Coast, a modern digital fleet fuel and gas card expense management platform that helps companies govern their fuel and fleet spending, has announced that Visa Inc., a world leader in digital payments, has authored a white paper that highlights how the fleet card company has used innovation to improve the check-in process and integrate policies, data and other expense management tools to their card system.

"It's a great honor for Coast's fleet payment system to be featured in a white paper by payments leader like Visa," said Coast CEO and founder Daniel Simon. "Coast has worked with Visa for many years and their trust in our services has led to the development of this white paper. In it, Visa spells out exactly how Coast's innovative technology can help businesses manage fleet and expense payments and solve the challenges many companies have in monitoring and securing their fleet accounts."

The white paper, entitled "Innovation in U.S. Fleet Cards," discusses the Coast fleet card's unique value-added solutions, including the following:

• Eliminating user error with short messaging service (SMS) check-in. Coast's payment cards don't require the driver to memorize a numeric vehicle code to capture fleet data. The driver merely has to key in a license plate number and the fleet management system instantly knows which card is being used by which driver and with which vehicle. This eliminates human error because there is no longer a need to key in codes into the pump terminal. The check-in is done at the driver's convenience from a mobile phone messaging app.
• Applying unique spending rules and policies. Most fleet card solutions only allow rules to be applied to a card, so when a transaction fails outside these limits, the card is either declined or flagged on an exception report. With Coast's fleet cards, managers can set up rules for each vehicle and each user. By linking policies to vehicles or employees, Coast ensures the right rules are applied.
• Integrating data from other platforms. Coast's cards come pre-built with data integrations to a wide variety of GPS or telematics platforms. This provides additional security and, in some cases, allows odometer readings to be automatically captured. Coast also integrates with many fleet management and accounting platforms so data can be captured automatically.
• Managing expenses beyond fuel. Visa's white paper also explores how businesses can manage other fleet-related expenses with the Coast platform. Coast's cards allow fleet managers to set separate controls and rules so that cards can be used for automobile maintenance, roadside assistance, parking fees and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

The white paper notes that Coast has also been on the forefront in its approach to improving data quality and security by bringing innovation into the fleet card management system. It concludes that by establishing new ways to capture and process fleet card data, Coast's product provides optimal solutions and outcomes for any business with an automotive fleet.

Visa Global Head of Commercial Fleet and Mobility Parker Patton said the strong partnership between Coast and Visa has unlocked industry innovation that directly benefits small to mid-sized businesses (SMB) and larger fleets.

"Coast's robust digital platform and focus on client needs, coupled with Visa's payments technology and merchant acceptance, has re-imagined once-cumbersome processes for fleet managers and their drivers," Patton said. "Coast's SMS-first approach with Visa Fleet simplifies and secures payments for Coast customers and cardholders."

For the nearly one million American businesses that collectively operate around 40 million vehicles in their commercial fleets, managing expenses in the field is a major challenge. Coast's innovative technology addresses these challenges by offering a fuel card with best-in-class security and spend controls, software with real-time transaction data and reporting, and integrations with fleet management and telematics software.

For more information about coast, visit coastpay.com. To read Visa's white paper, visit https://visa-commercial-solutions.visa.com/knowledge-hub/white-paper-coast-fleet-cards-innovation.