payment solution on the road
1
2014
Content
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New features in the toll area... ■ Eurowag now in Bulgaria and Turkey...
Acquisitions 2014... ■ This year’s hit – closed-circuit TV systems...
NEW FEATURES
IN THE TOLL AREA:
United Kingdom
Dear customers, partners, and friends:
It is my pleasure to present you the
latest edition of our magazine. Once
again, we had no lack of interesting
material, covering the numerous new
products and services that we
introduced to the market. At the
same time I would like to assure you
that, as we continually roll out these
new products and services, we are
also working very hard to
continuously improve our internal
processes and technologies so that we
keep providing the quality standards
that you may expect from Eurowag.
In a nutshell, I mean, first and
foremost, top-quality services,
employees that are always ready to
help you, innovation and, last but not
least, comfort, security, and economy.
I wish you every success with
Eurowag products, and much
pleasure during this spring season.
The biggest news this spring is the roll-out
of tolls in the United Kingdom, for all
foreign vehicles over 12 tons (buses
excepted). The toll must be paid in advance,
before entering the country. Eurowag is one
of the few fuel cards that enable you to pay
this new toll.
How much is the toll?
The toll amount is variable, depending on
vehicle type, number of axles, and weight.
Toll can be paid for a single day or, at your
option, you can pre-pay on a weekly,
monthly, or yearly basis. These payment
intervals can be combined (e.g. one month
and three days, two months, etc.). The toll
payment is always for one vehicle, and is
non-transferable.
What happens if I don’t pay?
If you failed to pay the full toll amount for
your vehicle, automatic cameras on ferries
and at other checkpoints will recognize your
license plate number. You will then be
required to pay a fine of 300 GBP (pounds
sterling) on the spot. If you are unable
to pay the fine, your vehicle will be
impounded, which can seriously disrupt
your delivery schedule and cause you to
incur additional costs.
The official website of the United
Kingdom toll operator is
www.hgvlevy-info.org.uk.
How can I pay the toll?
Toll payment can be accomplished easily,
on-line, directly on the toll operator’s
website using debit or credit cards, and of
course you can do so at even more
favorable terms using a Eurowag card. In
addition, it is also possible pay at several
distribution points – e.g. on ferries and at
selected fuel stations.
Martin Vohánka, Managing Director
www.eurowag.com
ACQUISITIONS 2014
EUROWAG
NOW
Tax Refund
Partner – ČESKÁ
LOGISTICKÁ a.s.
in Bulgaria and Turkey
Last year we took the first
steps toward establishing
our presence in two new
markets: Bulgaria and Turkey.
As you may know, Bulgaria has already been
in the Eurowag acceptance network for
some time through the EKO fuel station
network, which is owned by the biggest fuel
supplier in the Balkans – Hellenic Petroleum.
As for Turkey it is Eurowag’s first foray into
the Eurasia region.
At present we are in the process of building
stable sales teams, local customer care and,
of course, a customer base in both
countries.
Based on the very positive customer
response to Eurowag’s products in all
markets we have entered so far, we are
confident that Eurowag will soon be
amongst market leaders in Bulgaria and
Turkey as well, and will become synonym
for high-quality service there, as well.
W.A.G. is a member
of major European associations
ČAPPO
Since late last year, W.A.G. has been
a member of the Czech Association of
Petroleum Industry and Trade (ČAPPO). The
members of this association are mostly major
international petroleum companies that do
business in the Czech Republic. W.A.G. is
ČAPPO’s first-ever independent member.
By joining this association we have high
expectations. Our highest priorities will be to
contribute to the public debate on how to
optimize the excise tax rate on motor fuels
and fighting against tax fraud.
Before joining ČAPPO, W.A.G. terminated its
membership in the SČS (Association of Fuel
Station Operators), where W.A.G.’s CEO
served on the Board of Directors.
AETIS
In 2013, W.A.G. was accepted as one of the
12 members of the prestigious European
association for electronic tolls and
interoperable services – AETIS. Membership
of this association is reserved only for the
industry’s biggest players and
W.A.G.‘s membership and the active role we
are playing in the association only reaffirms
Eurowag’s ambitions as a future provider of
EETS, the unified European toll.
What is the European toll (EETS)?
The European Electronic Toll Service is an
initiative of the EU, aiming to make it easier
for hauliers to pay toll within the EU. In the
future, the EETS will eliminate the need to
register vehicles in all of Europe’s diverse toll
systems and have multiple on-board units in
the vehicle, each of which is operational only
in a single country. In terms of function, the
EETS will resemble today’s mobile roaming –
upon signing a contract with a single
provider, the haulier will be issued one onboard unit that will work in all countries.
Financial settlement will also take place
through the haulier’s “home” operator in
a single, summary bill.
UPEI
In April of this year, W.A.G. became a fullfledged member of the Union of European
Petroleum Independents (UPEI). In the past,
W.A.G. was a part of this association through
its membership of the Czech organization
SČS (Association of Fuel Stations).
The UPEI’s membership roster includes mainly
national petroleum associations of many
European Union Member States, as well as
a few of the largest petroleum companies,
like W.A.G., that have pan-European
operations.
For W.A.G., UPEI membership is more than
just an opportunity to meet with potential
partners and gain insight in to the national
specifics of individual Member States: it is
also a unique opportunity to actively
influence legislative processes at the EU level.
Early 2014 we acquired ČESKÁ
LOGISTICKÁ a.s., a company that
used to collaborate with in our
internal tax refund department
(VAT and excise tax).
This acquisition was driven by our
determination to deliver excellence
to our clients for such a vital service.
Administratively and
organizationally, tax refunds are
very demanding processes, especially
in the context of ever-changing
European legislation. We are
confident that, under our
leadership, ČESKÁ LOGISTICKÁ a.s.
will continue to improve and
streamline its services. Thus
customers can look forward to
greater speed and innovation.
Fuel Station
in Austria –
Starpetrol
As of April 1, 2014, W.A.G. payment
solutions, a.s. became the new
owner of the Starpetrol fuel station
(Austria, Suben area, Kammer 33/2,
A-4974 Ort im Innkreis). This station,
located on one of the key motorway
at the border between Austria and
Germany, was already part of the
Eurowag acceptance network in the
past. Now, thanks to the acquisition,
we will be able to offer to our
customers more advantageous
conditions for refueling and, over
time, a higher standard of services
as well.
For the time being, however, the
fuel station remains “in the colors”
of its original owner, Starpetrol. By
the end of the year the station will
be rebranded under the Eurowag
standards.
www.eurowag.com
THIS YEAR’S HIT
closed-circuit
TV systems at
Eurowag truckparks
in Poland
Last year, Eurowag expanded its
network of branded truckparks
by adding two freshly-built
facilities in Poland. Both are
equipped with the latest
technologies and are located on
major transport routes – Słubice
(A2 motorway) and Krzywa
(junction of A4 and A18
motorways).
To ensure maximum safety, Eurowag
developed a special closed-circuit TV
monitoring system, the likes of which
Europe has never before seen, for the two
stations. A unique feature of the system is
that the recording is stored on a server in
Eurowag’s headquarters – thanks to this,
the customer can download, at any time at
his or her own discretion, the video feed for
the fuelling of the customer’s vehicles, to
verify that the fuel ended up in the right
place. The video feeds are easily accessible
on the customer website, in the List of
Transactions section.
”Very good locations, high-quality fuel, low
prices and, last but not least, the protection
against fuel theft make the new Eurowag
truckpark a fantastic success among Polish
hauliers. Thanks to these features, just
a short time after opening we were seeing
extraordinary sales figures: 60,000 liters/day
in Słubice and similar figures in Krzywa,”
said Sławomir Borczyk, country manager for
Poland.
The expansion of the Eurowag branded fuel
station network continues this year as well –
late May we will officially open the Eurowag
– Lébény fuel station in Hungary, with the
same standard of services. Over time,
Eurowag will equip all its truckparks with
similar facilities, as we know that security is
of prime importance for our clients.
New customer website feature:
site locator
Following the major expansion of the Eurowag acceptance
network, the Google maps interface for displaying fuel station
locations no longer provided the necessary level of user comfort.
Therefore, we developed a special website module to enable our
customers to search for fuel stations and plan their routes.
With the new maps module, it is possible to search for fuel
stations in the vicinity of a specific location, along a route, or by
fuel station code. In addition, customers can save their favorite
fuel stations, which saves time when they need to look up
certain routes repeatedly.
The maps module also enables stations to be exported in Excel
or PDF format – with this feature, customers can create their
own “Driver’s manual” tailored to their specific needs.
To make life easier for drivers as well, this year we are preparing
a fuel station search mobile app for them. Since the app will be
capable of operating in offline mode, the driver will not need to
have continual Internet access.
www.eurowag.com