Planning for Long Haul, Trucking Companies Embrace Driver-Friendly Payments

For the last four decades, the trucking industry has run on fleet checks and express codes.

When drivers needed to pay for the repair of a flat tire, for example, they would call in to dispatch, go through an authorization process, receive an 18- to 24-digit number called an express code, write it on a paper fleet check and use it to pay for the repair.

“They’re these old check products that really only exist in logistics, and so we’re trying to modernize that,” Ryan Droege, CEO of Relay Payments, told PYMNTS.

Adding Spend Management Technology

On March 17, Relay Payments, a provider of digital payment solutions for the transportation, logistics and supply chain industries, introduced a technology-enabled all-in-one fleet expense card and driver mobile app called RelayGo.

RelayGo is a corporate charge card for drivers. Based on the size of their fleet, companies can apply for different ranges of funding with different payment terms as well. It also includes proprietary expense management technology for carriers — along with an app that helps drivers find parking, repair shops and other services.

Moving Carriers Off Paper Instruments

Most of the company’s customers operate the Class 8 trucks commonly known as 18-wheelers and run fleets that range in size from one truck to 20,000.

When it started the project, Relay Payments found that most of these carriers were still making payments with fleet checks or cash. In fact, Droege remembers a fleet that used to give its drivers cash for a ferry ride that would take them between Canada and the U.S.

“You don’t even begin to have the conversation of spend control if you can’t even get your payments into the digital world,” Droege said.

Bringing About the Future of Payments

Relay Payments has found that about half of its new business comes from referrals from other trucking companies that have already switched to its products.

“It’s a very tight-knit community,” Droege said. “So, once you help one business out and help save them money, they’re pretty eager to bring you up in conversation or refer it to the other small fleets they know.”

Over the next couple of months, Relay Payments will be announcing more products, rewards and perks focused on making life easier for over-the-road truckers and others in the trucking and transportation industry, Droege said.

“The industry’s been doing payments the same way for, honestly, four decades and I think they were ready for a change,” Droege said. “So, we’re happy to pair with them to bring about the future of payments.”