Standard Bank’s Justin Thomas

A few years back, an executive really knew they’d made it when their benefits package included a company car. Today, the domain of executive perks has evolved away from the luxury sedans, to health, wellness and financial incentives, while companies’ vehicle fleets have become more functional as the trusty bakkie picks up the slack. Although the vehicle composition may have changed, one area of fleet management that hasn’t really evolved is fuel payment solutions. Well, not until recently.

Fleet management in South Africa has long relied on mag-strip cards for payments, meaning the area has been easy pickings for fraud, but is also ripe for digital transformation, says Justin Thomas, head: Strategy, Alliances and Digital Transformation, Standard Bank. Thomas’ role at Standard Bank Fleet means he is responsible for driving digital transformation initiatives across the B2B payments ecosystem in the fleet management space. His work there recently won him the IITPSA’s Technology Excellence award 2022.