Why a New US Fleet Payment “First” Is Routine in Europe & China - CleanTechnica

The article discusses the recent introduction by WEX, a major US fleet card provider, of a unified payment system that consolidates fuel and electric vehicle (EV) charging expenses into one account and invoice. While this is seen as a milestone in the US, the article emphasizes that such unified fleet payment systems have been standard practice in Europe and China for years. In Europe, mixed-energy fleets have operated with multi-energy cards covering diesel, gasoline, and various EV charging types since the late 2010s, supported by RFID activation and detailed transaction data integration for efficient fleet management. China, on the other hand, bypassed traditional fuel cards entirely by adopting mobile payments and integrated fleet platforms, making distinctions between fuel and electricity payments irrelevant at the transaction level. The US, contrastingly, developed payment systems centered on open loop credit cards designed for gasoline-dominant fleets, resulting in fragmented EV charging payments across multiple apps and billing models. This fragmentation persisted due to the dominance of gasoline in fleet energy use and