Electronic payment and ordering will play a much bigger part in the convenience sector in the next five years, according to grocery industry body, IGD.

Its latest report, Global Convenience Retailing 2007, says more retailers will use cashless ’wave and pay’ cards and mobile phone-based electronic settlement systems.

It points to ExxonMobil’s use of RFID tagging in the US and Canada which lets customers pay for fuel automatically on a pre-selected card by attaching a tag to their key ring, along with US forecourt operator Wawa which allows shoppers to order customised sandwiches at the pump.