PURCHASE, N.Y. & HOUSTON — MasterCard recently announced a global partnership with mobile commerce provider P97 to make it easier for consumers to find, buy and save on gasoline and convenience-store purchases through their mobile phones.

Last year, in the United States alone, consumers pumped more than 135 billion gallons of gasoline, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse. As trips to the pump continue to increase, along with competitive pricing strategies, fuel companies and store operators are increasingly looking for ways to differentiate their services and build loyalty among their customers.

The MasterCard fuel solution will leverage a wide range of MasterCard’s marketing and technical assets, and it will use P97’s PetroZone mobile commerce platform to integrate to existing gas station infrastructure. The new solution will enable fuel companies to develop innovative mobile apps for consumers to search for and navigate to the nearest or preferred gas station, make fast and simple mobile payments at the pump and convenience store and receive personalized offers for in-store purchases.

“We know that when a consumer pulls up to the pump, they are not thinking about making a payment. They just want to get what they need and go as fast as possible,” said Felix Marx, executive vice president of mobile transaction solutions at MasterCard, Purchase, N.Y. “This is one way that we’re helping our customers create safer and richer experiences to deliver exactly that.”

“This is an exciting new chapter for P97 with the combination of our PetroZone mobile commerce platform and the MasterCard Digital Enablement Service to deliver more secure mobile payments,” said Donald Frieden, president and CEO of P97. “With the addition of other MasterCard services, such as MasterPass, we believe this solution will deliver the best possible mobile experience for the retail fuels market and their consumers.”

In 2014, MasterCard integrated Apple Pay for contactless payments major stores, restaurants, transit providers, gas station and convenience stores and all Apple Store locations.

Houston-based P97 Networks provides secure cloud-based mobile commerce and digital marketing solutions for the convenience retail and fuels marketing industry under the brand name PetroZone. P97’s mCommerce solutions enhance the ability of convenience-store operators, marketers and oil companies to attract and retain customers by providing technology that securely connects millions of individual mobile phones and connected cars with identity and geo-location based software technology to create truly unique connected-consumer experiences. P97’s software personalizes the “find-buy-save” experience for every mobile consumer.