After watching Jonah video on Digital Wallet privacy I started thinking about digital payments for paying at the pump. This is one security threat which is a convenience that I have not got away from. While traveling at night awhile back my preference was to get fuel from a gas station which at the time you could only pay at the pump.
Prepaying for fuel with cash or prepaid credit cards may be the most anonymous payment option but surveillance may be a concern. Paying at the pump swiping a card, skimmers could be a concern. Using a chipped card option still identifies the card holder.
Reducing the frequency of the purchase is always a good idea, but fuel consumption is not a control. Filling up your tank every purchase is an option and refueling at a safe to empty amount reduces exposure. Fuel storage at home is an option as well.
Using a digital wallet would protect the credit card(s) and allow payment at some pumps.
Across America we have Walmart gas stations in my area prices and locations are attractive. Walmart has a digital wallet Walmart Pay I previously posted my concerns with Walmart +
My first question. Can I use Walmart Pay for gas?
No. According to Walmart, Walmart Pay cannot be used for fuel at this time. Possibly in the future so I will follow up on this.
Walmart Pay is in the Walmart App. I do not use the Walmart app personally but my family does. I use the Walmart website to shop online. To use Walmart Pay you must use the Walmart app to scan the QR code in-store using the Walmart app not the website. As mentioned with my concerns of using Walmart +. You must enable location sharing with the app to let the app know you’re in-store and I mentioned using a separate device and faking location services could be an option. I also have spoken that I now use an anonymous PayPal account to fund my Walmart account and I fund the PayPal account with anonymous funds. This keeps my payment options clean and reduces having to check balances on cards to make purchases.
So back to Digital Wallets, my option would be Google Pay on a old android phone, not my main phone. I have prepaid credit cards funding a Google Pay account mainly for MySudo. These prepaid cards often have very small balances, say under $10. You can as well add PayPal to Google Pay (US only)
If I build out another “Google” phone for Walmart + it will be attached to a google account. Using an anonymous PayPal to fund both accounts would be an option. The savings earned using Walmart + and the security of using a digital wallet for convenience may make this worth while. My end goal is to make one in-store purchase a month to pick up items which can not be purchased online, or curbside with my major credit card, such as a prepaid credit card. With my short commute I am able to once a month purchase fuel and using a Digital Wallet would offer better security for my major credit card.