TORONTO — A new digital payment system from Element Fleet Management is designed to help trucking fleets save money on diesel, reduce unauthorized purchases and eliminate the need for traditional fuel cards.
Element Fleet Management’s Element Pay platform links fuel purchases directly to vehicles, giving fleet managers greater control over where and how drivers purchase fuel. The system allows managers to establish spending limits, monitor transactions in real time and steer drivers toward lower-priced fueling locations.
Rather than simply identifying questionable purchases after they occur, Element Pay is designed to help prevent unauthorized transactions before they are approved.
Linking fuel purchases to vehicles
Element Pay uses vehicle verification technology to help determine whether a fuel purchase meets a fleet’s established requirements. Drivers can initiate purchases through the Element Pay mobile app, using either direct pay or tap to pay at supported fueling locations.
With direct pay, the vehicle must be authenticated before the transaction can be authorized. Drivers cannot independently authorize a direct-pay purchase without the associated vehicle being verified.
Tap to pay provides an additional digital payment option at locations where direct pay is unavailable.
Fleet managers can establish purchasing rules based on factors such as fueling location, spending limits and transaction activity. The system can also flag suspicious transactions and block purchases that fail applicable authorization requirements.
According to Element, connected vehicle data can provide additional verification, but fleets are not required to have telematics systems to use the payment platform.
Element Pay currently supports more than 85,000 fueling locations across the United States, the company reports.
Controlling fuel costs and administrative work
In addition to addressing potential fraud, the system is designed to help fleets reduce legitimate but unnecessary fuel spending.
Element says drivers sometimes select more expensive fueling locations even when lower-priced alternatives are available nearby. The platform can guide drivers toward less expensive locations and allow managers to restrict purchases at higher-priced stations.
The company also says eliminating physical fuel cards can reduce administrative work associated with lost or damaged cards, forgotten PINs and card distribution.
New drivers can be added to the system digitally without waiting for physical cards to arrive. Electronic receipts and automatic transaction reconciliation are also intended to reduce paperwork and simplify fuel expense tracking.
Crown Capital, a management company for roofing-related businesses, reported overall savings of 15% after adopting Element Pay, according to the company. Crown Capital also identified $150,000 in potentially fraudulent fuel spending over a 90-day period and reduced the time its employees spent resolving fuel payment issues by 25%.
Those results reflect one customer’s experience and do not necessarily represent the savings other fleets can expect.
“Every fuel purchase is an opportunity to save money, but too often fleets don’t have the tools to act before that money is spent,” said Oliver Hahn, head of Element Mobility. “Element Pay changes that, making it easier for clients to control costs, prevent unnecessary spending, and see the results in their bottom line.”
Element says the platform could eventually support additional vehicle-related payments, including maintenance, tolls, violations and electric vehicle charging.
For trucking fleets, the system offers another option for managing fuel purchases at a time when controlling operating expenses remains a priority.
Linda Garner-Bunch has been with The Trucker since 2020, picking up the reins as managing editor in 2022. Linda has nearly 40 years of experience in the publishing industry, covering topics from the trucking and automotive industry to employment, real estate, home decor, crafts, cooking, weddings, high school sports — you name it, she’s written about it. She is also an experienced photographer, designer and copy editor who has a heartfelt love for the trucking industry, from the driver’s seat to the C-suite.
