DUET for Petrol Payments

Business Context
Smart Card Solutions for petrol stations and fleet operators have become increasingly important in many countries. Corporations and governmental bodies need to have an efficient, convenient and profitable payment tool to monitor and control their petrol usage. Whether it’s a fleet management programme designed for efficient and cost-conscious fleet owners or a rationing scheme for petrol subsidies where all car owners receive a multi-level pricing contingent for subsidised petrol, smart card solutions offer a comprehensive combination of convenience, profitability and security minimizing the need for vehicle drivers to handle cash in transit while providing all details of the vehicle’s card transactions.
The Petrol Card could be issued/personalised to either every vehicle enrolled in the programme or to the respective individuals. A possible business scheme could combine several card products on one card such as an ID function containing the membership number, vehicle information and personal identification number, a payment function (pre-authorized, pre-paid, debit or credit), and a loyalty function.

System Description
A smart card-based petrol scheme should consist of the following in regards to a turn-key solution:

All vehicle owners receive a Petrol Client Card that is pre-authorized with spending power and keeps track of all card transactions. In a subsidised petrol scheme different price-levels could be defined depending on the total amount of consumed petrol in a given time period; e.g. 5 cent per litre for the first 100 litres, 10 cent for the next 100 litres etc. The supply of subsidised petrol could therefore be restricted to the owners of such a Petrol Card guaranteeing a precise control over the petrol subsidies programme. The microprocessor smartcard offers the appropriate computing platform to implement the above described or similar complex schemes that are aimed at monitoring and controlling the distribution and payments within the scheme.
The petrol attendant is equipped with a Petrol Attendant Card and a charging terminal that is a very simple and low-cost portable device, containing two card readers, a small display and a simple key pad. Both cards register all details of each transaction such as date, time, cost, amount of petrol supplied, amount/percentage of subsidies involved and the petrol station’s location.At the end of a working day, the petrol attendant transfers the accumulated funds from his Petrol Attendant Card to the petrol station’s account. The encrypted list of transactions is transferred from the Petrol Attendant Card (not from the memory of the POS terminal) to the issuer’s DUET card management system.
To facilitate the card usage and to offer a comprehensive solution both in regards to convenience and infrastructure investment, particularly considering the potential lack of adequate telecom infrastructure the offline conception of DUET offers the most suitable solution for developing markets. This would have beneficial effects in reducing the direct and indirect operational costs of the system. Every petrol attendant could be equipped with a small pocket sized terminal to perform all transactions at the respective car „through the window“ without requiring the driver to go to the station to perform the transaction there. If required there could be one main online terminal in the station itself allowing the attendants to upload their daily transactions at the end of the day to the main host. This terminal could also be offered to the clients for card loading functions to further facilitate the use and functionality of the overall system.
The Petrol Card could be easily combined with a SmartFleet management programme, all on one card. The cardholder enjoys the freedom to pay for fuel, lubricants and petrol shop items with the Smart Petrol Card, instead of cash. Cashless smart card payments eliminate the risk of highway thefts and also facilitate the collection, maintenance and reconciliation of bills. The DUET Petrol Solution provides total control over the fleet through monthly reports which consist of individual vehicle reports giving the fleet owner all transactions’ details of each individual vehicle in the fleet and consolidated all-vehicle reports. The latter includes total petrol consumption, other expenditures, and the loyalty balance across the fleet etc. The loyalty balance consists of Petrol-Miles that are earned for every purchase using the Smart Petrol Card (e.g. fuel, lubricants, shop items etc.).
Another functionality, is the vehicle tracking that allows a better control over the fleet by keeping track of the vehicles and the last card transactions.


Benefits

• Cashless payments at petrol stations - simplicity and fraud reduction
• Offline system conception offers lowest total cost of ownership
• Precise control over the petrol subsidies programme
• Reduced administration and monitoring costs
• Up-to-date information on the vehicle movement
• Complete audit trail
• Consolidated invoicing
• Loyalty function
• Up to 8 different card products on 1 card
• Support of a multiple payment scheme (preauthorized, prepaid, debit, credit)