The amalgamation of Transflo’s mobile app technology for the transportation sector and Comdata’s virtual card capabilities created a new fuel payment solution addressing long-standing issues in the freight industry
Image: motionarray.com
Supply chain solutions provider Transflo has partnered with Comdata, a payment processor and issuer of fleet fuel cards, corporate spend cards, paperless payroll cards, virtual payments, and trucking permits, to create an app-based fuel payment solution for the freight industry.
Fuel expenses top the rating of operating costs for trucking companies, exceeding even drivers’ pay.
Fuel advance is a preliminary payment for a load that covers fuel costs required for the scheduled cargo delivery. The requests for fuel advance payments have become even more common in the trucking industry with the recent rise in fuel prices. Different fuel advance programs enable the freight industry players to take on more loads and grow their companies.
The solution addresses the issues pertinent to legacy methods of paying fuel advances. Traditionally, freight brokers have provided fuel advances with checks, plastic fuel cards and other conventional methods, being inefficient, costly and susceptible to fraud.
The new solution offers to send digital fuel advances to carriers and drivers, instead. These point-and-tap payment tools will be accepted at truck stops nationwide. Being embedded in Transflo’s vast connected digital ecosystem, the payment offering empowers ecosystem participants to overcome existing challenges.
While streamlining fuel transactions, the Transflo Wallet app also offers brokers greater visibility and control over their payment transfers, as well as a simplified driver experience.
The company estimates that the new solution will be able to save brokers about $1.5 million annually, calculations being based on 10,000 fuel advances per month.
Transportation sectors across the globe are suffering from legacy payment and tracking technologies, seeking innovative ways to handle the workflows. For instance, the use of Bitcoin in the transport sector of Tunisia contributed to price reductions and increased transaction quickness and accuracy.
However, not all innovations prove efficient. Thus, late last year, IBM and Maersk shut down the blockchain logistic platform TradeLens, which faced solid competition from major shipping lines and terminal operators.
