Beginning next year, Shell stations in Germany will introduce contactless and mobile payments with Visa at all of its 2,200 gas stations. Purchases up to €25 ($35) can be made with just a tap on the terminal. Larger purchases will require a tap and PIN to complete the transactions.

"Shell stations not only offer high quality fuel, but also products for daily use. In the near future, our customers will be able to pay with Visa contactless cards in a convenient, fast and easy way when buying petrol as well as coffee, drinks, snacks or magazines. Thereby, queues at the counter will be shorter and our service quality will further increase," said Jörg Wienke, head of Shell's retail business in Germany.

Ottmar Bloching, Visa Europe's GM in Germany, called the deployment a huge step forward for the acceptance of contactless and mobile payments with Visa in Germany.

And no worries about cellphone use causing the pumps to explode; the payment terminals are being installed inside the Shell stations.

Read more about contactless/NFC.