Z Energy trials NZ’s first virtual fuel tank

Z Energy has created Sharetank, a virtual fuel tank, and is trialling it through Z App.

Z says Sharetank was ‘co-created’ with customers and frontline staff and will evolve it based on customer feedback from the trial.

Scott K Bishop, chief innovation officer at Z, says before this, Kiwis have largely had to accept the current price of fuel and were limited to when they could buy it by the room in their tank.

“We know customers get frustrated when they fill up and the next day their local service station’s fuel price drops because of changes in the exchange rate, costs or local competition,” says Bishop.

“Sharetank lets customers choose to buy fuel when the price is right for them. It’s great for budgeting.”

Z Energy

How Sharetank works

He explains that if the pump price goes up after they’ve bought Sharetank litres, customers save as they’ve already locked in cheaper litres.

If it goes down, customers will be alerted when they go to fill up and can choose to save their Sharetank litres for another day.

People can use Sharetank to pre-purchase Z fuel, rather than waiting for their tank to be empty.

They can then use their virtual Sharetank litres later, to fill up at any Z service station.

Jane Anthony, chief customer officer at Z, says using a virtual tank also saves time for people who drive across town to get a better price.

“Customers’ time is precious so when they pre-buy through Sharetank they’ll automatically get the lowest Z pump price within 30 kilometres of their location and won’t need to travel to get it. They can buy from the couch, work, the passenger seat or wherever suits them.”

Customers can top-up their tank with up to 1,000 litres of each of their chosen fuel types.

Antony says customers can store it virtually until it’s needed, and can share access to their tank with up to five friends, wh?nau, people in the community or employees.

Z Energy