January 2017 Industry News from Patriot Capital

Pump EMV Liability Postponed - What Should You Do?

There was a collective sigh of relief on December 1, when VISA and MasterCard announced a delay in the forecourt gas pump liability date, moving it from 2017 to 2020. Most likely, there was also a smile in some boardrooms, as retailers who have already invested see an opportunity.
 
Fuel retailers need to decide if this means they should wait, or upgrade as they had planned in 2017. The decision extends beyond fraud liability, and includes factors such as customer preference, the cost of waiting, and potential earlier liability for some sites.

It's likely that more than 50 percent of pumps will be accepting EMV in the next two years. Should your site be one of them, or should you wait until 2020?

The article EMV at the Pump: Should You Wait Until 2020?  provides a discussion of the pros and cons of waiting. To learn more about EMV, please visit Patriot Capital's EMV resource center.

Fed Increases Interest Rates, Potential For Three More Increases In 2017

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted unanimously at its December meeting to increase the interest rate by a quarter of one percentage point. The committee also announced it plans to increase the interest rate three times in 2017.
"Over the past year, 2.25 million new jobs have been created, unemployment has fallen further, and inflation has moved closer to our longer-term goal of 2 percent, " FOMC Chairperson Janet Yellen told reporters following the committee's decision. "We expect the economy will continue to perform well, with the job market strengthening further and inflation rising to 2 percent over the next couple of years."

The Fed's plans to further increase interest rates three times in 2017 makes it important to lock in financing rates now to avoid rate increases  Unlike lines of credit – many of which have floating interest rates – equipment financing enables borrowers to lock in a fixed interest rate for the term of their agreement. This can provide substantial savings on a 60-month agreement.

Read analysis of the expected effects of the interest rate hike in this article in the Washington Post.
 
To learn more about the financing options available for fueling and C-store equipment, get a quick quote, or find an advisor near you, visit the Patriot Capital website or call (877) 527-0383.

Uber To Have Minor Effect On Fuel Demand

The increasing adoption of ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft has resulted in more people traveling in fewer vehicles, but surprisingly, this has had little to no effect on fuel demand, according to a Fuels Institute report. The study details the impact of shared-travel and ride-sourcing services like Uber, Lyft, Zipcar and Car2Go on the fuel and [Image removed by sender. Uber, Lyft Ride-Sharing] transportation industry, as well as data on the rates of adoption of these services and demographics of users. 

– Fuel is less than 2 percent of an average household's budget, with other costs of car ownership – insurance, registration, purchasing and depreciation – found to be more important considerations in Americans' decision to use ride-sharing services.

– Use is highest in urban areas and users have lower ages and fewer vehicles per household than the U.S. average. They also have higher-than-average education levels and household incomes.

– Difficulty in finding insurance coverage has proven one of the biggest challenges to the growth of shared travel.

To download the Fuels Institute report, click here.

Wondering how easy it is to obtain equipment financing? This infographic shows the 6 steps. Click here to view.

Panasonic Introduces Self-Scanning And Self-Bagging Machine To Address Labor Shortage

Panasonic is hoping to automate the convenience-store industry with a new robotic invention that rings up and bags purchases on its own. The new device uses a specially designed shopping basket that scans and bag a basket full of products without human interaction.

The new device was rolled out in a limited number of Lawson Co.'s C-stores in Japan, with additional locations to be added. The device is expected to be available in the U.S. within the next two years. Industry experts report that the plan is not to eliminate staff, but rather to allow C-stores to make the best use of a limited labor force.

Please click here to see a video of the machine in action.