TNS today announced a new partnership with Z Energy —New Zealand’s leading fuel retailer — to enhance their retail customer experience through TNS Secure SD-WAN, which leverages Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN solution to combine industry-leading managed payment services with next-generation network security.

Because of the challenges impacting the financial durability of downstream fuel, savvy retailers are turning to new products and services that add value for customers, supported by fast, reliable connectivity and network infrastructure. With the installation of TNS Secure SD-WAN at more than 500 fuel sites across New Zealand, Z Energy gains the ability to deploy new customer-focused features and functionalities with efficient, secure payments capabilities.

“SD-WAN gives retailers a lower total cost of ownership while making management of their network less complex, and TNS’ solution is supported by cybersecurity protocols that work to prevent data breaches, PCI DSS-compliant security credentials, and our global payments experience as a managed service,” said John Tait, Global Managing Director of TNS’ Payments Market business. “These features give Z Energy a payments infrastructure and network connectivity layer fit for the 21st-century customer experience, paving the way for future growth and business transformation.”

Z Energy selected TNS following a competitive RFP process initiated after the fuel retailer’s previous network reached its end of life. Following the selection, TNS installed its Secure SD-WAN solution in a rolling implementation that concluded in November 2020 and saw all components functioned seamlessly across Z Energy’s multiple sites.

“During the RFP process, TNS not only demonstrated the ability to solve our network challenges, but also showed a sharp understanding of the fuel industry and our own business,” said Andy Stewart, Head of Site Systems. “Our technology decisions are driven by four key pillars — speed, safety, integration and sustainable cost leadership — and TNS’ Secure SD-WAN will allow us to reduce costs and add convenient digital touchpoints while prioritizing our customers’ health, safety and security.”

As a trusted partner to the payments industry, TNS offers a broad portfolio of secure commerce solutions that include parking reservations, unattended payments, POS services, ATM connectivity and managed processing. In 2020, TNS celebrates 30 years of being a worldwide provider to companies in mission critical industries. Many of the most prestigious financial institutions, POS ISOs, ATM deployers and transaction processors rely on TNS for secure and resilient infrastructure services, including managed connectivity. TNS’ secure infrastructure services are supported 24x7x365 from Network Operating Centers in the US, UK and Australia.