Auxiliary Forecourt Point of Sale
Auxiliary Forecourt POS lets Verifone Commander authorize fuel sales for supported third-party forecourt payment terminals.
Revision History
04/13/2016
Initial Documentation Release
08/16/2016
Added setup note and troubleshooting tip regarding Fueling Position Pre-Paid Only flag - Not Checked.
Added setup note and troubleshooting tip regarding PIC devices require null-modem cable for communications.
09/06/2016
Updated format.
Using this Feature Reference
This Feature Reference provides detailed information on how to configure communications and use the Auxiliary Forecourt Point of Sale feature on Verifone Commander.
The Feature Reference contains the following subsections:
Overview - This section contains a brief description, requirements and the supported hardware configurations for the Auxiliary Forecourt POS.
Configuring - This section contains information on how to configure Auxiliary Forecourt POS on the Site Controller.
Using - This section describes usage of Auxiliary Forecourt POS.
Reporting - This section contains reporting information available for the Auxiliary Forecourt POS on the Site Controller.
Troubleshooting - This section provides basic troubleshooting steps.
Overview
The Auxiliary Forecourt Point of Sale function offers fuel services from Verifone Commander for 3rd-party alternate payment terminals.
This feature document describes Verifone’s implementation of Auxiliary Forecourt POS options within Verifone Commander. It serves as an Overview and a Configuration, Usage and Reporting Guide for the Auxiliary Forecourt Payment Systems feature.
Supported Verifone Solutions
Verifone Commander and Verifone C18 Point of Sale
Auxiliary Forecourt Point of Sale implementation requires Verifone Commander with Base 40+ production software.
Supported 3rd-Party Devices
OPW’s PetroVend
FMI’s Payment Island Cashier (PIC) - requires a crossover or null modem cable
Wetstock
Supported Communication Protocols
PAM protocol over RS-232 connections for PIC and Wetstock devices.
PetroNet protocol over RS-485 connections for PetroVend devices.
All communications to the fueling islands are transmitted over serial connections.
Related topics
Unattended Fueling — Configure unattended forecourt behavior for sites that run fueling while the store is closed.
Car Wash Pay Point — Another third-party forecourt payment integration with similar device setup, reporting, and reconciliation patterns.
Proprietary FEP Interface — See a related payment integration pattern for proprietary cards at the POS and DCR.
Configuring
Auxiliary Forecourt POS configuration to implement functionality is similar for all supported devices, regardless of the hardware manufacturer.
All system configuration is done through the Commander Configuration Client.
Select Managed Modules
Select Tools >> Managed Modules.
Select the module
Select Auxiliary Forecourt from the Select Module drop-down menu.
Verifone Commander offers four channels, with each channel supporting up to four devices over four different serial ports.
The following table provides nominal serial configurations settings:
AUXPOS & Wetstock
PetroVend
Baud Rate
4800
9600
Stop Bits
1
1
Data Bits
7
7
Parity Bits
odd
even
Some older PetroVend devices use a baud rate of 1200 bps. The servicer should obtain and confirm correct serial device configuration settings from the Auxiliary POS device installer.
Advanced Settings
Select the Auxiliary Forecourt Channel to configure and click [Advanced Settings]. Click the Enable checkbox to activate the Auxiliary Forecourt Channel.
Enable the channel
Click the Enable checkbox to activate the Auxiliary Forecourt Channel.
Device Type
Select the Device Type:
AUXPOS: for devices using PAM protocol, does not include Pump Status Values. (Choose AUXPOS for FMI PIC devices.)
PetroVend: for proprietary PetroNet Protocol.
Wet Stock: for devices using PAM protocol, includes Pump Status Values.
Serial Port Name
Select the Serial Port Name.
Verifone Commander provides 16 available port connections, and is capable of being expanded as needed.
Commander Site Controller serial ports on rear panel
Set the serial communication parameters
Select the appropriate Baud Rate.
Select the number of Stop Bits.
Select the number of Data Bits.
Select the Parity Bit setting.
Configure Fueling Positions
Click Fueling Positions [Advanced Settings].
Click to select the Fueling Positions to be included.
All fueling positions to be included for Auxiliary Forecourt payment access must be selected.
Review all fueling positions to be included for Auxiliary Forecourt access. Verify Prepay Only setting is NOT selected. Verify Prepay Only is unchecked for all Fueling Positions to be included for Auxiliary Forecourt access.
Save
Click Save.
Configure Emulated PCTs
Click Emulated PCTs [Advanced Settings].
Installers must coordinate with the Forecourt POS Provider, and match PCT configurations that exist on the PetroVend Fuel Pump Interface.
Select the Emulated PCTs from the four available options: PCT 1 through PCT 4.
Save the configuration
Click [Save] in the Channel PCTs selection window.
Click [Save] in the Channel Configuration window.
Using
The Auxiliary Forecourt POS function offers fuel services from Verifone Commander for 3rd-party alternate payment terminals.
A customer initiates a fuel transaction from an alternate payment terminal, which communicates the request to the Verifone POS System. The POS System responds by turning on fuel dispensing. At the end of the sale, the POS System returns the sale data to the payment terminal system, where payment processing is handled for the transaction.
The Verifone POS System is only responsible for enabling and allowing the fuel sale to take place.
The cashier experience inside the store is similar to what is seen if a customer had initiated a pre-paid fueling transaction, or a DCR initiated fueling transaction.
Data Flow Exceptions
PAM Protocol
Differences exist for the PAM protocol in terms of how the Transaction Status is handled between Auxiliary POS and Wetstock devices.
AuxPOS (PIC) Devices
Auxiliary Payment Terminals using the PAM protocol can poll fueling dispensers and request the dispenser’s status. At the end of a sale, the payment device would typically try to clear the sale.
With Auxiliary Forecourt POS implementation, tracking the dispenser status and the subsequent clearing of the sale handled by the Verifone POS System.
In order to avoid a conflict where multiple devices are attempting to process the sale, the Verifone POS System withholds the actual dispenser status from 3rd-party devices, if the transaction was not initiated by those devices.
For any transaction, the reported ending status is broadcast as CLOSED to all devices that did initiate the transaction. For the initiating device, the ending status is returned as END OF TRANSACTION (EOT), allowing that device to claim the sale, clear the sale, and complete the transaction.
Wetstock Devices
Wetstock devices also poll fueling dispensers and request the dispenser’s status, which is required on those devices for inventory tracking purposes.
As Wetstock devices are not attempting to process sale transactions, and these devices are not attempting to claim and clear a sale, there is no conflict with providing the actual transaction status.
PetroNet Protocol
PetroNet Components
Standard PetroNet components consists of the following:
Terminal(s) - requires one payment terminal per island; supports multiple fuel dispensers.
Controller - one per site, equivalent to Verifone Payment Controller.
Fuel Pump Interface - roughly equivalent to Verifone Smart Fuel Controller (SFC), provides the PetroVend system with an interface to the fuel dispensers.
Fuel Pump Interface
The PetroVend Fuel Pump Interface:
supports both mechanical and electronic dispensers
supports logical groupings of pumps, by type, called Pump Control Terminal(s) (PCTs). Each PCT can include up to eight pumps.
In the Auxiliary Forecourt POS implementation, the PetroVend Fuel Pump Interface is replaced by the Verifone POS System.
Installers must understand how the PetroVend Fuel Pump Interface is configured, and the logical pump assignments per PCT. The Verifone POS System configuration must match the PetroVend PCT configuration.
Controller
The PetroVend Controller regularly polls the fuel dispenser(s) for a system aware reply, but does not query for availability. The PetroVend system has no internal concept of pump reservation, and always proceeds as if the pump is always ready. The only command then sent to the pumps is to turn on the pump, and the submitted command either succeeds or fails based on the fueling position’s readiness status.
Time-Outs
PetroVend caters to unattended fueling sites, and offers useful timeout features specific for those unattended sites.
Handle-Up Timeout
Both the Verifone and PetroVend systems have internal Handle-Up Timeout values.
The Verifone and PetroVend configured values are compared, and the smaller of the two time values is accepted as the Handle-Up Timeout value.
If after a pre-approval, the pump handle is not raised within the Handle-Up Timeout range, the timeout status is returned from the Verifone POS System to the PetroVend controller and the pending transaction is cancelled.
Total Transaction Timer Timeout
To prevent a fuel dispenser from running for an extended period of time at an unattended site, a Total Transaction Timer exists as a configurable value.
The timer starts when the handle is raised and fueling begins. Fueling will automatically stop when the Total Transaction Timer value is reached.
To prevent a cashier from overriding the set Total Transaction Timer value, when the Total Transaction Timer value is reached, re-approving the pump from the POS inside the store has been blocked.
The only way to reset the pump after the Total Transaction Timer value has been reached is to return the pump handle to the down position.
Reporting
Fuel sales initiated from the Auxiliary Forecourt POS are included in the overall Fuel Totals Report.
Reconciliation can be done now by comparing the AUX POS device reports with the Verifone POS System reports. For example, PIC has its own reporting capability which could be compared to Verifone POS System reports. The delta between the fuel totals on the two reports would represent fuel sold through the Verifone POS components.
Detail reports specific to Auxiliary Forecourt POS only fuel sales are planned for future enhancements.
Troubleshooting
Communications
If the Auxiliary Forecourt POS device is not communicating as expected, the following basic troubleshooting steps are provided:
Check the serial port LEDs on the front panel of Verifone Commander.
Confirm the red and green LEDs, corresponding to the port(s) configured for the Auxiliary POS, are flashing to indicate a good communication link.
For PetroVend, as an RS-485 interface is used, check the red and green LEDs on the appropriate 485 board in the FCI. These LEDs should also be flashing.
For FMI PIC devices, a null modem cable is required. A straight through serial cable along with a Verifone RJ-45/DB9(F/F) null modem adapter (PN: 13638-02) may also be used.
If the LEDs are not flashing:
Check the cables and connections to the Auxiliary POS device to ensure all are properly attached.
Verify that the Auxiliary POS device is powered on.
If the device is still not communicating correctly, reset the communication link to the Auxiliary POS device through Verifone Configuration Client. Reset the device by disabling and re-enabling the problematic Auxiliary POS channels via managed modules.
Navigate to managed modules
Navigate to Tools >> Managed Modules.
Select the module
Select module: Auxiliary Forecourt.
Open the channel settings
Select the Auxiliary Forecourt channel and click [Advanced Settings].
Disable the channel
Click to deselect the Enable checkbox.
Save
Click [Save].
Re-enable the channel
Select the Auxiliary Forecourt channel and click [Advanced Settings].
Click to re-select the Enable checkbox.
Save again
Click [Save].
All Transactions Cancelled
If the Auxiliary Forecourt POS device is communicating, but all transactions are being cancelled during the pump selection and payment process, review the Fueling Position Settings and verify Prepay Only is not selected.
Verify Prepay Only is unchecked for all Fueling Positions to be included for Auxiliary Forecourt access.
Glossary of Terms
Term
Description
BPS
Bit(s) Per Second. Associated with serial communication baud rates.
EOT
End Of Transaction.
EPS
Electronic Payment Server.
FCC
Forecourt Controller.
FCI
Forecourt Controller Interface.
FMi
Flexible Manufacturing Innovations. LLC. Verifone AUXPOS solutions partner, manufacturer of Payment Island Cashier (PIC) hardware.
PCT
Pump Control Terminal.
PIC
Payment Island Cashier.
POS
Point of Sale terminal.
POS System
Includes the POS (Point of Sale) terminal(s), site controller and the electronic payment system (EPS).
SFC
Smart Fuel Controller.
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