UK Fleet Association Champions Mobile Payments

The U.K.’s Association of Car Fleet Operators (ACFO) is championing adoption of mobile payments technologies in the corporate sector to government officials.

Reports in FleetNews said Monday (Jan. 15) that the ACFO has submitted comments to the House of Commons Transport Committee, which is exploring Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) and how it could impact corporates with fleet operations.

The ACFO is championing the adoption of individual mobility cards for traveling employees, and linking those tools to a mobile app to plan and charge for travel. Doing so can help managers more accurately and efficiently assess corporate spend on employee travel and more intelligently book travel.

“This could be crucial in the provision of general ground transportation for employees on company business,” the ACFO wrote. “MaaS should be at the forefront of how businesses should be looking at travel to ensure they are using the best options for the journey, the environment, cost, safety and employee reasons.”

Further, the ACFO said it has acknowledged an increase in the number of mobile apps created for business travel and for travelers, addressing needs like booking and ticket holding. But the solutions exist in a siloed market, making it difficult for companies to interconnect all of those solutions, the association said.

“The support of government toward a more integrated system will help businesses adapt and manage their mobility needs more effectively,” the ACFO added. “Businesses are starting to understand the power and advantages that integrated technology can supply.

“But we feel that they cannot see the whole new world this could bring. This support and encouragement should have a marked environmental impact on journeys being made. The choices and range of services that these systems can provide should be embraced, as the advantage for the country and communities as a whole will be dramatic.”

The publication said its remarks to the House of Commons committee follows a paper published by the ACFO, entitled “Vision for the Future,” which similarly calls for the adoption of tools that enable greater transparency into employee travel.