Fuel Prices, Payment Solutions and What the future holds for transport companies at the pumps

Estefanía Sandoval, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at Vrio answers a few brief questions about the current situation in the transport sector, the evolution of fuel prices and how Vrio is responding to the current market challenges.

Rising fuel and adblue prices and how to buy better

The meteoric rise in the price of fuel and additives is seriously affecting transport companies. What initiatives have been launched at Vrio to help carriers cope in this extremely difficult situation?

We have always offered a multi-network solution, so that our customers can always select the most competitive option for their refuelling, and during recent months Vrio has reinforced this strategy by expanding the network options available to customers.

During 2022 the price of fuel has been a source of constant pressure for companies across the EU continent. To help alleviate this problem, we have worked alongside our customers to ensure that they benefit from the most flexible payment systems and discounts that are adapted to their needs (weekly price, discounts, monthly payment etc.).

Regarding the various government-run rebate schemes, Vrio has worked closely with partners and providers to ensure that these rebates have been available and applied from the first day, directly in the customer invoice, ensuring that customers benefit from the cheapest fuel price available.

Due to the nature of the transport sector, customers don´t always have the time to keep fully up to date with all the current legislative changes and we have worked hard since the beginning of the year to inform customers of these changes and the different benefits available.  Customers always have a dedicated contact within Vrio who is there to support and inform ensuring that the customer feels fully informed at all times. Whether that means reviewing the fuelling patterns of our customers and suggestion cheaper alternatives or explaining the benefits of using certain fuel cards over others then we have tried to accompany the customer at every stage of their journey.

Secure Payment Methods

Security has always been a priority at Vrio. Preventing fuel fraud for example has always been one of our biggest priorities – especially at the moment when the number of  cases is on the rise. Technology is therefore very important as a tool to help our customers control, block and prevent fraudulent activity. Receiving fuel transactions in real time, 24 hour access to account data and a large number of management tools at your disposal allow customers to react quickly and avoid these unwanted practises. We work alongside customers to identify unusual fuelling patterns and keep them fully informed of any problems that our detection system highlights.

Vrio Copilot helps our customers control and manage all their account-related operations. Its continuous improvement and sophistication form an integral part of providing customers with the tools required to manage a secure, effective and competitive fuelling system.  Related to security, the client can:

• Manage fuel cards and toll devices.
• Obtain detailed cost and consumption reports for all products.
• Design alerts and choose the preferred communication channel in order to receive those alerts
• Have a direct channel of communication with our customer service department.

Every day, we have thousands of visits to our Vrio Copilot control panel, which demonstrates how essential this is to our clients, empowering them to control and manage their relationship autonomously through a simple intuitive interface, combining security, customization and agility.

Evolution of the sector in the coming years

We think that everything will be directed towards increasing safety in refuelling and less use of plastic. The concept of a virtual card is becoming increasingly more established, where it will not be necessary for the driver to carry a physical card with him, and everything will be online and digitized. In addition, with these cards it will be more and more common that not only diesel can be paid for, but also gas, hydrogen and electricity.

We have expanded the network of gas stations in Europe, with 90 new stations, serving all our customers who use these alternative energies, and continue to work with partners to continue our network expansion of cleaner energy sources.

The improvement of the functionalities of our management system, in the services that we offer through our fuel payment methods, as well as in the toll payment systems or in our network of stations, is continuous:

We are always up to date with the trends and needs that arise, so that our clients benefit from them as soon as possible. For example, we have improved our Vrio Plus toll payment device, which is already valid in 15 European toll networks.

On the other hand, we have recently published on our website a new section “Tolls and Vignettes in Europe”, where you can consult the tolls and fees for each country, along with all the available payment solutions in each network or country. Furthermore, we are advancing in the digital transformation of the sector with the incorporation of the e-CMR and a route optimization system that will allow our clients to find the best route, optimizing their costs in fuel, tolls, etc., as well as identifying secure parking options or ferry reservations along each route.

We are always available to our clients, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We will be happy to assist you with any questions you may have regarding any of our services. Contact Us