Piston is gaining attention for its innovative, card-free method of handling fuel payments. Established by experienced fleet managers Vikram Sekhon and Shivam Shah, Piston has raised a total of $3 million in funding, with the most recent seed funding round spearheaded by Spark Capital. This funding is crucial for Piston, allowing the company to grow its operations and extend its network of independent gas stations and commercial fleets throughout the United States. “I previously managed a fleet of 120–250 trucks that were dispatched daily,” Sekhon stated. Refueling became a significant challenge for us, particularly concerning issues related to fraud. We experimented with various cards, ranging from standard credit business cards to older fuel cards. There was ongoing fraud, the fees were inconsistent, and we were dedicating a lot of time to administrative reconciliation. Piston tackles an essential issue in the fleet payment sector by removing fraud and high expenses linked to conventional fuel cards. Sekhon noted that “Fuel was our second-biggest cost after payroll and the hardest to control.”
