NEW YORK — Coast, a platform that offers a simple and smart way for companies to control fuel and fleet spending, has raised $27.5 million in Series A financing led by Accel and Insight Partners. The round includes participation from existing investors Avid Ventures, Better Tomorrow Ventures, and BoxGroup, as well as a number of prominent angels. The company is backed by founders of Affirm, Convoy, Flexport, Marqeta, Plaid, Socure, and others.
Amit Kumar from Accel will be joining Coast’s Board of Directors, and Rebecca Liu-Doyle from Insight will join the Board as an observer. The company also announced its collaboration with Visa to launch a Visa Fleet card program, enabling Coast Visa Fleet cardholders to make payments at North American merchants wherever Visa is accepted.
Coast will use the new funding to expand the platform’s capabilities and offer a wider range of financial products to fleet operators. This will include integrations into accounting tools for ease of managing finances and reconciliation, and telematics and fleet management software to provide real-time data on vehicle status and location, so companies can have actionable spending insights that can connect their transaction data with information about their vehicles in the real world. The company will also continue to scale its team, and is actively hiring for positions across engineering, product, sales, marketing, and customer service.
Businesses that operate fleets of vehicles need to provide their drivers with a way to pay for expenses while out on the road, but ensuring those payment methods are used for authorized purchases can be a major headache that can lead to misused funds and a drag on the company’s bottom line. As a result, fleet operators have turned to outdated, legacy fleet cards that are disconnected from their needs, fail to deliver improved technology, and charge hidden fees. Most cards also require a driver to refuel at certain gas stations, and do not allow the operator to customize spending controls or see transactions in real-time.
“Coast’s vision is to be the financial platform for the future of transportation, starting with fleet and fuel payments,” said Daniel Simon, founder and CEO of Coast. “Fleet operators deserve quality, low-cost financial services like every other segment that’s been reimagined by fintech. We are proud to introduce a simple, flexible fleet payments solution through our collaboration with Visa. Our partnership with Accel and Insight gives us the resources to deliver a broader suite of financial offerings to our fleet customers, so fleet operators can focus on growing their businesses faster and more efficiently.”
Coast’s platform allows fleet managers to set spend limits, issue cards, and authorize payments in seconds. Operators can see where and when their vehicles are being used, get alerts about suspicious transactions, and can freeze a card in one click on the Coast dashboard. Coast can be used anywhere Visa is accepted, and every transaction is approved almost instantly and can be seen in the dashboard, eliminating the need for drivers to spend their downtime submitting expense reports or seeking reimbursement.
“We’re thrilled to have Coast as a partner to bring Visa Fleet cards to more businesses,” said Veronica Fernandez, SVP, North America Head, Visa Business Solutions. “Through this collaboration, we’re transforming where, when, and how fleet businesses manage their card programs and enabling their employees to pay for fuel and other associated costs on the road.”
