Great for safety, security and convenience
The all-new system, rather appropriately called MAN SimplePay, makes sense on a number of levels. In South Africa, a system like this would be welcomed by truck drivers because of the safety benefits. A driver is, after all, most vulnerable when he leaves his truck. And – with MAN SimplePay – that’s not necessary.
Transport managers, on the other hand, will adore the new technology because of the security it affords. Unfortunately, fuel fraud is a fact of life for many fleets – and it can cost a transport operator an arm and a leg. MAN SimplePay offers complete transparency and simplification of all payment transactions – meaning it’s harder for criminals to do their thing.
Fleet managers also benefit because they have a real-time overview on a dashboard and can control all costs and processes for each individual vehicle in a single system. Another positive effect: their administrative workload is reduced. MAN is therefore tackling a serious problem that often takes fleet managers many hours and prevents them from performing their actual task, namely ensuring the effective use of their trucks.
Then, of course, there is the issue of convenience. Given the massive driver shortage in other countries in the world, transport operators need to do anything and everything possible to make the job of the truck driver more appealing. MAN SimplePay ticks those boxes too.
Sounds cool, but how does it work?
So, it offers numerous benefits. But how does MAN SimplePay work? Essentially, it transforms the truck into a digital wallet – that can be used to pay for all transactions that occur in everyday trucking.
From a technical point of view, the payment process takes place directly from the truck via the Rio Box in the vehicle. Digital processing of the payment process is carried out by another partner, the payment processor Stripe. The cloud infrastructure is provided by Amazon Web Services. It will be possible to book MAN SimplePay via the MAN Marketplace, and the service will then be installed over the air on the selected trucks.
MAN kicked off the concept with a partnership with BP. Thanks to MAN SimplePay, on visiting a BP facility, the driver stays with the truck, thus eliminating visits to the filling station shop and saving time as a result.
SimplePay won’t be limited to fuel purchases. The partner network and services for simple and secure payment will be expanded beyond BP and into other fields too. For example, services on the road will be covered – such as a payment guarantee to the workshop via the Rio Box in the event of a breakdown. So too will toll fees.
"With MAN SimplePay, we are taking another step on the way to becoming a smart innovator for sustainable transport solutions. Digital payment by vehicle not only creates maximum transparency and facilitation in payment transactions. In the future, it will also be important for autonomous driving or the use of public electric charging infrastructure,” says Torsten Breitbach, Head of Sales Development & Operations at MAN Truck & Bus.
When is it coming?
Okay, it all sounds just dandy. When is it going to be available?
In the last quarter of 2022, MAN SimplePay became available to pilot customers in the English market. The first truck fleets in England were able to use the new service at BP filling stations. This will be followed by its introduction in the German market. MAN SimplePay will be implemented internationally beyond German national borders at a later stage. Integration of mixed fleets via the Traton Group and expansion of the solution for MAN buses and vans are also planned.
South African transport operators won’t get it in the short term. “With regards to SimplePay in South Africa, we do not have Rio telematics. The possible launch might be in 2024,” reveals Busisiwe Mkwanazi, Marketing and Brand Manager at MAN Automotive (South Africa).
We’re sure that – when it does arrive here – it will be welcomed with open arms.
