Piston Raises $15 Million Series A Led by FPV Ventures: How Its Cardless Payment Network Is Changing Fleet Fuel Payments

Piston, a US-headquartered fintech startup with an engineering hub in Kolkata, has raised $15 million in Series A funding led by FPV Ventures. Existing investors Spark Capital and Pear VC also participated in the round.

The latest funding takes Piston’s total capital raised to $22.5 million and comes at a time when the company is rapidly expanding its cardless payments network for commercial fleets.

Unlike conventional fuel-card providers, Piston is building a payment network that allows commercial fleet operators to authorise fuel purchases without relying on physical fuel cards.

The company says its payment volume grew 8X year-over-year, while its merchant network expanded 40X over the past year. Piston’s network is now deployed at more than 2,000 fuel stations across 48 US states, while customer retention stands at 98%.

So, what exactly is Piston building, why are investors backing it, and could its technology eventually become much bigger than fuel payments?

Piston Raises $15 Million in Series A Funding

Piston has raised $15 million in Series A funding, with FPV Ventures leading the investment.

Existing investors Spark Capital and Pear VC also participated.

The startup plans to use the fresh capital to:

• Expand its payments network across the United States
• Develop new products and payment capabilities
• Hire senior leaders across important business functions
• Increase coverage across US regions
• Build infrastructure that can eventually support payments beyond fuel

Piston expects to establish coverage across every US region over the next 18 months. The company’s longer-term ambition is to move from fuel payments into broader logistics payments infrastructure.

The funding is therefore not simply about expanding the number of petrol stations accepting Piston. It is part of a much larger attempt to build a new payment network for commercial businesses.

What Is Piston?

Piston is a cardless payments platform designed for commercial fleets.

Its initial focus is fuel purchasing.

Commercial fleet operators, including trucking businesses, have traditionally relied heavily on physical fuel cards to manage fuel expenses. These cards can help companies control spending, but they also come with operational challenges.

Piston’s approach is different.

Instead of issuing a physical fuel card, the platform connects the fleet operator, driver, vehicle and merchant through a digital payment network.

The transaction can then be authorised for a specific driver and vehicle at the point of sale.

This gives fleet operators greater visibility into fuel spending while reducing their dependence on physical cards.

Why Is Piston Trying to Replace Fuel Cards?

Fuel cards have been part of fleet management for decades.

They allow companies to provide drivers with a controlled way of purchasing fuel while helping fleet managers track expenses.

But the system also creates vulnerabilities.

Physical cards can be lost, stolen or skimmed. Fleet operators also have to deal with transaction reconciliation, spending controls and monitoring whether purchases are legitimate.

For a company operating hundreds or thousands of vehicles, even relatively small inefficiencies can become expensive.

Piston’s founders experienced this problem themselves.

The company was founded by Vikram Sekhon and Shivam Shah, who had previously operated their own fleets and experienced the challenges of fuel-card fraud, hidden costs and administrative work first-hand.

Their idea was relatively straightforward:

If the physical card creates the problem, remove the physical card from the payment process.

How Piston’s Cardless Payment Network Works

Piston’s system connects commercial fleets with participating fuel stations and convenience stores.

Instead of depending on a physical card, its technology enables payment authorisation digitally at the point of sale.

The basic process can be understood in four steps:

1. Fleet operator sets controls

The fleet operator establishes who can make purchases and which vehicles are associated with those transactions.

2. Driver initiates the transaction

The driver uses Piston’s digital payment mechanism instead of presenting a traditional physical fuel card.

3. Transaction is authorised

Piston verifies the transaction and authorises the purchase for the relevant driver and vehicle.

4. Fleet gets real-time visibility

The fleet operator can see fuel spending as transactions happen rather than waiting for manual reconciliation later.

This combination of payment authorisation, spending control and real-time visibility is at the centre of Piston’s proposition.

Piston’s Rapid Growth

The Series A comes after a year of significant growth.

According to Piston, its payment volume increased eightfold year-over-year, while its merchant network expanded 40 times.

The company also reports a 98% customer retention rate.

Its network is currently available at more than 2,000 fuel stations across 48 US states. Piston also says its point-of-sale integrations are certified across systems covering more than 95% of US merchant fuel sites.

These numbers are important because payment networks become more useful as both sides of the network expand.

A fleet operator is more likely to adopt a payment system if its drivers can use it at a large number of fuel stations.

At the same time, fuel merchants benefit when more commercial fleets use the network.

That creates the potential for a network effect.

Why Merchants Could Benefit From Piston

Piston’s proposition isn’t limited to fleet operators.

Fuel stations and convenience stores also have an incentive to participate.

Piston says merchants can gain:

• Direct access to commercial fleet demand
• Lower transaction costs
• More repeat fleet traffic
• Potential additional in-store purchases
• Integration into an expanding commercial payments network

For a convenience store attached to a fuel station, the value of a fleet customer can extend beyond the fuel transaction.

A driver stopping for fuel may also purchase food, drinks or other convenience products.

Piston therefore sits between the fleet, driver and merchant rather than functioning purely as another fuel-card product.

The Fraud Problem in Fleet Fuel Payments

Fraud is one of the most important problems Piston is attempting to address.

Traditional fuel cards can become targets for card skimming and unauthorised usage.

For fleet operators, identifying fraudulent transactions after the fact can be difficult.

Piston’s model changes the equation by authorising transactions for a specific driver and vehicle at the point of sale.

The company’s CEO Vikram Sekhon has described the problem as a physical-card issue rather than simply a fraud-detection problem.

The distinction is important.

Instead of only trying to identify suspicious transactions after they occur, Piston’s model attempts to create more control around the transaction itself.

Piston’s India Connection

Although Piston is headquartered in the United States, the company has an important connection to India.

Its engineering centre is located in Kolkata.

Piston launched its Kolkata office in April 2023 with a five-member team. That engineering hub has since grown to more than 25 employees and plays a central role in building and scaling the company’s technology infrastructure.

As Piston expands its payments network in the US, the Kolkata engineering team is expected to remain an important part of its product and technology roadmap.

This makes the funding round interesting from an Indian startup ecosystem perspective as well.

The company may be US-headquartered, but part of the technology powering its expansion is being developed from India.

Why Is Piston’s Series A Significant?

The funding is interesting for several reasons.

1. Payments infrastructure remains a large opportunity

The US commercial fleet and trucking ecosystem represents a massive payments market.

Fuel is one of the largest recurring expenses for commercial fleets, creating an attractive starting point for a payments infrastructure company.

Piston is attempting to capture that recurring transaction flow.

2. Piston is attacking an established category

Fuel cards are not a new product.

Fleet operators already have established processes and relationships with fuel-card providers.

Convincing these businesses to adopt a new payment network therefore requires more than simply offering a mobile payment option.

Piston needs to demonstrate that its solution can reduce fraud, improve visibility and make fleet operations easier.

Its reported 98% customer retention suggests that existing customers are continuing to use the platform.

3. Network expansion can create a competitive advantage

Payments businesses become more valuable when their networks become larger.

With more than 2,000 fuel stations across 48 states, Piston has already moved beyond an early-stage pilot network.

The next challenge is achieving nationwide coverage.

4. The company wants to move beyond fuel

Perhaps the most interesting part of Piston’s strategy is what happens after fuel.

The company says it wants to eventually build broader logistics payments infrastructure.

That could potentially expand its addressable market considerably.

Instead of being known only as a fuel-payment company, Piston could become a broader B2B payments platform for logistics businesses.

What Will Piston Do With the $15 Million?

The company has identified three major areas for the new funding.

Expanding the payments network

Piston wants to increase the number of locations where commercial drivers can use its network.

The company’s stated goal is to establish coverage across every US region over the next 18 months.

Product development

The startup will continue developing its payment infrastructure and related products.

As the network grows, technology will become increasingly important for transaction processing, controls, analytics and merchant integrations.

Hiring

Piston also plans to add senior leaders across key areas of the business.

This is typical of a company moving from an early growth stage toward national scale.

Building a large payment network requires capabilities across technology, sales, merchant partnerships, compliance, operations and customer success.

What Makes Piston Different From a Traditional Fuel Card?

Feature	Traditional Fuel Card	Piston
Physical card	Usually required	Cardless
Payment authorisation	Card-based	Digital/network-based
Fleet visibility	Depends on provider	Real-time visibility
Fraud exposure	Physical-card risks	Designed to reduce card-related risks
Driver & vehicle controls	Available through card systems	Built into transaction authorisation
Merchant network	Provider dependent	Expanding Piston network
Long-term ambition	Fuel payments	Broader logistics payments

The comparison does not mean traditional fuel cards will disappear overnight.

They remain deeply embedded in commercial fleet operations.

Piston’s challenge is to prove that a digital, cardless network can deliver enough operational and financial benefits to encourage fleet operators and merchants to switch.

The Bigger Opportunity: From Fuel Payments to Logistics Payments

Fuel is potentially only the entry point.

Commercial logistics involves thousands of recurring transactions beyond fuel.

Vehicles need maintenance, toll payments, repairs, parking, parts and other services.

If Piston can build trusted payment relationships between fleets and merchants, it could potentially expand its network into these categories.

That is why the company’s ambition to move beyond fuel is important.

A successful transition could transform Piston from a fuel-payment startup into a broader logistics-fintech platform.

However, that expansion will bring new challenges.

Every new payment category requires additional merchant relationships, integrations, controls and operational capabilities.

Challenges Ahead for Piston

The $15 million Series A gives Piston significant capital to scale, but the company still faces several challenges.

Competition

Fleet payments is already a competitive market with established fuel-card companies and payment providers.

Piston needs to convince customers that its cardless model provides a meaningful advantage.

Network density

Having 2,000 stations is useful, but fleet operators ultimately care about whether drivers can use the network wherever they travel.

Achieving broad geographic coverage will therefore be critical.

Merchant adoption

Payment networks need both sides of the market.

Piston needs fleet operators to use its system while simultaneously convincing merchants to support the network.

Scaling technology

Eightfold payment-volume growth is encouraging, but rapid growth also puts pressure on payment infrastructure.

Reliability, security and transaction accuracy become increasingly important as the network scales.

Expansion beyond fuel

Moving into broader logistics payments could significantly increase the company’s opportunity, but it also introduces new operational and competitive challenges.

What Does the Piston Funding Mean for the Fintech Industry?

Piston’s funding round highlights a broader trend in fintech: modernising payments at the infrastructure level rather than simply creating another consumer-facing payment app.

The company’s target customer is a business with complex recurring transactions.

By combining payments with spending controls and real-time data, Piston is attempting to turn payments into an operational tool.

This is particularly relevant for industries such as logistics, where businesses need to monitor expenses across thousands of transactions and vehicles.

The shift from physical cards to digital payment infrastructure could therefore have implications well beyond fuel.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Piston?

Piston is a US-headquartered fintech startup that operates a cardless payments network for commercial fleets. Its initial focus is enabling digital fuel payments between fleets and fuel stations.

How much funding did Piston raise?

Piston raised $15 million in Series A funding led by FPV Ventures. Spark Capital and Pear VC also participated. The round brings Piston’s total funding to approximately $22.5 million.

Who founded Piston?

Piston was founded by Vikram Sekhon and Shivam Shah, who had experience operating fleets and encountered fuel-card-related problems themselves.

What does Piston do?

Piston provides a cardless payment network connecting commercial fleets with fuel stations and convenience stores. Fleet operators receive real-time visibility into fuel spending while merchants gain access to commercial fleet customers.

Who led Piston’s Series A funding?

FPV Ventures led Piston’s $15 million Series A round. Existing investors Spark Capital and Pear VC also participated.

Where is Piston based?

Piston is headquartered in Cupertino, California, and has an engineering centre in Kolkata, India.

How many fuel stations use Piston?

Piston says its network is deployed at more than 2,000 fuel stations across 48 US states.

What will Piston use the funding for?

The company plans to use the Series A funding for payments-network expansion, product development and hiring senior leaders. It also plans to expand beyond fuel into broader logistics payments infrastructure.

Is Piston available in India?

Piston’s payment network is currently focused on the US commercial fleet market. However, the company has an engineering presence in Kolkata that contributes to its technology development.

The Bottom Line

Piston’s $15 million Series A funding led by FPV Ventures is more than another fintech funding announcement.

The company is attempting to rethink a payment system that has been used by commercial fleets for decades.

By removing the physical fuel card and replacing it with a digital payment network, Piston wants to give fleet operators greater control, real-time visibility and protection against card-related fraud while helping merchants attract commercial fleet traffic.

Its reported 8X growth in payment volume, 40X expansion in its merchant network and 98% customer retention show why investors are paying attention.

But the real test is still ahead.

Piston now needs to scale from thousands of fuel stations to a truly nationwide network and demonstrate that its cardless model can become an essential part of commercial fleet operations.

If it succeeds, fuel could prove to be just the starting point.

The bigger opportunity could be building a new payments infrastructure layer for the logistics industry.