Vendor and Tech Watch

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SUMMARY

Five items for small and midsize U.S. petroleum distributors. Motive put AI "Agents" that act on their own into customer accounts. Visa and Mastercard asked the court to approve the merchant fee settlement ahead of a November 16 hearing. Veeder-Root and Dover Fueling Solutions are pushing centralized remote tank gauge management four months after a federal warning on hacked gauges. Geotab's AtoB-issued fleet card ties fuel approvals to vehicle data. FMCSA posted no new ELD revocations, and out-of-service enforcement on the August five is now live. Items are grouped by category, not ranked, and nothing here is an endorsement.

1. TELEMATICS AND ELDs: Motive launches Agents that take action automatically

What changed: On October 19, Motive released Agents, available now to Motive customers. Fleets set conditions, and Agents act on them: Motive's Atlas assistant calls a driver showing early signs of fatigue, Agents warn of severe weather on active routes, a qualifying fault code opens a work order in Motive Maintenance and marks the vehicle out of service, and idling triggers a shut-off prompt. Motive says in-cab Atlas calls come later this year and plain-language Agent setup early next year.

Who it affects: Motive ELD, dash cam and maintenance customers, including fuel haulers and tank wagon fleets.

Verified vs. claimed: The launch and feature list come from Motive's release. The $46 billion preventable-loss figure is Motive's estimate, and the 42% figure is from Motive's own survey. Motive published no performance results for Agents and did not disclose pricing. The release does not say whether any action requires human approval, and it does not address HOS or ELD records.

What to check: Before turning on any Agent, list every action that changes a record (work orders, out-of-service flags) and assign a named person to review them. Ask Motive in writing whether Agents are in your current subscription or billed separately. The ELD log stays the legal HOS record; a fatigue call is not an HOS determination. Make sure drivers can take Atlas calls hands-free under your phone policy.

2. PAYMENTS: Visa and Mastercard urge approval of the merchant settlement; final hearing November 16

What changed: On October 14, Visa and Mastercard filed a joint reply calling objectors, including Walmart, the National Retail Federation and RILA, a "vocal minority." Class counsel's reply was filed under seal, and Judge Brian Cogan ordered proposed redactions. On October 15, class counsel opposed a $36 million objector-fee request from 18 merchants. The final approval hearing is set for November 16 in the Eastern District of New York.

Reported terms: credit interchange cut 10 basis points for five years; a 1.25% rate on standard consumer cards for eight years; the right to decline some premium and commercial credit cards; expanded surcharging and discounting rights.

Who it affects: Distributors taking Visa or Mastercard at retail sites, cardlock, or on heating oil and propane accounts.

Verified vs. claimed: Based on Payments Dive reporting dated October 16; the court docket was not reviewed. Nothing is final, and an appeal is likely whichever way the court rules.

What to check: Make no surcharge or card-acceptance changes yet. Pull 12 months of premium and commercial credit volume by site. Confirm whether your processor prices interchange-plus, so any rate cut reaches you. If fleet customers pay with Visa or Mastercard commercial cards, decide in advance how you would use a right to decline them.

3. TANK MONITORING: Veeder-Root and Dover Fueling Solutions push centralized remote gauge management

What changed: At the NACS Show (Oct. 7 to 9), Vontier showed Veeder-Root Device Management, a consolidated view of tank gauge networks and site assets, and THE PLUS VIEW app for mobile access to gauge data (release dated Oct. 2). Dover showed DFS ClearView for real-time wetstock data and remote gauge monitoring across sites, and DX Fleet, a cloud fuel management platform whose mobile app can authorize fueling (release dated Sept. 30).

Context: A June 2, 2026 joint advisory from CISA, FBI, NSA, DOE, EPA, TSA, DOT and USDA reported active compromise of internet-exposed automatic tank gauges and told owners to take gauges off the public internet, change default credentials, and patch.

Who it affects: Operators with Veeder-Root or DFS gauges at retail, cardlock or bulk plant sites.

Verified vs. claimed: Both companies' releases confirm the products. Neither gave availability dates, pricing or version requirements. Uptime and early loss-detection benefits are vendor claims.

What to check: Ask your vendor or gauge service company in writing whether the remote tool connects outbound through the vendor's cloud or needs inbound access to the gauge. Confirm that no gauge answers on the public internet; the advisory names TCP ports 8001, 9001 and 10001. Change default codes, require multifactor login on any portal or app, and keep a list of who has access.

4. FLEET CARDS: Geotab Fleet Card, issued by AtoB, ties fuel approvals to vehicle data

What changed: Geotab launched the Geotab Fleet Card on October 1. AtoB and its bank partners issue and run it. The card stays locked until the driver unlocks it in the Geotab Drive app at the merchant, and fuel purchases are declined if the vehicle is not at the pump or the tank lacks room. Rules can be set by amount, time, location or merchant category across fuel and 11 other spend categories. Available to eligible U.S. fleets.

Who it affects: Geotab fleets weighing a card switch.

Verified vs. claimed: Geotab's release confirms the launch, the AtoB issuer role and the controls. "Wholesale discounts" at 34,000+ U.S. stations, no card fees, and a fraud guarantee of up to $250,000 for eligible accounts (provided by AtoB, subject to eligibility and exclusions) are company claims.

What to check: Read the guarantee exclusions before you count on it. Test how declines work when GPS or fuel-level data is missing, which is common on older trucks, equipment and tank wagons. Compare net price at the stations your drivers actually use against your current card.

5. TELEMATICS AND ELDs: No new FMCSA revocations; enforcement on the August five is live

What changed: Since October 6, carriers still running the five devices FMCSA removed on August 6 (Moonlight ELD MRS255, HGRS ELD HRS169, Highest ELD HIG385, Truckford ELD TRS263, Sparkle ELD SPARK6) are treated as having no ELD, and drivers can be placed out of service. FMCSA's newsroom shows no ELD removal notice after August 6, and this check found no newer agency revocation on the registry as of October 19.

Who it affects: Distributors with drivers under the ELD rule, and those that hire outside carriers.

Verified vs. claimed: FMCSA notice and registry. A proposed ELD rule revision has been reported by trade press but not published.

What to check: Match each device's ELD identifier against the registered list. Get written confirmation from contract carriers. Recheck the registry monthly.

QUIET CATEGORIES AND SOURCE LIMITS

No verified, consequential developments in dispatch and delivery software, back-office ERP or fuel pricing platforms in this window, and no verified outages or security incidents at covered vendors. The CISA advisory web page did not load; the advisory PDF on ic3.gov did. Geotab had not posted October release notes as of October 19. WEX reports third-quarter results October 28, after this window.

DEEPER READS

• Motive Agents release (Oct. 19, 2026): https://www.financialcontent.com/article/bizwire-2026-10-19-motive-launches-agents-ai-that-acts-before-problems-start
• Payments Dive, settlement filings (Oct. 16, 2026): https://www.paymentsdive.com/news/visa-mastercard-urge-court-to-approve-fee-settlement/833241/
• Vontier NACS release (Oct. 2, 2026): https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/vontier-brings-connected-retail-ecosystem-life-nacs-2026-2026-10-02
• Dover NACS release (Sept. 30, 2026): https://investors.dovercorporation.com/news-releases/news-release-details/dover-operating-companies-present-latest-technologies-and
• Joint advisory on tank gauges (June 2, 2026): https://www.ic3.gov/CSA/2026/260602.pdf
• Geotab Fleet Card release (Oct. 1, 2026): https://www.geotab.com/press-release/geotab-fleet-card/
• FMCSA notice on five removed ELDs (Aug. 6, 2026): https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/fmcsa-removes-five-devices-list-registered-electronic-logging-devices-0
• FMCSA revoked ELD list: https://eld.fmcsa.dot.gov/List/Revoked
• FMCSA press releases: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/newsroom/press-releases

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