The evolving landscape of fleet payments
As digital payment solutions expand in the field of B2B fleet management, businesses can look forward to more choice and innovation to support the industry's security and growth.
2010 was a memorable year for South Africa as a country, playing host to the FIFA World Cup, it was also the year that consumers ditched their old magstripe cards for new Chip-and-PIN encrypted cards.
Since then, we’ve seen an explosion of new consumer payment methods – tap to pay, scan to pay, pay with mobile apps or your Apple Watch, the introduction of biometrics and multi-factor authentication, and the list continues.
Despite major advances in the consumer space over the past 14 years, these payment innovations have been slow to transition to fleet payments – with South Africa lagging behind Europe and North America and other BRICS nations including India and Russia, but that’s beginning to change.
Harmonising digital fleet payments
In an effort to mitigate fraud and modernise payments in the fleet space, the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA) has embarked on a collaborative industry initiative to harmonise digital fleet payments.
PASA’s EMV Fleet Migration project compels card issuers to replace outdated magnetic stripe cards with encrypted chip-and-PIN cards as the industry standard for fleet-related payments by 2026.
“Encrypted chip and PIN authentication technologies are undoubtedly superior to magstripe cards as a means of payment for fleet expenses, says Justin Thomas Head of Fleet Management at Standard Bank.
“Magstripe cards are restricted to fuel, maintenance, repairs, and toll payments. They’re highly vulnerable to fraud through skimming and cloning, difficult to reconcile and not accepted cross-border. These are factors that customers needn’t be troubled with today,” Thomas explains.
Pioneering digital fleet payments
While other South African banks have yet to adopt chip-and-PIN tech in the fleet payment space, Standard Bank has remained the frontrunner for years, issuing its first Visa Fleet Card in 2021.
“PASA estimates that fraudulent transactions account for 5-12% of total fuel spend,” says Thomas. “Where major players were satisfied with sticking to the status quo, this rising threat of fraud and the need for greater security were catalysts for our early adoption of a chip-and-PIN card for fleet payments – and it’s this stance that’s contributed to Standard Bank earning its reputation as Africa’s largest fleet manager, with the lowest instances of fraud of any fleet manager on the continent.”
Partnering for growth
“We’re committed to partnering with our clients for growth. As a digital-first, customer-centric organisation, we’re invested in solving customer pain points and creating value for particular industries with unique challenges, Thomas adds.
“We do this by deploying our product and sector expertise, leveraging technology and adapting existing mechanisms to develop new solutions to solve real-world problems,” he says.
“For us, pioneering South Africa’s first chip-and-PIN Fleet Card is about far more than creating a new means of payment. It’s about equipping fleet managers with the controls and data they need to automate manual tasks and reduce instances of fraud so they can redirect attention from day-to-day management to focus on optimising their fleet because that’s where growth can happen.”
Managing vehicle fleets without digital payments poses significant challenges to fleet managers.
“Many companies lack crucial management components such as controls, traceability, and validation, Thomas explains. “This absence of technology can result in fuel theft, leading to vehicle breakdowns, delayed deliveries, and customer dissatisfaction. Our next-generation Visa Fleet Card solves these challenges and more.”
Introducing our latest chip and pin Visa Fleet Card
Standard Banks’s next-generation Visa Fleet Cards are:
- Issued as vehicle-specific cards to each dedicated driver for easy reconciliation and accurate statistics on running costs for a holistic view of vehicle expenses
- Enabled by robust chip encryption and PIN authorisation, protecting them from cloning, counterfeiting and skimming risks
- Able to support odometer reading capture on POS devices, Mobile App and USSD
- Used to pay for a variety of fleet-related expenses across numerous categories including maintenance, repairs, tyres, towing, and tolls
- Linked to our market-first Fleet360 online platform for data analytics, exception reporting and real-time transaction tracking
- Accepted cross-border and handle currency conversions, meaning drivers no longer need to carry cash or credit cards for fleet-related transactions outside of South Africa
- Lighter on transaction and admin fees with reductions of up to 70%.
Additional fleet payment innovations
Beyond the chip-and-PIN technology, Standard Bank has also brought other innovative fleet payment methods to market:
- For transporters sending their vehicles cross-border to Namibia, tamper-proof BlueFuel windscreen tags are individually issued to vehicles, providing a safe and easy way to pay for fuel. Drivers punch in their PIN code to enable transactions and fleet controllers can view and approve fuel transactions online in real-time.
- The fuelling of bowsers, tankers or trailers also poses the risk of fraud without the correct risk mitigation elements. As a solution, a vehicle-specific metallised tag is stamped directly onto bowsers, trailers and tankers as a payment mechanism for easier tracking and reconciliation of fuel expenditure.
Visit www.standardbank.co.za/fleet for more details on our fleet management solutions or email [email protected]