LAS VEGAS - Desperate to save precious time refueling with gasoline? But at least Amazon is working on a way to make paying at all Exxon and Mobil gas stations less painful And this voice-activated time-saver will be ready later this year

Today (January 6), Amazon announced at CES 2020 that soon at ExxonMobil's 11,500 US gas stations, customers will be able to simply say "Alexa, pay for gas" while fueling up The system is linked to an Amazon Pay account, so as long as you have a means of accessing Alexa, such as a car with a built-in digital assistant, third-party accessories, or a cell phone, you can begin paying with just your voice

Here's how it works: When you pull up to the pump, say "Alexa, pay for gas," followed by the number of the pump you want to use Alexa will then ping your location and confirm that you are at the appropriate station After confirmation, Alexa activates the pump Amazon has partnered with a payment technology specialist called Fiserv to handle the transaction and pump activation securely using a token generation system

Once refueling is complete, you no longer need to lift a finger A video explains this process in detail

In theory, being able to pay with Alexa commands would save perhaps a minute of aggravating refueling time and eliminate the need to hunt around for a credit card or use the famously frustrating gas station terminals However, the need to go back and forth through the procedure could hinder convenience Hopefully the system will be streamlined in the future

Alexa's newly discovered ability to pay for gasoline isn't the only Amazon car-centric announcement at this year's CES The company announced that it will continue to roll out its $49 Echo Auto accessory worldwide It will first roll out in India on January 15 and in other regions, including Europe, in February Alexa's factory and automotive integration will expand to include models from Lamborghini and electric truck maker Rivian, and Amazon will also bring Fire TV to in-car entertainment systems from Fiat Chrysler and BMW vehicles

Dubbed Fire TV for Auto, the system will allow in-car access to the same content as at home, including Netflix, Prime Video, and even Fire TV Recast shows and movies stored in the cloud

No release date has been set for these new services and Alexa features yet, but Amazon says we can expect them all to be available this year

Be sure to check out our CES 2020 hub for the latest news and hands-on impressions from Las Vegas