance of RFID by American consumers is catching the attention of other retailers in the U.S. and around the world," adds Ollivier. "Customers greatly prefer the faster, hassle-free automated transactions provided by RFID-based payment systems."

"Other RFID applications in retailing are just around the corner," hints Ollivier. "From speeding drive-through purchases, to helping hotel & restaurant managers tailor personalized service to their customers, RFID is entering the retail mainstream. Even major banks in the UK have shown positive interest. We think the technology could eventually reach the point where RFID tags are welcomed throughout an entire merchant network."

"Mobil is the first company in Asia to adopt RFID technology for retailing," reports Anthony Lim, fuels manager for Mobil Oil Singapore. "This is consistent with Mobil's drive to deliver customer convenience and first-in-industry products and services. Just last year, we anticipated local motorist's needs by introducing the Easipay card which could also be used for Singapore's state-of-the-art Electronic Road Pricing system."