QuikTrip Rolls Out Anti-Theft Fuel Card

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--Sept. 7, 2004--QuikTrip will implement its new PumpStart Card program at 16 stores in the Kansas City metropolitan area this week. These 16 locations are ones that require cash customers to pay in advance for their fuel purchases. These stores have been forced to require this prepayment due to excessive drive-offs by customers who did not pay for their gasoline.

"The QuikTrip stores in the Kansas City area lost almost $3 million in gasoline thefts last year. We intend to stop it," said company spokesperson Mike Thornbrugh.

"We have implemented this program in two stores in Tulsa, Okla., and the response from customers and law enforcement officials has been very positive," Thornbrugh said. "The PumpStart Card program is a much more convenient payment system for cash customers at these prepay stores, and it eliminates gasoline theft."

The PumpStart program is the first of its kind in the United States. The entire process takes a few seconds. QuikTrip store employee enters the customer's valid U.S. driver's license, and then issues our customer the new PumpStart card. By inserting the PumpStart card into the credit card reader at the pump, the cash customer can now start the pump without having to go into the store and prepay for fuel. Nothing changes for customers paying with credit/debit cards at the pump.

"The PumpStart program makes life easier for our cash customers, and tells the crooks you can't steal gas from QuikTrip," Thornbrugh said.

QuikTrip Corporation is a privately-owned gasoline/convenience store retailer with 435 stores in nine states. QuikTrip annually sells 300 million gallons of Top Tier rated gasoline in 70 Kansas City area stores.