People are always on the go today, and so is the payment ecosystem. Now that seamless payments are the norm, the B2B payments mobility industry has also established itself. However, the B2B payment ecosystem has always been more complex than the private sector, as are the needs of a corporation's logistics.
The B2B mobility payment service providers offer a bundle of services, including features like fuel cards, financial solutions for the mobility service providers, mobility services for the corporates, and toll on-board units. This is simultaneously creating equal opportunities and challenges for payment service providers. We dive into the significant trends fuelling the growth of the B2B mobility payment ecosystem below.
The Evolving Powertrain Technology and the Fleet Cards
The powertrain is the musculature of a vehicle. The components’ clump generates and delivers mechanical power for a vehicle to move. Lately, powertrain technology has been evolving. A swift shift towards Electric Vehicles (EVs) is evident, with an expected growth rate of 19.8% from 2021 to 2028. Global sales of electric vehicles increased by 79%, selling around 5.1 million EVs in the year 2021.
The EV market share is now expanding beyond passenger cars to the light commercial vehicle (LCV) and commercial road transport (CRT). EV trucks of various sizes are now driven for last-mile deliveries. With major players in the mobility sector turning toward the EV, Tesla remains the highest-valued automaker, with a current market share of over $560 billion.
With the popularity of EVs, the use of fleet cards has also hiked. Businesses use fleet cards and payment cards to track the costs associated with operating and maintaining their fleet of vehicles. With fleet cards and EVs, the vehicles are turning into payment mechanisms revolutionizing the future of the B2B mobility payment ecosystem.
Mainstreaming of Electric and Digital Infrastructure
Infrastructure is the backbone of any economy, and with moving trends, we are experiencing the mainstreaming of electric and digital infrastructure. Leading SaaS companies are enabling seamless payment experiences making banking activities simpler to effectuate.
A sound omnichannel strategy is a significant part of an evolved Electric and Digital Infrastructure. In an omnichannel environment, the channels and platforms of a business are all integrated, creating seamless buying and paying experiences. Around 85% of B2B organizations estimate that hybrid sales representatives will be the most commonly used omnichannel commerce strategy by 2024.
In the mobility sector, the service providers are creating a new B2B Mobility Payment Ecosystem by providing a bundle of services encompassing the various modes of transportation, including ancillary services. As the mobility sector consists of numerous transactions creating equal opportunities for mobility payment solutions—service providers should focus on an omnichannel strategy covering all the payment points and reducing them to one.
Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS)
A Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform which accumulates the cost of travel across the various routes and transporters into one lump sum amount is the future of the Mobility Payment Ecosystem. The global MaaS market share amounted to USD 3.14 billion in 2021.
B2B MaaS is a venture which is being explored continuously. It is a win-win situation for both the service provider and the receiver. It could cut down the time of commute or business trips for the employees while providing an automated mapping of all the official travels by the employees to the employers. It also creates excellent opportunities for B2B MaaS service providers while majorly shaping the B2B mobility payment ecosystem for the future.
The Shift in Payment Experience Expectations
The emphasis on customer experience, popularly referred to as CX/UX, is picking up rapidly in the B2C ecosystem, which is also greatly influencing the B2B payment ecosystem. B2B customers look forward to payment methods that integrate banking payment activities in a seamless experience. Consumers also expect the same level of ease in the mobility payment environment.
However, to monetize the opportunity created by the B2B mobility sector, the payment service providers need to focus on three areas:
The mobility consumers: These are the end users to whom the services are provided, even if they did not initiate the transactions.
The mobility merchants: They are the actual service providers who offer mobility services to the end consumer.
The mobility managers: They serve as a link between mobility consumers and mobility merchants. They link the demand for mobility by supplying the service.
The B2B mobility service providers should focus on the mobility managers to target their potential consumers and develop a B2B mobility payment solution. This will ensure a seamless payment experience for their B2B mobility consumers.
Seamless and Integrated Payments
The B2B mobility payment ecosystem provides various payment options like toll on-board units, pay-at-the-pump, digital wallets, etc., to integrate the mobility payments allowing a seamless transaction.
With the toll on-board units (OBU), the details of the driving data of a vehicle are collected by the OBU, which is an electronic device attached to the vehicle. Such data is used for billing and collecting the toll under electronic toll collection. The electronic toll collection was estimated to be USD 3.30 Billion in 2021 in North America, which is estimated to be USD 5.40 Billion by 2027, making OBU a great market to venture into for the B2B mobility payment service providers.
Another great B2B mobility payment option is pay-at-the-pump. With pay-at-the-pump, the consumers need not interact with the station attendant or walk away from their vehicle. They can pay with a debit, credit, fuel card, or even phone.
The Future of B2B Mobility
The future of the B2B mobility payment ecosystem is full of possibilities. The market’s primary trends shall be decided by 2030, and those who actively engage in the ever-evolving dynamics of the ecosystem will survive and thrive with technological advancements like open banking, fleet cards, electric vehicles, omnichannel, MaaS, etc.
Talk to our team of experts to know how you can adapt to the dynamics of the constantly changing B2B mobility payment ecosystem.
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