FLEETCOR Buys AFEX To Boost Cross-Border Payments

FLEETCOR, which works in global business payments, announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire cross-border payment firm Associated Foreign Exchange (AFEX) to help boost its own payments network, a press release says.

AFEX works to implement cross-border solutions to aid small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), helping them to grow internationally, the release says. The company normally focuses on providing international accounts to businesses underserved by banks. AFEX provides services in over 100 currencies and has over 35,000 customers, according to the press release.

Ron Clarke, Chairman and CEO of FLEETCOR, praised AFEX as “a terrific business, with revenues growing double digits over the last 3 years.”

Clarke said the acquisition would do well for FLEETCOR by adding clients in Europe and the Asia Pacific region.

Likewise, Jan Vlietstra, CEO of AFEX, said FLEETCOR acquiring the company was a boost because of FLEETCOR’s status on the S&P 500 and broad corporate profile would help AFEX to reach new heights and “help us better serve clients in creating unique solutions for their FX needs,” according to Vlietstra, the release says.

The transaction should close in the first quarter of 2021 after regulatory approvals and other conditions are met, according to the release.

FLEETCOR also recently debuted the Fuelman Clean Advantage Fleet Card, a new effort to help fleets become environmentally friendly, PYMNTS wrote. The card offers carbon offsetting for every gallon bought, with FLEETCOR offsetting each emission with investments to “independently certified” carbon projects intended to balance out the use of fuel.

The card also offers other perks, including digital account management, tailored card controls and more, with users having access to annual reports on carbon emissions and other information on sustainability.

Comdata, a FLEETCOR company, debuted its new QuickPay service allowing much faster payments for fleets. The service is provided by Metabank division Crestmark and purports to resolve payments that used to take a month in just 24 hours.