Q. Where does your organization see development of the “connected car” heading?

A. WEX got started by creating a number of different technological controls to help companies with vehicles manage their fuel spend, and we attended a Connected Car conference in southern California in June to showcase how WEX is moving beyond just the fuel card, and even beyond fuel payments. And it was really an opportunity to talk about all the different partnerships that we have, where we're starting to develop new products and services, how they relate to the connected car and the customer experience, and the user experience.

We talked a little bit about how the line between a consumer experience and a commercial experience is starting to blur, because people in the commercial space are just used to consumer applications and the consumer feel. And I think some of the things the vehicle manufacturers are doing, some of the other third-party manufacturers, and some of the add-ons that they've got in the vehicles as it relates to the connected car, work well with what WEX is developing in terms of mobile payment technology for fleets. The possibilities are very exciting.

Answered by : Bernie Kanavagh from WEX

Senior Vice President and General Manager

A 27-year fleet professional, Bernie Kavanagh currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Large Fleet at WEX Inc. He joined the company in 1996 and his career has been a steady progression of increased sales and marketing responsibility. Kavanagh serves on industry related boards and is a frequent speaker at payment industry conferences focusing on fuel trends and technology in the payment space. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of New Jersey and is an active member of NAFA, AFLA, NCSFA and AALA. Prior to joining WEX, Kavanagh held a number of roles with Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Enterprise Fleet Management.

Q. How do partnerships inform future development of the connected car?

A. Partnership has been a core WEX value forever. And some of the legacy partners that we have are evolving, so those partnerships are looking and feeling a little different as everyone continues to evolve their products. We had a discussion with one of our big, long-standing FMC partners, and traditionally it's been supplying cards and fuel management service to their customers. But as they're starting to develop different mobile applications...

Q. What are the development timelines for this bold new connected car future?

A. Well, we’re already there with many of our products. Things like telematics -- collecting the data and helping to reduce accidents and help driver safety, optimizing routes, those kinds of things – have been in our arsenal for a while, about 17 years. DriverDash is a mobile fuel payments platform now...

Q. I keep hearing about the “connected car.” What is that?

A. It’s an umbrella term that really encompasses a lot, depending on who is speaking. Is it driver assist technology? Is it autonomous vehicles? Navigation and traffic apps? EV charging? Payments? Emergency road service? It’s all of those things, and will become...

Q. My organization is under mandates to cut emissions. Can a fleet card be used for EV charging?

A. Yes. In June, WEX and ChargePoint announced a merchant agreement we believe will expand electic vehicle charging to fleets throughout the U.S. Now, up to 11 million WEX Fleet cardholders can pay for charges at more than 66,000 places to charge on the ChargePoint network. We tested and developed...

Q. Why are mobile fuel payments more secure than swiping a card?

A. Mobile fuel payments are more secure than the physical card swipe because, with mobile, there’s no physical contact between the card and the fueling terminal. So, there’s no way for the information on your card to be swiped, so to speak. That’s the short answer. The longer answer is...

Q. How do you build a tailored payment solution for your fleet?

A. Customization is the future. It’s true in many retail industries and we’re already seeing that with many of our customers. They don’t necessarily want high-technology. They just want the right...

Q. What does WEX see as the biggest hindrance to fleet manager productivity?

A. Beyond the big one – a shortage of drivers -- three common challenges fleet managers tell us about: overabundance of administrative tasks, rising cost of fuel, lack of transparency in their business operations. WEX can help overcome all these. That’s why fleet...

Q. Why should I incorporate telematics into my government fleet operations?

A. Adding telematics to your fleet card lets you monitor operations almost second-by-second, to spot performance outliers and inefficiencies that often go unseen from just a fuel file or activity report. So, this helps government fleet managers get more out of...

Q. How does fleet factoring enable business automation and progress?

A. When many people think of automation, they think of self-driving; however, automation is everything from robotics in logistics to automated payment software—both of which help the fleet industry progress and its partners succeed. The innovation behind WEX’s Fleet One Factoring helps partners keep...

Fleet FAQ

Fleet FAQ? Fuel Management