NCR Atleos is an ATM manufacturer that operates the largest ATM network in the world. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the company relies on field technicians to keep its operations running.
For Strategic Fleet Commodity Manager Jose Rocha, CAFM, that means making sure employees have the right vehicles for their jobs, while keeping costs and administrative work under control.
But not every employee needs a company vehicle.
By introducing a Fixed and Variable Rate (FAVR) reimbursement program with Cardata, NCR Atleos found a way to reduce its reliance on fleet vehicles, reimburse employees fairly, and simplify how it manages business driving.
The Challenge: Not Every Employee Needs a Company Vehicle
At NCR Atleos, different technicians have different vehicle needs.
Master Technicians, who handle more specialized work, require upfitted company vehicles. But other field technicians don't necessarily need that same equipment to do their jobs.
For Jose, providing every technician with a company vehicle didn't make sense.
"We just didn't want to purchase a vehicle that would be needlessly unnecessary for the driver to take home, as well as for us to purchase and lease and upfit."
And introducing another class of company vehicles would only add to the complexity.
That meant more vehicles to purchase or lease, more assets to manage, and more costs for the business.
Instead, Jose started exploring a different approach: allowing certain employees to drive their personal vehicles for work and reimbursing them for their business mileage.
But he wanted to make sure the program was set up properly.
Cost savings were important, but so was reducing liability, making sure personal vehicles were appropriately insured, and ensuring employees were reimbursed fairly for the true cost of driving.
The Search For A Fairer, Simpler Solution
Jose's search for a better approach started with a question in a NAFA discussion forum.
He wanted to hear from other fleet managers who had experience transitioning employees from leased company vehicles to personal-vehicle reimbursement.
"Any guidance on how to do it properly? I know you don't want to overpay because it becomes taxable or underpay because that's not correct."
That's when he connected with Cardata.
NCR Atleos was looking for a program that would be easier to manage than providing company vehicles, without creating unnecessary administrative work for his team.
And just as importantly, Jose wanted to make sure employees were being reimbursed based on what it actually cost them to drive for work.
"We wanted to make sure that we paid our technicians fairly."
While the IRS standard mileage rate offered a straightforward option, Jose saw an opportunity to take a more precise approach.
With FAVR, reimbursements could account for factors like local fuel prices and insurance costs, rather than relying on a single nationwide rate.
"With the FAVR program, they get fairly reimbursed based on their area;the current gas price and insurance rates for their area."
For NCR Atleos, that meant finding a better balance between employee fairness and company costs.
The Shift: A Smarter Approach To Fleet Management
NCR Atleos started small, taking a phased approach to introducing personal vehicle reimbursement into their fleet strategy.
Master Technicians who needed specialized, upfitted vehicles would continue using company vehicles.
Other field technicians could use their personal vehicles and receive tax-free mileage reimbursement through Cardata.
The program started with 20 drivers, with plans to expand as more eligible employees joined.
For Jose, this approach meant NCR Atleos could avoid purchasing or leasing vehicles for roles that didn't require them.
"We decided to go with a privately owned vehicle and using Cardata because it's a lot easier on the company to manage that program separately."
It also gave NCR Atleos a more consistent way to handle reimbursement across different employee groups.
Territory managers, for example, were already driving their personal vehicles for work but were being reimbursed using the IRS standard mileage rate.
Jose saw an opportunity to bring them into the FAVR program, too.
"Why are you using that when you can just be on the program enrolled and get fairly reimbursed for driving for work?"
By matching the reimbursement approach to each employee's needs, NCR Atleos could keep company vehicles where they made sense and use personal-vehicle reimbursement where they didn't.
The Impact: Lower Costs, Fairer Reimbursements
One of the biggest opportunities for NCR Atleos was reducing the cost of providing company vehicles.
Before moving forward, Jose and his team compared the costs of purchasing or leasing vehicles against reimbursing employees for using their own.
The initial analysis with Cardata identified approximately $50,000 in potential annual company savings across a set of 10 example leased vehicles, when compared to a FAVR reimbursement alternative.
And in describing the financial impact of the program, Jose highlighted even greater savings in practice, because the company no longer needed to take on high acquisition costs at times of vehicle turnover.
“We found that by using Cardata to reimburse our drivers, over the lifespan of a vehicle, we would save an average of $50,000 per driver compared to leasing our own vehicles and handing them off to employees.”
Beyond the financial opportunity, the program also helped NCR Atleos move toward a simpler way of managing business driving.
Instead of adding more company vehicles to its fleet, the business could reimburse eligible employees for using vehicles they already owned.
And with FAVR, those reimbursements could better reflect actual driving costs, including regional differences in fuel and insurance.
For Jose, that balance was important. The goal was to make sure the program worked for both employees and the company.
The Results That Matter Most
NCR Atleos started with 20 drivers on Cardata and is looking to expand the program to include territory managers who already use their personal vehicles for work.
For Jose, the value goes beyond reducing vehicle costs.
It's about making better decisions about who actually needs a company vehicle, creating a fairer reimbursement experience, and gaining more visibility into business driving.
His experience working with Cardata has also been positive.
"It's been great working with Cardata. Everyone's really friendly, super helpful, and knowledgeable. So, it's been a great experience."
After more than a year working together, Jose sees personal-vehicle reimbursement as an option more fleet managers should consider.
"Everyone has employees that drive personal vehicles no matter what. You might use the IRS standard rate because it's easier, but being on the FAVR program reimburses the driver more fairly and you get a little more visibility into what they're actually driving for."
Ready To Rethink Your Fleet Strategy?
NCR Atleos didn't need to eliminate company vehicles to make its fleet strategy more efficient.
By identifying which employees truly needed specialized vehicles and which could use their own, the company found an opportunity to reduce costs, simplify administration, and reimburse employees more fairly.
If you're managing a fleet and wondering whether every employee really needs a company vehicle, it might be time to explore what a mixed fleet and reimbursement strategy could look like for your business.
Talk to Cardata
