INTERIM PROJECT REPORT ON

“ O P T I M I Z A T I ON O F F L E E T C AR D
MANAGEMENT (XTRAPOWER)
PROCESS IN INDIANOIL.”

BY: MADHU JAIN (08BSHYD0387)

MOBILE NO: +91 9989509443

INDIANOIL CORPORATION LIMITED (INDIAN OIL BHAVAN, G-9, ALI YAVAR JUNG MARG,
BANDRA (E), MUMBAI-400 051)
PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR :
FACULTY GUIDE :
Shri V. N. Garg
Mr. S.V. Bidwai. DGM (Finance) HO,
Professor (IBS, Hyderabad) Ph. No. 022- 2644 7430

PROJECT MENTOR:
Mr. Moni Chakraborty
Manager (Finance) HO,

PROJECT STARTING DATE: 23 FEB Ph. No. 022- 2644 7435

2009

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 18 APRIL 2009 P a g e |1

 INTERIM PROJECT REPORT ON

“ O P T I M I Z A T I ON O F F L E E T C AR D
MANAGEMENT (XTRAPOWER)
PROCESS IN INDIANOIL.”

BY: MADHU JAIN (08BSHYD0387)

An interim report submitted in partial fulfillment of

the requirements of
Summer Internship Program.

ICFAI BUSINESS SCHOOL, HYDERABAD

Page | 2
 C O N TEN TS

INTERIM PROJECT REPORT ON.....................................................................................................1

Indianoil Corporation Limited (INDIAN OIL BHAVAN, G-9, ALI YAVAR JUNG MARG, BANDRA (E),
MUMBAI-400 051)........................................................................................................................ 1
PROJECT STARTING DATE: 23 FEB 2009 ..............................1

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 18 APRIL 2009................................................................1

INTERIM PROJECT REPORT ON.....................................................................................................2

ICFAI BUSINESS SCHOOL, HYDERABAD..........................................2

Contents..................................................................................3
Abstract....................................................................................................................................... 4
Section-1: Background.................................................................................................................5
1.1 about iocl .....................................................5
operating structure......................................................................................................................5
iocl products................................................................................................................................ 5
Section-2 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................ 6
2.1 CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAMS IN INDIANoil:......................................................................6
1.2 IOCL’s xtrapower....................................................................................................................7
2.3. XTRAPOWER Features, Objectives, & Benefits....................................................................10
3.1. Parties to the program........................................................................................................ 12
3.2. Business process.................................................................................................................16
3.2. a. Online Registration........................................................................................................ 17
3.2. a. Offline Registration........................................................................................................20
3.2. c. personalization................................................................................................................24
3.2. d. user pin change.............................................................................................................. 27
3.2. e. reload.............................................................................................................................. 28
3.2. h. sale.............................................................................................................................. 37
3.2. i. void.................................................................................................................................41
3.2. a. end-of-day/batch settlement..........................................................................................43

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3.2. j. hot listing........................................................................................................................47
4.2. references...........................................................................................................................49

AB STRAC T

On March 2004, IOCL launched a loyalty program based smart card called ”XTRAPOWER FLEET CARD”
designed specifically for the Fleet Operators and Corporate Customers. Fleet Card program facilitates
fleet Operators to carry out cashless transactions for purchase of Fuels/Lubes at the designated Retail
Outlet of IndianOil and to keep track of mileage, fuel consumption and vehicle performance. Fleet Card
has two variants viz. Prepaid and Credit. The value proposition to the Customer in this program is
flexible payment options including credit, centralized billing, reward points, and various reports.
Concurrently, the inbuilt yellow-colored microchip in the Fleet Card helps in identifying the customer
with every transactions of purchase recorded by the web and relevant details posted on the net at the
Central Server monitored by a German based Software Company and Service Provider of IOCL, AXALTO.

As per the stringent guidelines drawn by Shri V. N. Garg, DGM (Finance, IOCL), the project confines
specifically and categorically to the practical application, operational, and execution of the Fleet Card
program of IOCL on the web devoid of its technical software installation. The Scope of my project entails
Optimization of the Fleet Card Management (Xtrapower) process of IndianOil. In depth study and
analysis of IOCL Fleet card processes and overall approach in the market in terms of carrying out
cashless transactions for purchase of fuel/lubes, covers the following areas in my interim report
presentation.

• Online and manual enrollment by a customer to the Fleet Card Program.

• Personalization process based on the information about the customer in the application form.

• Activation of the Fleet Card issued to the Customer.

• Manual and online reload process to recharge the Fleet card.

• Sales process at the Retail Outlet of IndianOil using the Fleet Card having value in it.

• Void process in case wrong sales transaction entry done by the Retail Outlet.

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 • Settlement process of daily Fleet Card sales by the Retail Outlet of IndianOil.

• Hot listing process in case Fleet Card is stolen, lost or mutilated by the Customer.

SECTION-1: BACKGROUND

1.1 ABOUT IOCL

Indian Oil Corporation is India’s largest commercial enterprise, ranking 116th on the Fortune Global 500
listing (2008). It began operation in 1959 as Indian Oil Company Ltd. The Indian Oil Corporation was
formed in 1964, with the merger of Indian Refineries Ltd. Indian Oil and its subsidiaries account for 47%
share in petroleum products market, 40.4% share in refining capacity and 67% downstream sector
pipelines capacity in India. The Indian Oil Group of Companies owns and operates 10 of India's 19
refineries with a combined refining capacity of 60.2 million metric tons per annum. Indian Oil also
operates the largest and the widest network of fuel stations in the country, numbering about 16,600.

The company has retained its financial position in the market where the times have been quite tough in
terms of the volatile crude oil prices, intensifying competition, etc. It is the frontrunner petroleum
downstream company of India (Oil & Gas category) in the Financial Express's 'FE 500' listing released for
the year end 2008. It has been ranked in the top slot in the Business Week’s Top Companies for 2008-
09.

O PERATI N G STRUC TUR E

Downstream Operations
Pipeline
Fuel Research and
Refining Transportatio Marketing Development
n

I OC L PRO DUC TS

Indian Oil's product range covers petrol, diesel, LPG, auto LPG, aviation turbine fuel, lubricants, naphtha,
bitumen, paraffin, kerosene etc. Some of the prominent brands of IOCL are Xtra Premium branded
petrol, Xtra Mile high-speed diesel, Servo lubricants, Indane LPG, Auto gas LPG, and Indian Oil Aviation.

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SECTION-2 INTRODUCTION

2.1 CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAMS IN INDIANOIL:

In India, in the field of marketing generally and more specifically in the field of retailing, a Loyalty Card is
a plastic card, visually similar to a credit card or a debit card, that identifies the card holder as a
member in a commercial incentive programme. Retail establishment or a retail group may issue a
loyalty card to a customer who in turn can use it for identification while dealing with the retailer on
commercial aspect. By presenting the card, the customer/card holder is typically entitled to either a
discount on the current purchase or an allotment of Loyalty Points that can be used for future purchases.

For the petroleum retail sector in India, recent years have exhibited fundamental changes in the way
business is being done. With the deregulation of the sector has seen itself exposed to the new market
forces. The competitive threat has increased in length and breadth. With the private players entering the
fray, the pricing is increasingly market driven and customers are demanding more. With the competition
becoming unbendable, the smarter players have realized that the best way to do business is to lock the
customers into a habit they cannot break.

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1.2 IOCL’S XTRAPOWER

2.2.C. “XTRAPOWER”-PROGRAM DETAIL

With the dismantling of Administered Price Mechanism on 1st April 2002, the marketing of transportation fuels has been opened for
private players in the domestic as well as international sector. The surge in automobile sales has led to significant investments being
made to develop and expand the petroleum retail market. According to US-based consultancy Keystone, automobile sales that
number about a million vehicles is likely to grow to about 20 million a year by 2030, making India, the third largest automobile
market in the world.

Earlier all the fuels and lubes transactions were done in cash, which posed inconvenience to both the
customers and the dealers. This was one of the primary reasons behind the launch of Fleet Program in
India. The pioneer in the field of fleet Card was BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) with its
“Smart Card”-based Petro Bonus Program launched in September 1999. Indian Oil Corporation Limited
did not enter the field of loyalty program until mid 2002. IOCL was exclusively focusing their initial
marketing efforts largely on building retail outlet brand and services before launching a range of card-
based programs like BPCL. In the Transport (Roadways) Sector, market share of IOCL and its domestic &
private competitors is shown below:

In order to keep its market share and customer base intact, in March 2004 IOCL launched a loyalty
program based smart card called ”XTRAPOWER FLEET CARD” for the Fleet Operators, wherein they can
make purchase at designated ROs(Retail Outlet of IOCL). This debit and credit card based program

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offered the customers all the facilities of a regular debit/credit card in addition to a host of specific
services including transaction fees waiver, surcharge waiver, insurance coverage, discounts, increased
points earning opportunities, fuel for loyalty points etc. this program leveraged the wide acceptance of
the credit/debit card as a payment device and an established reader network.

Thus, Xtrapower Fleet Card Program of IndianOil has been launched in two variants: Prepaid & Credit.
The Credit form of the Fleet Card has been launched in association with Sundaram Finance Limited (SFL)
with the objective of increasing the loyalty of the commercial vehicle owners / operators & corporate to
exclusively patronize IOCL Retail Outlets for meeting their requirements of automotive fuels and lubes.
Fleet Card transactions were started in April 2004. A survey was done by the Marketing team of IOC,
which shows the percentage of enrollment with the Fleet Card Program (shown below):

Enrollment with Fleet Card Program

15%
15%
51% IOCL
BPCL
HPCL
25% Reliance

Every time customer fills the fleet with fuel and lubes (lubricants) using their Xtrapower fleet Card at the
designated ROs of IOC, they earn loyalty points also called XTRA points. These XTRA points can be
exchanged either with lucrative gifts from XTRAPOWER Rewards Catalogue or can be redeemed into free
fuel and lubes. Earlier 5 points were awarded on Rs. 100 worth purchase of fuel/lubes, which has now
changed to 30 points. The monetary value of each point was 8 paise initially but now it has changed to 1
paise per point.

Once the enrollment is through for the Fleet Card Membership, the Customer is provided with two types
of cards i.e. Fleet Card and Fleet Control Card. Fleet Control Card is a token card issued to all the Card

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Members enrolled under XTRAPOWER Fleet Card Program. The Fleet Control Card contains Customer
Name, Control Card Number and Customer ID.

If at any point of time, a card member decides to enroll more vehicles under the Fleet Card Program, the
card member has to fill a small application form giving the details of the additional vehicles to be
enrolled under the program. The membership of the Card Member for XTRAPOWER Fleet Card is
applicable for a period of one year from the date of card issuance. One can renew the membership by
paying the annual fees.

The XTRAPOWER Fleet Card is sent to the Card Member in a dormant condition. This is done essentially
to protect the Card Member against any misuse of his/her fleet card(s) before he/she actually receives
them. To activate the XTRAPOWER card one needs to move to the nearby-designated RO (Retail Outlet)
of IOCL. The Fleet Cards are activated by changing the default PIN on the card terminal at a RO of IOCL.

Once the card is activated, Card Member can easily control his/her fuel/lubes expenses better through
the different limits prescribed by the IOCL applicable to each of the fleet card (explained later).

It is mandatory to specify the above-mentioned card limits in the application forms or else the
application form will be treated as incomplete. The limits on the card can however be changed
subsequently by giving a written request to the Fleet Marketing Officer.

FRONT VIEW OF THE XTRAPOWER FLEET CARD

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Once the Card is issued the swiping machine reads the “smart yellow colored chip” present on the left
upper corner of the Fleet card. Except the Smart Chip all information present on the card are embossed
on the card once the Card is sent to personalization centre for data personalization after the interested
customer enroll to the program.

BACK VIEW OF THE XTRAPOWER FLEET CARD

The back portion of the card does not contain any vital information of XTRA importance. It only imparts
the IndianOil’s toll-free customer helpline i.e. 1600 425 5599.

2.3. XTRAPOWER FEATURES, OBJECTIVES, & BENEFITS

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2.3. A. FEATURE OF FLEET CARD PROGRAM:

• Fleet Card Program covers two variants VIZ. Prepaid Card & Credit Card. Under the Prepaid Card
system, the Card Member has to first reload the card with money and then use the card. Under
Credit Card system, Credit partner of IOCL i.e. Sundaram Finance Limited extends credit to Card
Members for purchase of fuel/lubes through Fleet Card.

• XTRAPOWER Fleet Card is usage as well as vehicle specific which states that the Card must be
used for the purpose of purchasing fuel/lubes for the automobile for which the card has been
issued. This is for the control of the Card Member on the expense incurred on fuel/lubes
(lubricants) and to keep track of the transaction on each of his fleet vehicles, which are enrolled
under the said program.

• It provides flexible options for Cash Loading at Designated ROs (Retail Outlet) of Indian Oil. Hence,
the two Options are –Offline Reload (individual reload of card), where reloading is done manually &
CCMS (Customer Cash Management System) Reload (Remote reload of cards through lump sum
deposit of cash at a convenient place), also known as online reload.

• It facilitates Card to Card Fund Transfer for the convenience of the Customers.

• Under this program, the XTRAPOWER membership is valid for a period of one year from the date of
card issuance. One can renew his membership by the annual fees.

• It offers option of Credit, for instance, through Credit Partner like Sundaram Finance Limited.

• It gives provision for Different Limits on the Card – Transaction Limit, Daily Limit, Cash Purse Limit
& Monthly Limit.

• Transaction Slip for every Transaction undertaken on Fleet Card. Every time the customer vehicle
makes a purchase of fuel/lubes at the designated ROs of IOC, a transaction slip is generated. The
transaction slip contains the date and time of the purchase, the value of the purchase and the
reading of the odometer at the designated ROs of the IOC.

• It gives attractive Rewards Program, for example, 30 XTRA Points per Rs 100 purchase of Fuel @1p
i.e 0.3%.

P a g e | 11
 • It introduces wide-range of Reward Items including Fuel / Lubes from the XTRAPOWER reward
catalogue managed by Royal Image.

• Enrollment for additional Fleet Card(s) can be done at any point of time. For this, the customer
needs to fill up an application form giving details of the additional vehicles to be enrolled.

• XTRAPOWER gives free Personal Accident Insurance (Rs 1 Lac per Card, Max. Rs 20 Lac) for Card
member and Vehicle Crew (Driver – Rs. 50,000, Co-Driver – Rs. 25,000). Also Lost Card Liability
Cover (Max. Rs. 16,000).

• Fleet Owner are provided with mediclaim of Rs. 2500/- Per card (Max – Rs 50000/-), and Vehicle
Crew a sum of Rs. 2500.

• IOCs Fleet Program imparts instant Redemption of XTRA Points for Fuel & Lube.

• It also provides a dedicated website for customer grievance handling i.e. www.iocxtrapower.com.

• It also shares a Toll-free Customer Helpline i.e. 1800 425 5599 which can be accessed by the card
members and the public at large.

2.3. B. OBJECTIVE OF THE IOCL BEHIND LAUNCHING THIS PROGRAM:

• As per the law of land, cash transaction beyond Rs. 50, 000 was not allowed. Therefore, to
overcome it IndianOil launched the Smart Card system.
• To preserve & increase its market share (i.e. 51% in the Transport Sector in the Year 2008-09).
• To retain and expand the existing customer base (3, 70, 000 Customers in the Year 2008-09 and
is expected to increase by 50,000 Customers in the Year 2009-10).
• To boost the revenue and profitability by accelerating the sales (Revenue= Rs. 12,183 Crores for
2008-09; Profit Margin= Rs. 350 Crores for 2008-09).

SECTION-3 XTRAPOWER-BUSINESS PROCESS

3.1. PARTIES TO THE PROGRAM

This section deals with the various parties/business entities involved in the program.

P a g e | 12
3.1. A. PROGRAM MANAGER:

IOC is the program manager, which is the owner, sponsorer, and promoter of the Fleet card program.

Its functions in the Fleet Card Program are enlisted below:

• Defining the function of the program.

• Defining the Business rules of the program.
• Appointing the operational partner of the program.
• Identifying the trading partner of the program like Card issuers, merchant Acquirers, Card
members etc.
• Providing settlement services between issuers and the acquirers.

3.1. B. CARD ISSUERS:

Card issuers issue fleet Card to the members enrolled to the program. Under this Program IOCL is the
card issuer.

Its functions in the Fleet Card Program are enlisted below:

• Identification and enrollment of the card members

• Verification of card member’s detail.
• Management of card Holder and Card member’s database.
• Personalization of smart Cards.
• Hot list management for Card Holders and card members.

3.1. C. MERCHANT ACQUIRER:

Merchant acquirer acquires merchants for the fleet Card program and is responsible for transactions at
the Merchant’s end. It also takes cares of the Campaign on behalf of the Card issuer. IOCL is the
merchant acquirer in this program.

Its functions in the Fleet Card Program are enlisted below:

P a g e | 13
 • Identification and enrollment of merchants/retail outlets in the program.
• Management of the merchant database.
• Settlement of the merchants.
• Maintain the Retail outlet also called POST.

3.1. D. MERCHANT:

Merchant is the provider of service for issuer’s products and has a POST(s) installed at his premise.
Batch settlement is done by the merchant on POST to transfer transactions from POST to Acquirer. Thus,
IOCL retail Outlet having the POST installed will be the merchant in this scheme.

3.1. E. CARD MEMBERS:

Fleet Operators and the corporate customers are the card members in this program.

Its functions in the Fleet Card Program are enlisted below:

• Identification of vehicles for Fleet Card.

• Distribution and management of these Cards.
• Arrange for prepaid or credit facility on the cards for its Card Holder through self-finance
or through any credit partners.
• Defining limits for the Card Holders within this scheme.

3.1. F. CARD HOLDERS:

Card Holder is the end user, typically the truck driver or a taxi driver who actually uses the Fleet Card for
purchasing IOC products offered by the merchant.

P a g e | 14
3.1. G. CREDIT PARTNERS:

Credit Partners are both banking (like HDFC bank) and non-banking financial institutions, which provide
credit to the card members like Sundaram Finance limited.

The role of credit partners are:

• Provision of credit.
• Risk management related to credit.
• Collection of payments from the card members.
• Reconciliation and settlement of financial transactions with the acquirer, IOCL.
• Evaluation of risk and determination of credit limits of the Card members.

3.1. H. SERVICE PROVIDER:

It includes both Application Service Provider and Loyalty Program Manager. In IOCL, the application
service provider is AXALTO. It is a Germany based company, which has given the whole technical know-
how of Fleet Card Program and is responsible for the overall working and maintenance of the system
whereas the later is the service provider that manages the redemption aspect of loyalty program for the
Card Members with the assistance of the service provider AXALTO.

Its functions in the Fleet Card Program are enlisted below:

• Management of loyalty reward items.

• Induce and sustain the card usage.
• Provide customer helpline for card members.
• Suggest newer or improved loyalty schemes.
• Create loyalty for card members by providing attractive loyalty schemes.
• Perform complex data mining activities to analyze the impact of various schemes on card
usage.

Fleet Card Program goes through the following steps:

P a g e | 15
3.2. BUSINESS PROCESS

IOCL Fleet Card Application is a web-based system facilitating purchase of fuel/lubes through smart card
at its Retail Outlets (ROs) across the Country. The end users are Card Members and the RO dealers.

Thus, enrollment to this system can be done by the prospective customer either through internet or
through paper forms available at merchant outlets, i.e.

P a g e | 16
 • Online Registration.

• Offline Enrollment(using paper forms)

≈ Manual Data entry.

≈ Entry using digital scanning of forms.

3.2. A. ONLINE REGISTRATION

Online registration is the process where the customers can apply for the membership of the fleet card
through internet. Once the online application form is filled by the interested Customers , the application
form is sent for further verification, which is done offline. The process of online registration includes
following steps:
• Once the online form is filled after visiting the web site and selecting the registration option

respectively, a registration no. is displayed on the screen.

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 • This registration no. is further communicated to the customer via email or else a customer can

take out a printout of it for future reference.

• For any subsequent checking of the status, “registration Status” option is provided on the web

site.

• There is a payment gateway link on the website where the customer after registration can pay

the requisite registration fee.

• Simultaneously a mail is sent to the IOCL Fleet Card Managers in HO & the State Offices with a

link to the online registration form for the enrollment of the customer.

After appropriate verification of the application form is done and once being enrolled as a card member,
the customer can easily access the website by using his/her user ID and password.

Following Flow Chart shows how online registration actually takes place:

Online Registration

P a g e | 18
CUSTOMER

CUSTOMER PAYMENT GATEWAY LINK CAN

VISITS FLEET BE USED PAY REGISTRATION
CARD WEBSITE FEE

CUSTOMER FILLS UP
THE ONLINE CUSTOMER REGISTRATION NUMBER WILL
REGISTRATION SUBMITS THE BE EMAILED TO THE CUSTOMER
FORM FORM
HOST

REGISTRATION NUMBER
GENERATED AND SHOWN ON
SCREEN

P a g e | 19
3.2. A. OFFLINE REGISTRATION
Besides online enrollment, Customer, if desires, can also go for offline enrollment by filling the
application form available at various sourcing channels like IOCL offices/ Fleet Card Credit Partners/
Merchant Outlets. Offline Enrollment involves following steps:

• The Customer is provided with an Application form having unique Form ID and Source ID by the
Fleet Card Sourcing Channel.

• Once the form is filled it is submitted back to the sourcing channel along with the enrollment fees
which is further provided to the Issuer(IOCL) for approval, which subsequently forwards it to the
data center where required data entry is made either of the given two ways:

I. Manual data entry:

• At first, the information given by the customer in the application form is entered by the

Data entry Operator in the System.

• After data entry, the system will run to verify if the customer is already enrolled in the

Fleet Card Program based on Customer name, Vehicle Registration number, Telephone

Number, City, Pin Code etc.

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 • If the customer is not enrolled, then the system will enroll the customer and will generate

a unique customer ID and a file containing personalization data. The Customer ID will be

the primary account of the card member.

• Personalization data file is sent to the personalization center for card personalization.

II. Form Scanning.

• Same process is followed as in case of enrollment through paper forms up to the point the

physical form reaches the Data Center.

• The Application form is then scanned through digital scanner and is uploaded to the

HOST(Central Server located at the Data Centre for receiving, storing, processing and

sending data for the Fleet Card Program).

• System will run the validation check to verify if the customer is already enrolled on the

basis of Customer Name, Vehicle Registration Number, Telephone Number,

City/Town/Village, PIN Code etc.

• The data entered is in form is checked for correctness on the basis of above information.

• If found OK, system will generate a unique Customer ID and a file contain Personalization

data. The customer ID will be the primary account of the Card Member.

• This enrollment request will be marked as “New Enrollment Offline” in the database.

• In case if the request is for duplicate or additional cards, then the original customer ID will

be retained.

• Finally the personalization data is sent for Card personalization.

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OFFLINE ENROLLMENT- Manual Data Entry
DATA CENTRE CHANNELSOURCING CUSTOMER PARTNERCREDIT

FOR CREDIT CARD THE

APPLICATION FORM SENT TO
CREDIT PARTNERFOR CREDIT
APPRAISAL

CUSTOMER FILLS UP
THE APPLICATION FORM
& PAYS THE CUSTOMER
Credit
ENROLLMENT FEES RECEIVES THE
Card
CARD

APPLICATION FORM
SOURCING CHANNEL SENT TO ISSUER FOR
PROVIDES THE APPROVAL
APPLICATION FORM TO
THE CUSTOMER

Prepaid Card
SEND
Success PERSONALIZATION
MANUAL DATA DATA TO
ENTRY PERSONALIZATION
APPROVED
APPLICATION CENTRE
FORM SENT TO
DATA CENTRE
VERIFY
DATA Failure
MANUAL
INTERVENTION

P a g e | 22
 CENTRECARD PERSONALISZATION

PERSONALIZES CARD

CARD DISPATCH IN A
WELCOME KIT

OFFLINE ENROLLMENT- Form Scanning

CHANNELSOURCING CUSTOMER PARTNERCREDIT

FOR CREDIT CARD THE

APPLICATION FORM SENT TO
CREDIT PARTNERFOR CREDIT
APPRAISAL

CUSTOMER FILLS UP
CUSTOMER
THE APPLICATION FORM
RECEIVES THE
& PAYS THE Credit Card
CARD
ENROLLMENT FEES

APPLICATION FORM
SOURCING CHANNEL SENT TO ISSUER FOR
PROVIDES THE APPROVAL
APPLICATION FORM
TO THE CUSTOMER

P a g e | 23
 Prepaid Card
DATA CENTRE

SEND
Success
PERSONALIZATION
FORM DATA TO
APPROVED SCANNING PERSONALIZATION
APPLICATION CENTRE
FORM SENT TO
DATA CENTRE

Failure
VERIFY MANUAL
DATA INTERVENTION
CENTRECARD PERSONALISZATION

PERSONALIZES CARD

CARD DISPATCH IN A
WELCOME KIT

3.2. C. PERSONALIZATION

Once the customer gets himself/herself registered, card personalization is done. Personalization is the
method of loading personal data on the user card at the personalization center, which is highly secured.
It is divided into three parts:

• Key generation process: Here a set of 16 keys of 16 characters is defined which is to be

injected/embossed in the Master Card.

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• Key injection Process: Here the keys developed is injected from the master card to the User Card.

Due to the need of the high security only a person either appointed or authorized by the IOCL can

inject these keys.

• Card personalization: Here the user card is physically embossed or engraved and the Card

Personalization machine loads personal data. Personal data includes details like Card ID, Card

Member Name, Vehicle Registration Number and Expiry Date etc.

• The Card is set with default PIN that is generally initialized with “0000”. Finally, the user card is

sent to the Customer in a welcome kit. The Card Holder through a secured four-digit personal

identification number authorizes the transaction on the fleet Card, i.e. PIN.

FLEET CARD BEFORE AND AFTER PHYSICALLY EMBOSSED

Fleet card before card is embossed or

engraved.

Fleet card after card is

embossed or engraved.

P a g e | 25
Following Flow Chart will make the process of Card personalization more clear:

Card Personalization

P a g e | 26
 CENTRE HOSTCARD PERSO

PERSONALIZATION DETAILS HOST RECEIVES

SENT TO CARD DESPATCH DETAILS
PERSONALIZATION CENTRE

PERSONALIZES CARD

GENERATES WELCOME SENDS DISPATCH

LETTERS DISPATCHES PACKAGE DETAILS TO HOST
TO CUSTOMER

3.2. D. USER PIN CHANGE

The XTRAPOWER Fleet Card is sent to the customer in a dormant condition. This is done essentially to
protect the card member against any misuse of his/her fleet card(s) before he/she actually receives
them. It is mandatory to change the default User PIN (Personal Identification Number) before the first
transaction takes place. However, subsequently the PIN (Personal Identification Number) can be
changed at any time by the Card Holder. To activate the XTRAPOWER card, the Card Holder needs to
move to the nearby-designated RO (Retail Outlet) of IOCL. The Fleet Cards are activated by changing the
default PIN on the Card Terminal at any Retail Outlet of IOCL. Thus, following steps are followed to
change the default user PIN:

P a g e | 27
 • At first the card has to be inserted in the POST (Point of Sales Terminal i.e. Retail Outlets of IOCL).

If the card is in dormant condition i.e. not used by the customer for more than 3 months or any

period will be defined.

• Then an online connection will be made with HOST(Central Server located at the Data Centre for

receiving, storing, processing and sending data for the Fleet Card Program) to verify the Card for

hot listing etc. Hot listing is the process where the card is marked as hot listed so that no further

transaction on that particular card will be entertained (A card can be hot listed if it is reported to

be lost, damaged or stolen).

• If card is found to be “Hot Listed”, then no further transaction will take place on that particular

card.

• If the card is validated by the POST, then the menu is displayed where the old PIN is changed for

the new one. New PIN must be different from the Old/defaulted PIN.

3.2. E. RELOAD
Once the Card is activated, the customer loads money on the card. There are two kinds of Fleet Cards,
i.e., Prepaid Card and Credit Card

PREPAID CARD: Under the Prepaid Card System, the Card Member has to first reload the card with the
required amount and then they can use the card for the purchase of Fuel/lubes from the ROs (retail
Outlets) of IOCL. Firstly, the Card Members/Card Holders pay at the designated ROs to load and reload
money value on the card. Here there are two types of customers’ viz. Generic and normal. Generic
customers include Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Reliance India Mobile etc. Thereafter they can purchase
lubes/fuels against the card balance.

CREDIT CARD: It is a kind of co-branded card offered to the customers by IOCL with present credit
partner Sundaram Finance Ltd. The later extends credit to card members for purchase of fuel/lubes
through Fleet Card. The credit partner, Sundaram Finance Limited (SFL), has to send cheques to Finance

P a g e | 28
Department of the Head Office of IOCL, within two working days of sale of Fuel/Lubes through credit
cards. Thus in case of credit variant, based on the card limit as approved and sanctioned by the credit
partner, each of the card of the fleet owner will be given daily limit. Once the amount within the limit is
loaded in the card, customers can easily procure fuel/lubes from designated ROs of Indian oil. The daily
(Credit) limit on the card is automatically gets reset at midnight (00:00 hrs). The credit variant of the
card again provides two options to the Fleet Owners

In case of interest bearing credit, the Card Member has to pay the finance charges as decided by the
credit partner for the already used credit.

In case of interest free credit, the Card Member does not have to pay any interest for card utilization
during a specific period. The Card Members are given no reward points on the card usage under interest
free credit option whereas rewards points would be awarded under the interest bearing credit option of
the credit variant on the purchase of Fuel/lubes.

Thus for the prepaid variant of the Fleet Card , the first transaction will be reload transaction whereas for
the credit variant the transaction limit, daily limit shall come pre-initialized on to the card, hence reload
is not required. A Card Holder can use his card as long as the card has money value on it.

Once the card is activated, customer can easily control his/her fuel/lubes expenses better through the
different limits prescribed by the IOC for each of the fleet card.

• TRANSACTION LIMIT: It sets the maximum value of a sale transaction on a fleet card (default
value Rs12000). This limit ensures that each individual purchase on the card must not exceed the
prearranged limit.

P a g e | 29
 • DAILY LIMIT: It sets the maximum value of a sale transaction that can be done through the
card in a day (default value Rs. 24000). This limit has been provided to evade the misuse of the
Card.

• CASH PURSE LIMIT: It sets the maximum value of a sale transaction amount that can be loaded
or can be held in the card at any point of time. (Maximum value Rs. 50000).

• MONTHLY LIMIT: Its sets the maximum limit to the Fleet card during the month. The sales
transaction cannot exceed Rs. 70,000 during a month in a single Fleet Card.

It is mandatory to specify the above-mentioned card limits in the application forms or else the
application form will be treated as incomplete. The limits on the card can however be changed
subsequently by giving a written request to the Fleet Marketing Office

Now the Reloading can take place in either of the two ways:

• Offline reload, also known as Manual Reload.

• Online Reload, also known as CCMS (Central Cash Management System) Reload.

OFFLINE/MANUAL RELOAD

To load a Prepaid Card, Card Member/Card Holder has to pay the desired amount to be loaded on the
card at any designated Retail Outlet (ROs) of IndianOil and present the card for loading the money value
on to the card. The money value so loaded on the fleet card shall be treated as payment in advance for
future sales transaction of fuels/lubes at designated ROs. Hence following steps are followed to reload
XTRAPOWER fleet card manually:

P a g e | 30
• First of all the User Fleet Card is inserted in the POST (Point of Sales Terminal i.e. Retail Outlets of

IOCL) and amount is paid to the RO by the Card Holder/Card Member.

• If the card has not been used for 3 months, it is verified with the HOST (Central Server located at

the Data Centre for receiving, storing, processing and sending data for the Fleet Card Program)

for hot listing etc. if the system responds positively, then the card is marked as “Hot listed” and

no further transaction will be allowed. (A card can be hot listed if it is reported to be lost,

damaged or stolen).

• If POST validates the Card, then the “Manual Reload” option is selected from the “Menu Option”

and the amount is loaded.

• System then prompts user PIN (Personal Identification Number). POST (Point of Sales Terminal i.e.

Retail Outlets of IOCL) will ask for SAM (Merchant/Retail Outlet) PIN. Merchant/Retail Outlet enters

the PIN in case, if wrong, then it is blocked. Nevertheless, if the PIN entered right then the user

card is uploaded with the requested amount.

• The POST prints the receipt and hands it over to customer.

P a g e | 31
MANUAL RELOAD(OFF-LINE)

CUSTOMER POST MERCHANT

P a g e | 32
 NO INSERT USER CARD
CASH PAID TO RO HAS MAX HAS MAX IN THE POST
BY CARDHOLDER SETTLEMENT TRANSACTION
TIME EXCEEDED?
EXCEEDED?

CAN’T
TRIES ON
RELOAD
OTHER
YES YES ON THIS
POST
POST
DISPLAYS “LIMIT
NO EXCEEDED” OPTION

CARD HOT
CHOOSE
LISTED OR NO DISPLAYS RELOAD
EXPIRED? MENU OPTION

YES PROMPTS FOR USER

CUSTOMER
PIN
CARD IS
REJECTED
“USER PIN” ENTERS”USER PIN”
CORRECT?
YES

RELOAD YES
NO AMT “INCORRECT PIN”
ENTERED
DISPLAYED

IF PIN ENTER 3
TIMES
WRONG,PIN IS
COLLECTS BLOCKED
RECEIPT & CREDIT USER A/C
CARD & PRINT RECEIPT
FOR
TRANSACTION

In case if the Fleet Card contains a predefined limit then in that case the cash reloading will be done
online. This is being done primarily to capture the high value transactions of the system to be online and

P a g e | 33
faster settlement with the HOST (Central Server located at the Data Centre for receiving, storing,
processing and sending data for the Fleet Card Program i.e. Axalto, the Service Provider).

Hence the card member can also use CCMS reload facility for reloading of card. For CCMS reload, the
card member will first have to deposit a lump sum amount at a designated RO for recharge of his CCMS
account. Now the money available in the account can be used to reload the Fleet Card(s) from any
designated ROs of IOCL in the country. This payment for CCMS recharge can be made in cash (maximum
Rs 50,000/- at any point of time) at designated ROs of IndianOil.

STEPS INVOLVED IN ONLINE RELOAD THROUGH CCMS RECHARGE:

• Once the Card Holder goes to the Merchant/Retail Outlet to reload money online on his user card

from its card member’s central kitty on the HOST, POST (Point of Sales Terminal i.e. Retail Outlets

of IOCL) checks if the user card ID is in the “Hot List”. If the System responds positively, then the

card will be marked, as hot listed and no further transaction will take place. (A card can be hot

listed if it is reported to be lost, damaged or stolen).

• If the POST validates Card, “Online Reload Option” is displayed on the “Menu”, which is to be

selected.

• After then the system will prompt for the USER CARD PIN. In case of wrong entry of PIN, user can

re-enter up to 3 times, if failed, card PIN is blocked.

• In case the entry of User PIN is successful, the POST prompts for the Merchant (SAM) PIN.

• Once the Merchant enters the PIN, in case of wrong PIN (3 times), SAM PIN is blocked.

• If the PIN is valid, amount required is asked to be loaded which is decided on the basis of the

cash purse limit of the card member.

P a g e | 34
 • If reload amount exceeds the cash limit, then the reload will be rejected but if it does not then

the POST goes online and sends the reload amount to the HOST.

• The HOST will check whether that much amount is there in the central kitty of the card member.

If it is available then the reload amt is debited to the CCMS a/c of the card member. The reload

amt is then loaded on to the User Card.

• During Batch Settlement, the transaction is sent to the HOST along with other Transaction.

ONLINE RELOAD(CCMS)

CUSTOMER POST MERCHANT

USER CARD INSERT USER CARD
PRESENTED IN THE POST
FOR RELOAD

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 VERIFY CARD,
“ERROR FA CHECK EOD AT
ILURE
MESSAGE” POST
REFUSE SU
RELOAD
CCESS

DISPLAYS MENU, ENTER

USER PIN

YES “USER PIN” NO

CORRECT?
NO
POST CONNECTS TO
PROMPTS FOR HOST TO CHECK
IF PIN ENTER 3
SAM PIN AVAILABILITY OF AMT
TIMES
WRONG,PIN IS IN CARD MEMBER’S
BLOCKED KITTY
RELOAD
AMT NO
ENTERED&C
ASH LIMIT YES
CHECKED

RELOAD REJECTED. YES

REDUCE RELOAD
REMOVE CARD PRINT AMT FROM CARD
YYE RECEIPT POST LOADS MEMBER’S
FOR THE AMT TO CENTRALKITTY
RELOAD USER CARD

NO
CARD TO BE
REMOVED
POST REFUSES
THE RELOAD
In offline Reload, the Card Holder pays the requisite amount to the Merchant/Retail outlet after inserting
the card in the POST (Point of Sales Terminal i.e. Retail Outlets of IOCL). In case the card is dormant or
hot listed, no further transaction on that card will be allowed. Nevertheless, if the POST validates the
card, then the required recharge is to be done.

In online reload, the Card Members have to have an account with HDFC bank. Here the prepaid variant
of the fleet card reloads online from the balance available in the bank account of the Card Member at
HDFC Bank. Again the card also has a pre-defined cash purse limit. Thus a card can perform CCMS

P a g e | 36
(Central Cash Management System) recharge/reload for any amount within the cash purse limit. Once
the card is reloaded, all further sales transaction can take place offline. CCMS recharge can also be done
through Location/Retail Outlet, for instance, if the Transport Vendor wants to transfer partial amount of
his dues to his Fleet card account.

3.2. H. SALE
Once the Card Member’s Fleet Card reloaded, Sales Transaction takes place. Sale is the process where a
merchant/Retail Outlet sells fuel/lubes to fleet cardholders. Sale transaction will not take place unless
and until the card holds sufficient amount.

Each User Fleet Card has a predefined transaction limit as well as daily limit on the card. The Card
Holder can only be able to access the card if it is within the daily limit of the card. Once a sales
transaction takes place, that amount is deducted from the daily limit. Thus, a Card Holder cannot
perform any sales transaction on the card beyond daily limit and transaction limit of the Fleet Card.
Whereas in case of credit variant of the Fleet Card, Sales Transaction details are transferred to the
Credit Partners of IOCL on a daily basis that in turn will be responsible for maintaining the credit limits.

Sales at RO are done through:

P a g e | 37
STEPS INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF SALES:

• At first the User Card has to be inserted in the POST (Point of Sales Terminal i.e. Retail Outlets of

IOCL).

• POST checks if it has reached the End of Day i.e. If the batch has reached the maximum number

of Transactions or settlement time has exceeded.

• If EOD has reached, POST cannot transact unless batch is settled.

• If the card has not been used for 3 months it is verified with the HOST(Central Server located at

the Data Centre for receiving, storing, processing and sending data for the Fleet Card Program)

for hot listing etc. if yes then the card is marked as “Hot listed” and no further transaction will be

allowed.

P a g e | 38
• If POST validates the Card, “Sales Option” is selected from the “Menu Option” and the Sales

amount is loaded as per.

• In case the amount loaded is more than the transaction limit, daily limit or current available

balance in the card, an error message will be displayed and the Sales Transaction is rejected.

• In case the Sales amount is within the above-mentioned limits, the POST prompts for User PIN.

• Once the Card Holder enters the PIN, then in case of wrong PIN (3 times), User PIN is blocked.

• If user PIN is valid the POST deducts the Sales Amount from the User Card.

• POST prints the receipt and hands it over to customer

• During Batch Settlement, the transaction is sent to the HOST along with other Sales Transactions.

P a g e | 39
P a g e | 40
 Sale
3.2. I. VOID
CARD HOLDER POST

HAS EOD BEEN No No

IS USER CARD
INSERTS USER REACHED? DORMAT?
CARD IN THE POST

Yes Yes
TRIES ON DISPLAY ‘LIMIT POST GOES ONLINE TO No
ANOTHER POST EXCEEDED’ MESSAGE CHECK IF USER CARD
IS HOTLISTED

USER CARD IS
REJECTED IS CARD
Yes
HOTLISTED OR
SELECT ‘SALE’ Yes EXPIRED?
OPTION FROM THE
MENU DISPLAYS MENU

ENTERS THE DOES USER CARD No

CHOOSES THE SALES HAS THIS MUCH
PRODUCT FROM AMOUNT AMOUNT?
THE SUB-MENU

No
USER PIN CARD HOLDER PROMPTS FOR Yes DISPLAYS ‘AMOUNT
IS ENTERS THE PIN USER PIN UNAVAILABLE’
Yes No MESSAGE
BLOCKED

IS THE PIN Yes

CORRECT? DEBITS USER CARD
IF WRONG PIN IS BY SALE AMOUNT
ENTERED 3 TIMES Yes

DISPLAYS ‘INVALID No
PIN’ MESSAGE

PRINTS RECEIPT
COLLECTS RECEIPT
FOR THE
AND THE USER CARD
TRANSACTION

P a g e | 41
Occasions might arise where the Merchant/Retail Outlet can perform wrong transaction entry. For
instance, a transaction of 5000/- has been wrongly entered by the merchant as 15000/-. Here to
reconcile the error the merchant follows void process by which any transaction carried out on the POST
(Point of Sales Terminal i.e. Retail Outlets of IOCL) can be easily reversed. In case of such Sales
transaction, “Void Option” is to be operated where all transactions relevant to the Primary transaction
has to be reversed. For example, if any loyalty points have been awarded then that also has to be
reversed. This method can only be processed until and unless the batch settlement is not done. It is so
because once the batch is settled there is no record of Transaction left on the POST.

The process of Void is as under:

• At first the User Card is inserted in the POST which then performs all required User Card

verification.

• From the “Menu” displayed, “Void Option” is to be selected.

• POST then asks for the ROC (Receipt of Count) number of the transaction, which is to be made

void.

• After entering the ROC number, POST prompts for the transaction amount for confirmation.

• If amount matches, POST asks for the User PIN & SAM (Merchant/Retail Outlet) PIN which is then

verified.

• POST reverse the transaction on the User Card and the receipt of the same is printed by the

POST.

Even if the batch is locked at the POST due to any of the EOD (End of the Day) conditions like reaching
of maximum number of transaction or settlement time exceeded, “Void Option” can be performed. A
maximum of five such Transactions can be performed.

P a g e | 42
3.2. A. END-OF-DAY/BATCH SETTLEMENT
At the end of every day, every Retail Outlet of IOCL has to get Batch settlement of its POST (Point of
Sales Terminal i.e. Retail Outlets of IOCL) with the HOST. The EOD are the state of affairs that gets the
batch locked unless batch is settled with the HOST. Batch Settlement is the process wherein a POST
connects to the HOST, downloads the latest “Hot List” etc, and uploads its transactions to the HOST.
Under normal circumstances, the merchant/Retail Outlet can perform the Batch Settlement process at
any time. But when EOD is reached, the Batch is locked and no further transactions can be performed
except the void transactions, the merchant is forced to perform the Batch Settlement.

EOD is reached under following circumstances:

• If the maximum number of transactions that a batch can hold during the day itself has been

performed. Here the maximum number of transaction is 75.

• If the POST is not settled for a pre-defined time period called Settlement time. This time period

shall be configured for 24 hrs.

• If any batch exceeds the total allowed sales/reload allowed on each batch of Rs.2,00,000.

• If any repair or maintenance is about to take place, then it is mandatory to do the settlement

before such repair.

During Batch Settlement following activities takes place:

• Latest Hot list files are downloaded from the HOST.

• Latest de-hot list files are also downloaded from the HOST.

• Latest transaction schemes, relevant to the POST, are also downloaded.

P a g e | 43
• Finally all transactions from the POST are transferred to the HOST.

P a g e | 44
 EOD/Batch Settlement

POST HOST

P a g e | 45
 The HOST is
POST dials a The call is routed
connected to
number to connect to the HOST
POST
to the HOST

POST sends the HOST checks is

latest Change the hot list
Number on it latest?
NO YES
HOST sends latest Hot List is not
POST sends hotlist entries to POST downloaded
acknowledgement

Is the
parameter file
POST sends the latest?
version of NO YES
parameter files
HOST sends latest Parameter File is not
parameter file downloaded

POST sends
acknowledgement
Is Batch
pending?
POST sends Batch NO YES
ID
HOST opens a HOST sends no. of
new batch Transactions received

HOST sends acknowledgement &closes batch

POST sends
remaining txns to
the HOST Is Batch total
correct?
NO YES
POST sends HOST sends HOST approves.
reconciliation error message Batch accepted
request

P a g e | 46
3.2. J. HOT LISTING
In case if the Card Holder/Card Member loses or gets the card damaged or stolen, then the card is “Hot
Listed” to prevent any misuse. Hot listing is the process where a card (User Card or SAM i.e.
Merchant/Retail Outlet Card) is hot listed so that no further transactions can be done on it.

Hot listing can be done in either of the two ways:

1.PERMANENT HOT LISTING

In case if the card is permanently lost or damaged then it is apt for permanent hot listing. In this case
the card is blocked permanently and CANNOT be de-hot listed/reactivated. In this kind of hot listing the
hotlist flag is set as “permanent” and all the keys on the card are blocked. Both SAM Card and the User
Card can be permanently hot listed.

2.TEMPORARY HOT LISTING/DEACTIVATION

In case if the card is misplaced or lost then it is appropriate for temporary hot listing, this is so because
there is always a possibility of getting back the card again and needs to be de-hot listed. Only User Card
can be hot listed and not the SAM (Merchant/Retail Outlet) card.

Hot listing of User Card takes place in the under mentioned way:

• Card member needs to immediately call up the Customer Helpline and request them for hot

listing the card.

P a g e | 47
 • Once the call is made, the Card Member’s identity is validated based on two fields i.e. secret

questions and address or date of birth, filled up in the application form during enrollment.

• The Service Provider, Axalto, automatically will hot list the Card ID in the HOST.

• At the time of Batch Settlement, the latest hot list is downloaded from the HOST.

• Thereafter the latest de-hot list is downloaded by the POST.

• Once the download is complete, transactions all through the day are transferred from the POST

to the HOST.

POST generally keeps track of the Card hot listed during last 90 days. Whenever the Card Holder visits
the merchant to use a card that is hot listed, hot list flag will be marked on the Card. During the Batch
Settlement, POST will send this intimation to the HOST that the card has been hot listed. Subsequently
this Card ID will be detached from the hot list on other POST whenever they perform Batch Settlement.

Thus when a card holder comes and uses the card when the card is hot listed, following cases may arise:

P a g e | 48
4.2. REFERENCES
REPORTS:

• Annual Reports of the company (2006-07), (2007-08), (2008-09)

WEBSITES:

• www.iocl.com

• www.iocxtrapower.com

BUSINESS MAGAZINES & NEWSPAPER ARTICLES:

• IOCL Fleet Team i.e. Retail Sales and Finance Department

• IOCL Fleet Records and Files (accessible)

• IOCL library

• Corporate House Journal of IndianOil, Vol XLVI. No. 2, February 2009.

• The Economic times

• Business Standard

• Financial Express

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