Transflo and Comdata have partnered to create an app-based fuel payment solution for the freight industry.
The new Transflo Wallet is powered by Transflo’s mobile app technology for the transportation sector and Comdata’s virtual card capabilities. It enables freight brokers to send digital fuel advances to carriers and drivers, the companies said in a Tuesday (April 18) press release.
“As we assessed long-standing issues in the industry, fuel payments emerged as the natural next step in extending our broker and carrier automation capabilities,” Transflo CEO Renee Krug said in the release. “Our fuel solution builds on our connected digital ecosystem to empower our customers to overcome these challenges.”
PYMNTS research has found that 55% of transportation companies see innovating accounts payable (AP) platforms as an important goal.
The benefits of streamlining and improving AP processes are readily apparent, as 61% of transportation companies with automated AP processes report being highly satisfied with those platforms, according to “Accounts Payable Automation: Transportation Companies Innovate to Drive Growth,” a PYMNTS and Routable collaboration.
In the case of fuel advances, freight brokers have traditionally provided them with checks, plastic fuel cards and other conventional payment methods. They have found that these are inefficient, costly and susceptible to fraud, according to the press release.
The new solution developed by Transflo and Comdata provides drivers with a secure and user-friendly app that streamlines fuel transactions, and offers brokers greater visibility and control, the release said.
“Comdata has a deep commitment to reducing friction for the transportation industry,” Eric Dowdell, president of Comdata’s North American Trucking division, said in the release. “We’re excited to partner with Transflo to deploy our cardless payment APIs [application programming interfaces] to bring brokers more transparency, control and a more simplified driver experience.”
The Transflo Wallet joins the company’s product lineup that help supply chain and trucking industry clients optimize operations to boost revenue flows and eliminate close to 2 billion pieces of paperwork annually, Transflo Chief Financial Officer Cameron Eastman told PYMNTS in an interview posted in December 2022.
“I see even a bigger opportunity for Transflo [to work with] carriers, with brokers, with factors, helping them create a more automated, scalable process,” Eastman said at the time.
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