Deep Dive: In Freight, Payment Efficiencies Keep On Trucking

Delivery professionals endure long hours, traffic congestion and hazardous weather conditions on roadways around the world, and all to deliver products to their destinations on time. In addition to these travel inconveniences, they often endure delayed payments of their hard-earned salaries.

Freight drivers’ highly mobile lifestyle means they are rarely around to collect paper checks — and, much like everyone else, they want to quickly and efficiently get paid. Fortunately, the industry has responded with a “10-4,” and providers are delivering more efficient payment apps that are gaining ground.

Uberizing freight payments

Most freight industry payment innovations to date have been focused on delivering payments between shipment senders and receivers. Those to pay drivers have been lagging in B2B innovations.

Mobile apps like Uber and Go Share have emerged, however, and they are incentivizing motorists with pickup trucks or vans to accept assignments and deliver packages or freights to third parties for a fee. As such, rideshare giant Uber is disrupting the freight space with its Uber Freight service the same way it turned the traditional taxi industry on its head. The service is similar to the Uber app, but it matches freight carriers with shippers instead of drivers with passengers.

Uber Freight eliminates lengthy waits for drivers’ payments, instead paying them within seven days after a job is completed. It allows users who hire drivers to confirm deliveries, informs the driver when a payment has been sent and offers additional discounts on products like gas, tires, auto parts and phone plans from AT&T and Sprint.

Getting on board with Go Share

Like Uber Freight, the Go Share app allows users to tap owners of pickup trucks or vans to deliver packages. It enables them to track deliveries, estimate fees and choose the type of vehicle needed for the delivery. Go Share can also be used to pay drivers within three to seven days of a package’s delivery, and drivers can earn between $47 and $71 per hour, depending on the type of vehicle they own, according to the company’s website.

Comdata delivers for truckers

Payment solutions provider Comdata, a division of fleet cards provider FLEETCOR, recently launched its own payment solution for the trucking industry. It announced in late May that trucking businesses can register for its Comcheck Mobile service to quickly pay drivers, and a news release said it can also be used to make advance payments or pay for various work-related needs. Drivers can receive funds through a Comcheck Mobile debit card linked to an iOS or Android smartphone which can then be used to make payments at POS terminals or for ATM withdrawals. The service is available to truck drivers, brokers and fleet managers.

These apps may not be able to address all the hassles of the road, but quickly and efficiently getting paid is about as enticing for freight drivers as a wide open highway with no bears — also known as police — in sight.