NEW YORK – A new company promises to save drivers and gas station owners money by cutting credit cards out of the payment process, reports Business Week.

National Payment Card is a two-year-old company that lets drivers enter their driver’s license number and bank account information online. They can pay for gas by swiping their driver’s license, which is linked directly to their bank accounts via the card’s magnetic strip, and entering a personal identification number.

While a $36 traditional credit card purchase could cost a gas station around 86 cents, NPC charges a flat 15-cent fee for each transaction it processes. That means retailers using NPC’s system can afford to pass along an instant discount to customers – in essence creating a self-funded loyalty program – while still coming out ahead.

Because NPC processes the payment as an e-check with the Automated Clearing House, participating retailers bypass credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard and their processing fees. NACS told Business Week that last year stores’ credit card fees surged 22 percent to $6.6 billion, making it the industry’s second-largest expense – and exceeding the industry’s overall profits for the first time ever.

NPC introduced the patent-pending technology at a handful of gas stations in Texas this January. The company has signed contracts to roll out the system to five regional convenience store chains starting in June. Although only 24 states currently issue licenses with magnetic stripes, NPC also can add e-payment functionality to a chain’s existing loyalty cards.

One of the first contracts NPC signed was with Flash Foods, based in Waycross, Georgia. By 2010, NPC Chief Executive Officer Joe Randazza expects the system will be in place at more than 36,000 locations.

Guy Oliver of MTG Management, which manages three of the Texas gas stations where the NPC system is being piloted, said he’s pleased to have some control over his spiraling credit card processing costs. “With Visa and Mastercard, there doesn’t seem to be any relief in sight,” he said to Business Week. “We pay more in interchange fees than we do for freight to get the gas to the stations.”