Tell us a little bit about Coast:
Coast is an innovative Visa fuel card and fleet expense management system that offers fleets greater visibility and control over employees' spending on fuel and other job-related expenses than traditional fuel cards. Our fuel cards are designed to address issues that have long plagued transportation owners and operators: lack of control over who is able to use fuel cards, fuel theft and overspending, acceptance of fuel cards, and the inability to use the cards for other types of work-related expenses, such as parking, tolls, hotels, meals, etc.
By innovating in the stagnant fuel card space, we have provided our transportation clients with the opportunity to reduce costs and streamline their business processes. In fact, fleets that switch to Coast from another fuel card save an average of 9% on their fuel bills.
They also gain efficiency by allowing their employees increased autonomy while maintaining absolute transparency and communication around all spending activities.
We work closely with our robust team of software engineers to continually add new features and optimizations requested by our transportation clients. In just a few short years, Coast has become embedded and invested in the transportation industry, and we are proud to be a partner in helping to guide clients forward into technological advances that can completely transform their financial operations for the better.
What do you wish more people knew about the company?
Two of the most exciting elements of Coast are our SMS verification processes, and our integrations. By syncing with telematics providers like Samsara, Geotab, Azuga, and Verizon Connect, we are able to automatically block fraudulent transactions when vehicle GPS is too far from a gas station. Additionally, Coast integrates seamlessly with Fleetio — automatically pushing fuel information and maintenance indications to the system — and accounting platforms like Quickbooks for ease in expense tracking.
Working with Coast also means qualifying for fuel discounts through our partners. Customers get discounts of 2 cents / gallon from any station, with bonuses at brands like Exxon, for 4 cents / gallon discounts, and Casey’s (in the Chicago area) for 6 cents / gallon off.
How did you, personally, end up in the transportation industry?
I grew up in Pennsylvania and majored in Business Administration at Carnegie Mellon. This eventually turned into a career in payments, and I worked for Amex in a variety of roles for about 10 years. A few colleagues of mine came to Coast, and pretty soon I followed. The transition from a huge company to one that is smaller and growing rapidly has brought new challenges, of course, but it’s been a really exciting place to be. I truly like all our clients, and our work with the transportation industry specifically has been especially gratifying because these innovations are so needed and so impactful.
What has been your experience as an ILLBA member?
We love being a member so much that we’re actually running an ILLBA-specific promotion right now. Operators can earn a complimentary 12-month ILLBA membership (i.e. Coast will cover it) when they open a Coast account and spend $1,000 or more in their first 3 months.
Beyond that, the ILLBA and its members have been such a great network for us. We don’t get the chance to attend in-person events that often, but we’ve connected with so many people and have benefited from a variety of the opportunities inherent to this organization.
How are you spending your time outside of the business?
I’ve lived in NYC for over 15 years, with obviously so much to take advantage of here. I bike to work whenever the weather cooperates, try to get out to concerts, dinner, etc. There’s always something going on!
Any predictions, hopes, or ambitions for the future of our industry?
I’m not sure if I have any predictions, but I will say that every employee at Coast is also a Coast user, which means we are growing right alongside our clients. Using our own product allows us to continually give feedback internally from our own lived experiences, and keeps us honest about where we are and where we want to be (which is improving, always).
You can reach Alex at [email protected], +1 704 612 2577, or on LinkedIn.
Learn more about Coast on their website and connect with them on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn.