MassDOT and PayByCar Launch Pay-by-Text Gas Payments

Mobile payments platform PayByCar, Inc. on Monday (Dec. 13) teamed up with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation on a text-based initiative that will alert members to low-touch fuel payments across the state through the Driven by E-ZPass program.

PayByCar’s Massachusetts services are available at participating Alltown Mobil gas stations in Massachusetts, offering customers the added security of paying for gas and other goods from their mobile devices.

Alltown and PayByCar will be offering enrollees in the Driven By E-ZPass program a 30 cents-per-gallon discount on gas beginning Monday at 27 participating locations across Massachusetts. This is a limited time offer for new and existing PayByCar enrollees.

A discount of 30 cents per gallon will be applied to a maximum of 20 gallons of fuel per visit for up to five visits at participating Alltown locations in Massachusetts through Feb. 10, 2022.

Related: Automakers Roll Out Connected Services Designed for Commercial Customers

Ford’s new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tool, VIIZR, is an integrated, cloud-based platform that facilitates back-office functions for plumbers, electricians, heating and ventilation technicians and other small business owners built on Salesforce Field Service and developed for trade businesses by Ford.

The automaker is offering VIIZR free ahead of the platform’s official launch in the first half of 2022 and will offer subscriptions starting at $39 a month per user.

VIIZR digitizes quotes, work orders, invoicing and job management; communicates with customers and improve the overall experience; and streamlines scheduling, dispatch and coordination of field technicians. For businesses with fewer than 20 employees, VIIZR could reduce back-office work by more than 40% or about 25 hours a week, according to Ford estimates.

VIIZR is the latest addition to the products and services offered by Ford Pro, the company’s commercial vehicle and service business launched last spring. Ford Pro focuses on products and services for business and government customers.

Ford Pro expects to generate $45 billion in revenue by 2025, up from $27 billion in 2019. The company reports it has relationships with almost 125,000 commercial and government fleet customers in North America, plus more in Europe and elsewhere. There are 675,000 small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in service and maintenance and construction in the U.S., according to Ford’s estimates.