Following the strategic partnership earlier sealed between Interswitch, Africa’s leading integrated payments and transaction switching company and EVSL, developers of FuelVoucher (fuelvoucher.com.ng) in 2015, the distribution network of the electronic fuel purchasing solution has been further broadened considerably in further partnership with 3 of the leading downstream oil marketing firms, OVH Energy Marketing, Forte Oil & RainOil in Lagos.
These partnerships were recently signed at a media event in Lagos involving key executives from Interswitch, EVSL, OVH and Forte Oil. Speaking on this progressive milestone in the life-cycle of the solution, Interswitch’s Divisional CEO for Industry Vertical Markets, Chinyere Don-Okhuofu explained the rationale driving Interswitch’s partnership with Fuelvoucher, as well as the tremendous potential for accelerating distribution of the service offered by the alignment with 2 of the leading downstream marketing organization is Nigeria. According to her;
“As a business focused on providing products and services that are highly tailored to the African market, Interswitch has partnered with EVSL to launch this initiative in line with our desire to develop innovative payment products and services, facilitate transactions and strengthen the CBN cashless initiative. Following this alliance, FuelVoucher’s online and mobile fuel purchasing systems have been integrated with PoS terminals deployed by Interswitch to service stations across the country.
Commenting, CEO of Seamfix/EVSL, Mr. Chimezie Emewulu added that “This initiative will allow consumers to make payments for petroleum products on the FuelVoucher.com.ng website and mobile app as well as all Interswitch payment channels including Quickteller and ATMs and vouchers can be redeemed at every petrol station with the Interswitch PoS. As a result, anybody can easily buy fuel; PMS, diesel, gas or kerosene on-the-go via the FuelVoucher mobile app at any time of the day and FuelVouchers can be remotely sent to friends, family, domestic staff or drivers with ease.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Mrs. Olaposi Williams, acting CEO OVH Energy Marketing stated that “We are happy to be a part of this partnership, as it allows us to provide innovative solutions to enhance consumer lifestyle while expanding the frontiers of our fuel retail operations”. She said. “At OVH Marketing, we are committed to amplifying solutions that make life easy for our customers in today’s current retail fueling space. Now consumers can redeem fuel purchased using the fuel vouchers at key Oando filling station across the country”, She added.
Also elucidating on why Forte Oil has aligned with this initiative by rolling it out across the company’s network of outlets, the company’s Head of Supply, Trading and Depot Operations, Mr. Jide Pratt remarked that “Forte Oil has always been at the cutting-edge of forward-thinking solutions designed to improve consumer experience, and fully aligns with the vision behind Fuelvoucher as a more efficient and trackable solution, particularly from the perspective of corporates”.
Mr. Kenneth Ndabai, RainOil’s Executive Director for operations also expressed the company’s delight at being a pioneer partner with Interswitch and Fuelvoucher and further enthused that “essentially, the solution will also enable petrol stations around the country run overnight by mopping up cash and accepting Fuel Vouchers thereby eliminating cash handling costs and risks”.
Because everything is automated and electronic, establishments no longer need to print paper vouchers with associated costs and reconciliation headaches. Corporate customers can also broaden their loyalty points redemption options to include Fuel Vouchers, and they can also easily manage and control fuel purchase with analytical insights to help in fleet management.
This partnership further buttresses the industry leading position of Interswitch on the attainment of a cashless Nigeria through the innovative use of technology.
The fuel voucher solution is currently available across OVH and Forte Oil stations in Lagos, with aggressive plans for national coverage before the end of 2017.
