There are many fuel card options available to increase efficiency and as fleet managers search for ways to save money and monitor company spending, these cards are growing more popular in the trucking industry.
As digital payment becomes more common among consumers, the trucking industry has followed suit, with payment leaders like EFS and WEX providing resources to fleet managers and truckers alike to assist with reporting, monitoring business expenses, and eliminating the need for manual receipt submissions or expense reports.
Efficiency and savings
Brandi De Marinis of Clermont, Florida says the WEX account saved her company thousands of dollars by allowing them to track information about each charge such as when and where they were made, who made the purchases, and how much was spent. No two fuel cards are created equal, but most of them, especially the WEX card, provide features that can improve efficiency and savings in many different areas:
- Save up to 15% on fuel management costs with a WEX fuel card.
- Control spending with the ability to set restrictions, require driver ID authorization, and add or deactivate cards.
- Utilize online services to add or delete drivers, set up purchase controls and alerts, or pay your bill.
- Eliminate paperwork and simplify reports with the ability to track purchases and view spending in both real-time and summarized reports.
- US-based customer service is available 24/7 should you need assistance.
Fleets and drivers can also utilize mobile payments, making the fleet card an even more efficient payment option. Fleet card companies are focusing on security and fraud prevention with these methods, as well as prioritizing several customer-driven industry trends.
Industry trends in fuel card usage
Infosys, a global leader in digital services, recently published a white paper with information on trends in the fuel card industry, which provided valuable insight into both current fuel card usage, and what we may expect in the future. It included in-depth information on many different aspects of fuel card usage:
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Online and mobile access
As online and mobile options become more user-friendly, card companies are utilizing mobile apps to assist with customer service, help customers locate service stations, and more.
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EMV migration
Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) have become the new standard for payment options in the U.S. card industry, with most card companies embracing EMV card types. These chip-based cards provide additional security and help control offline transactions.
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Loyalty programs
Loyalty programs are one of the main driving forces behind the fuel cards industry due to changing markets and competition making customer retention more difficult.
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Telematics
Service providers are embedding the telematics interface to help make fleet management more efficient.
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Verification
Security features such as Consumer device cardholder verification method (CDCVM) have been put in place to help evaluate whether the person presenting the card or payment device is authorized to use it, playing an important role in fraud prevention.
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Host card emulation
Issuers can utilize host card emulation (HCE) to add contactless and mobile payment options, making it even easier for drivers to use.
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Social media
Issuers are using social media for marketing to new customers, assisting with customer service, and gauging customer opinion. API-driven interfaces will allow companies to use social media for customer service, customer acquisition, and campaigning.
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Security
Biometric authentication and tokenization are popular security measures within the cards industry, with tokenization and encryption being increasingly adopted to prevent data breaches and increase data security. As mobile payments continue to become more popular, tokenization is expected to continue in popularity.
As card companies embrace and implement new technologies, it will be interesting to see the impact these innovations will have not only on fleets and drivers, but on the fuel and payment industries as well.
Video – Logistics