MANY motorists will have pulled up at the petrol station in the last few years and been tempted to use their bank card to pay at the pump for fuel, rather than queue at the kiosk.

Such electronic payment systems are becoming far more common and convenient since the advent of chip and pin.

These days, shoppers can use self-service checkouts at supermarkets, which in the future could remove the need for staff.

Movie-goers can visit the cinema, select which film they want to watch and pay for their tickets at a machine by card without having to queue at the box office.

It seems the possibilities for using electronic payment methods and removing the need to pay in person by cash are endless. For the first time, the amount spent on cards in the UK could outstrip the amount of cash spent, a recent report has suggested.

And it's for these reasons that a Blackburn company is embracing the new technology and diversifying its products in a bid to grab a piece of the market.

Ever since the £3.5 million management buy-in led by Simon Hollingsworth, Blackburn's VBi Limited has seen its order value surge by around 50 per cent to £10 million.

There are two distinct sides to VBi, which employs around 120 people at its base in Harwood Street, Little Harwood.

Since the 1980s, VBi retail Solutions has been a leading European supplier of systems and services to forecourts and convenience stores, developing retail products for petrol station forecourts throughout the UK, including those of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Esso and Texaco.

The buy-in coincided with its acquisition of Meggitt Petroleum Systems from Meggitt PLC, which gave it a larger share of the 'pay at the pump' market.

Meanwhile, Triscan Fuelling Solutions offers fuel dispensers and fuel management systems used by major oil companies, emergency services, local authorities and fleet operators throughout the UK and Europe.

At this year's International Forecourt and Fuel Equipment Exhibition at the NEC, the company launched what is hoped to be its unique next-generation product - the Illumina Outdoor Payment Terminal.

The touch-screen, chip and pin-enabled terminal allows customers to pay for fuel and other products out on the forecourt, and can also play video media including advertising.

The company is already in talks with a number of large retailers, including Sainsbury's, for the system.

The Illumina, and products like it, could eventually remove the need for the forecourt kiosk, just like over the last decade cash machines have taken away a lot of our dependence on the cashier. The technology will be especially useful for rural petrol stations, where the cost of placing staff is often considerably higher.

It's the company's expertise in these retail systems that perhaps holds the key to its future.

The VBi Development Department continually works to develop products which address future trends in forecourt and convenience retailing.

"We don't want to abandon fuel, but we want to go into the retail environment and we want to operate across as diverse a range of markets as possible," said Simon.

"The possibilities are endless. You only have to look at self-service checkouts or the facilities for paying for cinema tickets by card and these are areas we are looking at moving into.

"I think there will be a real move towards people paying for fuel at the pump in the near future because so many people have cars these days that companies want to get customers off the forecourt and the next one on. People do not want to queue for a service if they can be in and out."

VBi's recent success means expansion and more jobs for the area.

They have been helped by Blackburn with Darwen Council regeneration head Graham Burgess. Simon added: "We have bases in Edinburgh, Coventry and Surrey, but have selected the North West as the ideal location for our business, and our success here has allowed us to create 20 new jobs across three departments.

"Our base in Blackburn was established 16 years ago, and the Triscan product range has always had a manufacturing presence in the North West. The quality of the workforce here is not to be underestimated.

"Our success will also mean a 30 per cent increase in staff numbers on our help desk team, and I am confident we will find the right people from the immediate surrounding area.

"The North West offers an excellent transport infrastructure, both regionally and internationally, in terms of rail, air and road. The thriving local business community provides a pool of companies with relevant products and services while local skills and training support are close at hand."