Case Study: Reinventing the Refueling Experience in France

A Strategic Alliance for Mobile Fuel Payments

In a market where convenience, speed, and userexperience increasingly define consumer expectations, Lyf, Certas Energy France (operator of Esso and Esso Express stations), and CarPay-Diem have joined forces to deliver a cutting-edge mobile fueling solution. The goal: to allow French drivers to refuel their cars without touching a payment terminal orentering the station shop - all from their smartphone via the Lyf app.

This partnership combines three complementary capabilities: Lyf’s mobile wallet, Certas Energy’s national fuel station network, and CarPay-Diem’s robust API platform for fuel payment orchestration. Together, they are bringing mobile-first innovation to over 300 Esso and Esso Express stations across France.

The Deployment Journey - 3 months to production !

During the May internal pilot, Lyf launched a "Friends & Family" pre-launchphase that invited real users to test the solution. The initiative was promoted through a targeted emailing campaign that reached 1000 users  to participate,to a test refueling experience using the app. Users were incentivized with a €20 cashback on theirfill-up and asked to provide structured feedback via a post-test questionnaire.

March 2024

The project kicked off with the technical integration phase between Lyf and CarPay-Diem. This involved embedding CarPay-Diem’s secure, real-time fueling API into Lyf’s app architecture and aligning with Certas Energy’s station systems.

May 2024

Internal testing began at a limited number of Esso Express pilot stations. The solution was trialed by a small number oftesters to validate pump activation, payment workflows, and receipt generation.

June 2024

A private beta phase was launched with approximately a dozen Lyf ambassadors. Their early feedback confirmed the UX was intuitive and that the experience matched expectations: fast, fluid, and freeing users from queuing or manipulating payment hardware.

July 2024

Press coverage emerged in both French and European media, amplifying awareness of the innovation. Articles appeared in RiskAssur, Services Mobiles, Planet Fintech, Presse Agence, and Silicon Luxembourg, highlighting the break through nature of this digital service andits rollout across more than 300 French fuel stations.

Mid-July 2024

The full public launch was scheduled, pending final validation by Apple and Android app stores. Once live, users would beable to locate a nearby Esso station, select a pump number, authorize and complete payment via the Lyf app, and receive a digital receipt - all within minutes.

A Frictionless Refueling Experience

The user journey is designed to be simple andefficient. After opening the Lyf app, the driver locates a nearby Esso station. Once at the pump, they select the pump number within the app. CarPay-Diem’s infrastructure securely pre-authorizes the transaction, unlocking the pump inreal time. The customer refuels and receives a digital receipt directly in the app. This contactless experience not only saves time, it also responds to the increasing demand for hygienic, autonomous digital interactions - particularly in post-COVID consumer behavior. A video walkthrough showcasing the UX has been published on YouTube to illustrate the simplicity of the experience.

The pre-launch test provided a wealth of insights. Notably, 86% of test participants stated they would reuse the service on their next fill-up. The average satisfaction score for the experience was 4.4 out of 5, and the NetPromoter Score (NPS) reached a notable 43. The majority of users described the experience using words like “pratique” (convenient), “rapide”(fast), and “intuitive.”

Demographically, 82% of testers used Android devices, and 82% were male. The age group most represented was 36–45 years (45%). Most users typically refueled at Leclerc, Carrefour, Esso, and Intermarché stations.

In terms of user understanding, 100% found the app instructions sufficient. While 20% reported encountering minor friction points—such as confusion around identifying pump numbers or experiencing slight delays due to dual authentication—82% considered the €120 pre-authorization amount to be adequate ,and all understood that the amount wouldn’t be charged directly.

In addition to enabling a seamless contactlessexperience, Certas (ESSO) can now leverage CarPay-Diem to deliver targeted digital marketing campaigns and offers directly to LYF App users—driving increased traffic to their convenience stores."

Selected user quotes highlight both enthusiasm and opportunities for improvement :

Enfin du sans contact pour le carburant, c’est pratique même s’il y a beaucoup d’étapes, faut juste s’habituer. (Finally, contactless fuel payment is convenient, even if there are many steps involved; you just have to get used to it.)

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La fonctionnalité est superbe… Ajouter plus de stations compatibles et réduire le nombre d'autorisations 3DS2 et ce sera parfait. (The functionality is superb... Add more compatible stations and reduce the number of 3DS2 authorisations, and it will be perfect.)

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Impact and Early Indicators

While comprehensive adoption metrics are notyet available at the time of launch, a survey conducted by Lyf Pay with a sample of French drivers offers key insights :

• 92% of respondents drive daily or multiple times per week.
• 93% refuel at least once per month.
• 76% stated they were ready or very likely to use mobile payment at gas stations.

These data points reflect a strong readiness among consumers to adopt mobile fueling - especially when integrated into anapp they already use for payments, loyalty, and lifestyle services. Although the beta testing phase did not generate enough volume to publish transactiona lstatistics, CarPay-Diem and Lyf are currently collecting qualitative feedbackfrom early users. These verbatim comments are expected to inform future user experience iterations and public communications in Q3 2024.

Frédéric Stiernon, CEO of CarPay-Diem, emphasized the importance of strategic alignment:

The French fuel market isone of the most competitive in Europe. By embedding our technology into LyfPay, we are enabling drivers to enjoy a smooth, digital-first experience while helping station operators modernize their offer - all without changing their hardware

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Christophe Dolique, CEO of Lyf, reinforced this vision:

After rolling out mobile payments for parking and publictransportation, we are proud to expand into fuel payments. This project is agreat example of how fintech and retail energy can collaborate to bringpractical innovation to people’s lives.”

A Broader Industry Signal

This initiative sends a clear message to the retail energy and mobility ecosystem: mobile fueling is no longer a futuristic concept- it is a live, scalable, and highly relevant service for modern consumers. Theability to link digital communities (like Lyf’s user base) with real-world infrastructure (Esso stations) is a defining strength of the CarPay-Diem model.

Feedback collected during the test phase has already shaped the upcoming roadmap. Improvements under consideration include:

• Streamlining the authentication process by reducing redundant 3DS authorizations
• Enhancing pump number visibility at the station
• Introducing large QR codes on pumps to allow app-triggered payments without leaving the vehicle
• Expanding service availability beyond Esso stations to include more partners

These changes are expected to further simplify the user journey and increase adoptionat scale.

By eliminating frictions in the payment processand delivering seamless UX, the solution also opens up new possibilities forloyalty integration, dynamic pricing, and connected vehicle services in the future.

Next Steps

As the service officially launches in France during summer 2025, Lyf and CarPay-Diem are already preparing to analyze userbehavior and feedback from the first wave of adopters; expand the service tothe full Esso network operated by Certas Energy (target: over 300 filling sites)and explore international opportunities, building on the operational blueprint now validated in France.

Conclusion

The partnership between Lyf, Certas EnergyFrance, and CarPay-Diem illustrates how cross-sector collaboration can drive practical, scalable innovation in mobility. By embedding fuel payment into atrusted mobile wallet, and doing so without replacing any station hardware, the three companies have laid the foundation for the next generation of connected, user-centric mobility services.

The fuel experience is changing - and it starts with your phone.

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