Comdata

Comdata, founded in 1969, is a payment processor and issuer of fleet fuel cards, corporate spend cards, paperless payroll cards ("paycards"), virtual payments, and trucking permits. Comdata got its start in the trucking industry, but current customers cover most major industries in the United States, including retail, hospitality, restaurants, construction, government, healthcare, and education.

Fleet fuel cards are useful for any company that has a fleet of vehicles. Being a part of Comdata's fuel network helps many companies receive discounts on fuel purchases. Comdata also has a fuel management department that can help customers make the most of their fuel discounts and understand where their fuel spend is going.

Corporate cards can be used to manage any purchases that a company makes, from paying vendors to managing T&E expenses and more. Comdata's expense management system allows administrators to set limits on cards, restricting usage to certain merchants, dollar amounts, number of transactions, etc., and their Enhanced Authorization Controls department is helpful in alerting customers whenever suspicious activity is occurring on any card.

The paycard was created because Comdata recognized that the cost of processing, printing, and distributing paper checks to underbanked employees can really add up. Assigning each employee a paycard, and loading his/her pay onto the card each pay period results in major savings, and also ensures that in the event of a natural disaster, employees are able to receive pay when they need it most. For example, several Comdata customers based in areas hit hard by Hurricane Katrina were still able to pay their employees by loading money onto their paycards. Other companies who relied on distributing paper checks had a more difficult time paying employees who were immobilized by the hurricane's effects.

Virtual payments are generating a lot of buzz in the purchasing world right now. Virtual payments are secure and easy to administer, and reduce the risk of an unauthorized user compromising your card information. They also reduce the number of checks a purchasing department has to process for vendors, thereby achieving significant cost savings. However, Comdata charges a dollar for each use of the card after the allotted "free" use on the day payroll is received. Additionally, customers are not able to receive entire paychecks due to most ATM's issuing only $20 bills, not to mention the fees that apply. The legality behind charging customers to receive their own paycheck has yet to come into question in a court of law.

Comdata is a subsidiary of Ceridian and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.