That’s Delivered Podcast
Welcome to “That’s Delivered Podcast” (TDP) your ultimate destination for all things trucking and beyond! Here, we take you behind the wheel and dive deep into the world of trucking, delivering stories, insights, and experiences designed to inspire, educate, and entertain.
Our podcast isn’t just about transportation; it’s about reliability, accomplishment, and fulfillment. “That’s Delivered Podcast” reflects the sense of completion that comes with meeting promises and exceeding expectations, whether on the road or in life.
Whether you’re a seasoned trucker, a logistics enthusiast, or just curious about the backbone of our economy, this is the place for you. We’ll explore life on the road, uncover how technology is reshaping the industry, and break down the latest regulations impacting drivers and businesses alike.
So buckle up, hit the road with us, and join a community that understands the journey is just as important as the destination. From personal stories to industry insights, “That’s Delivered Podcast” brings the best of trucking straight to your ears, promising every mile together will be worth the ride!
That’s Delivered Podcast
Digital Money Moves: How Spencer Barkoff's Relay Payments is Transforming Trucking Finance
Outdated payment systems have cost trucking time, money, and sanity for decades—but that’s changing fast. Spencer Barkoff, President and Co-Founder of Relay Payments, shares how his team built a platform that eliminates the industry’s most frustrating pain points. What began with lumper payments has grown into a full-service digital network covering fuel, parking, repairs, and more for over 100,000 carriers. From fighting fraud to saving drivers hours of wasted time, Relay is transforming trucking finance with Venmo-style simplicity and enterprise-level security.
Key Takeaways
✅ Lumper Pain Solved – No more 3 AM hold times waiting for a lumper code.
✅ Big Reach – Relay now handles payments for fuel, parking, repairs, and more across 100,000+ carriers.
✅ Cost Savings – Fleets lose 8–10% of receipts annually; Relay eliminates that waste.
✅ Fraud Prevention – Stops fuel fraud rings that targeted magnetic stripe cards in 2022–2023.
✅ Time Back – Drivers avoid hours of lost HOS waiting on payment authorizations.
✅ Relay Pulse – Integrates with 100+ ELDs to enforce fueling policies and flag fraud in real time.
✅ Driver Tools – App includes free access to safe parking locations nationwide.
✅ Tech Breakthrough – Relay integrates with decades-old truck stop and service systems without disruption.
✅ Enterprise Security – SOC 2 Type 2 certified, KYC/KYB verified, with 24/7 US-based support under 30 seconds.
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All right, y'all, let's keep it real. Nobody likes waiting around or getting delays when it comes to getting payments. Maybe you're feeling up or grabbing a spot or wanting to get back on the road, but in trucking we've been stuck with outdated systems way too long. And today I'm joined by Spencer Barkoff, the president and co-founder of Relay Payments, a company that's changing how we pay for fuel, parking, repairs and more. Under his leadership, relay is helping drivers and fleets move faster, safer and smarter. If you're tired of the old way of doing things, this episode's for you. Spencer, my man, welcome to the show. Thanks for joining me.
Speaker 2:Hey Ray, Thanks for having us.
Speaker 1:Spencer, my man, welcome to the show. Thanks for joining me. Hey Ray, thanks for having us. So another episode of that's Delivered and to kick things off, just like, get a little background about our guest that's on and let people get to know you a little better. You've been helping build one of the fastest growing fintech companies that are out there, but why trucking?
Speaker 2:What's what pulled you into that world? Yeah, so about almost 10 years ago now, my co-founder, ryan, and I. We met a freight broker who showed us all the issues that he had when paying for lumper fees and all the issues with paying with a check right and the phone calls, the time that he wasted and then the receipt process that he had on the back end. And after spending some time really investigating what he was saying and seeing if it was true, spending time at truck stops and at the warehouses talking to different folks in the industry, we both had entrepreneurial backgrounds and fell in love with the industry and jumped in to solve problems.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. I mean you got to be fast moving today. With business, there's a lot of changes that take place. You know, let's bring it back to the driver's seat. When you're out there talking to real drivers, what do you hear most?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you know we didn't understand why you and I can go to a grocery store and tap our phone to make a payment, or you know we pay our friends or our family or kids on Venmo and PayPal and logistics we're still using paper checks or fleet cards, fleet fuel cards or cash to make these payments over the road. And drivers also have the same experience right In their everyday lives. When they go to the grocery store, they're tapping their phones and when they're paying their friends or their kids, they're using Venmo Cash App PayPal. Their friends or their kids are using Venmo Cash App PayPal, and so our mission was just to create the same consumer-like payment experience that you and I have every day and bring it into logistics right.
Speaker 2:Drivers just want to do what they do best drive right, deliver freight and if you can make the experience easier for them as they go from point A to B, it's a win-win-win for the carrier. Easier for them as they go from point A to B, it's a win-win-win for the carrier, for themselves, for whoever they're paying. And so what we heard from them most is make it easy for me, right, let me just keep driving and keep moving.
Speaker 1:Nice, I mean, what is one of the most frustrating things that you hear when it comes to paying for fuel or lumpers, parking repairs? What are you hearing out there?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can go into each one. But you know the lumper payment process is a fascinating one, right? You get to a facility between midnight and 8 am is usually when these deliveries take place and a lot of times you don't know the amount right until the truck is actually unloaded. And once you get that amount you actually have to call the company. Right, and that can happen at 3 am. Or you have to call a freight broker and you actually have to go get that money code or express code and then you have to find a check. If you don't have one, write that down on a check, hand it to the, to the lumper, who then has to call to verify that code and if anything goes wrong in that process you have to restart and call back your company. We heard from drivers that this could take anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes. I've seen it take up to eight hours, to be honest, at one point if you can't get someone on the phone. And then, once you get that receipt, you have to turn it into your company and we heard on average, companies were losing between 8% to 10% of their receipts and when you're doing millions and millions of dollars in lumper fees if you lose that many receipts, money either has to come out of the driver's paycheck or the company has to eat it. And so we got in there and automated that payment and automated the receipt and eliminated all the phone calls, the waste of time on dock or the receipts, the time on dock or the receipts On the fuel side.
Speaker 2:About 2022, 2023, fuel fraud became a big problem in the space. A lot of the cards that they use today don't have chips. When you and I make a credit card payment, we enter in our card and have a chip. The industry didn't move in that direction. When you go to a truck stop, you're still swiping your card. In organized crime rings, we're installing card skimmers at the pump and lifting that information off and causing dispute. But in this industry it becomes a problem on who's going to cover that fraud. Is it the carrier, is it the fuel merchant, or is it the card company themselves? And so we took what we were doing in the lumper space and brought it into fuel, creating a digital, fraud-free transaction.
Speaker 1:We guarantee it and this ultimately just led to a better driver experience, it led to the trucks moving more efficiently and it eliminated any of the issues that come in with fraud and cash flow.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. What about parking and repairs do? There is, because of the ELD mandate, right, and you only have 11 hours to drive or 14 hours being on duty. When you come up against that time, you got to know where you're going to park, and sometimes parking at one of the major truck stops can be full. And so we, for free, on our mobile application, help drivers find safe and secure parking around the United States.
Speaker 2:So we have locations that we vetted that are on our application. That just gives them more visibility in where they can park, and so we provide that as a service to them for free, to help them in their everyday lives on the road. And then, when it comes to repairs right, a lot of times when a driver gets a flat or has something happen with the truck, it becomes again a similar type of process where you have to find a repair shop that you trust and know and you then have to go pay for that payment. A lot of times, checks are used in that process as well, and so what we do there is we provide a vetted set of repair and maintenance locations that we know work well for the drivers and then we automate that payment, make it digital for them and automate the receipt back as well to create a seamless experience. It's really for that unexpected payment that you're going to have to make if you do have something happen to your truck while you're driving.
Speaker 1:Wow, I mean, this is almost like you're getting luxury accounting abilities right there from the seat of your truck and you guys are relieving a huge stress point and that's a big deal for a lot of business problems out there. That's great. And then you also launched something called Relay Pulse. Tell me what's that about? You know how it helps fleets and drivers stay on top of their spending.
Speaker 2:So RelayPulse is a dynamic ELD integration that brings real-time visibility and proactive control to fleets for fueling. We connect with over I believe it's 100 different ELD providers, including major platforms like Motive and Samsara, and it automatically enforces fueling policies that the company may set. So, for example, it verifies the fuel tank capacity that actually increases and it confirms the drivers at the right truck stop and it blocks fueling from taking place if those checks fail and every fueling syncs instantly with their dashboard. It eliminates any manual audits that the company may have to do. It surfaces suspicious activities before losses may happen, so it really protects against first-party fraud. A lot of what we do is third-party fraud when it comes to cart skimming, but sometimes you have bad actors at kart skimming, but sometimes you have bad actors, and so Pulse helps a company ensure that every dollar that's being spent on fuel is actually going into the truck and prevents against that type of fraud as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's awesome. I mean you covered quite a bit there. I mean, think about the feedback you're probably getting from drivers when using relays at spots like Southern Tiremark or Pilot Boss truck stops I believe some of your big name locations Is that right?
Speaker 2:come from our customers.
Speaker 2:We said to them hey, where do you guys fuel, where do you need us to be accepted at? And so we're supported at all the big major truck stops Pilot, loves, ta, maverick, 7-eleven, circle K so anywhere that a driver needs to fuel up, we're supported. We've integrated directly into the pumps at most of these locations, which was a lot of work, but again, it keeps the drivers at the fuel island. They're easily able to get out of their truck, stay at the pump type in the code fuel if they pass all the security checks, prompts and limits that the fleet sets for them, and then they're on their way right. And if they do need to go inside of the store, we also integrate there as well. They can purchase any items that their fleet may that allows them to. If they need to get cash, they can do so as well. So we've integrated. Really, the way we've built our merchant network is by listening to the customers and the fleets and the carriers and the drivers and telling us where we need to integrate and we go ahead and do it.
Speaker 1:Man, tell us give a little eye opener about that. I mean I'm intrigued how much work goes into getting set up on some of these field islands or the parking, some behind the scenes, the lumper in the warehouse market.
Speaker 2:Right, we've worked to integrate directly into a lot of their proprietary systems. We have a whole engineering team and a whole integrations team that will work to really understand what the merchant whether it's a lumper, a fuel stop, a repair, stop really how their systems work. And we go and we read these old specifications and different protocols that have been around since the 80s and 90s and sometimes even earlier, and we understand what it takes to actually work with them, in the way their systems work, to make these integrations happen. And so I think that's really the secret sauce there is by meeting them where they are and where their technology is, which may be 20, 30 years old, but facilitating payments the way they need payments to be received, but bringing this modern digital experience for the fleet and the driver.
Speaker 1:Not rely on a card, not rely on a check, not rely on cash bringing that Venmo PayPal, like experience in the trucking, but really leveraging the old school technology that those merchants still have. Wow, that's huge. I mean they're definitely going to help out with the fraud, the identity theft, digital scams. I mean that's a huge problem in the transportation industry.
Speaker 2:What goes on behind the scene to make sure that it is secure when it comes to their money. So think of us as really like a fintech platform that has built in security and ease of use. Right, you know we're SPOC 2, type 2 certified, which really means that everything from encryption and access control meets enterprise level standards, right? So we understand that we're working with 10 of the top 34 higher carriers, or 10 of the top 10 LTLs almost about 100,000 carriers and when someone signs up, they have to pass our KYB process and KYC checks.
Speaker 2:Really, our KYB process and KYC checks, really Identity checks, business details, owner verification IDs really we make sure that we're not onboarding fraudsters, right, and every transaction is encrypted, it's securely logged, it's really only accessed by people you authorize and because it all happens in real time, if something doesn't add up say a fuel purchase at a wrong truck stop you'll know right away and can stop it instantly. So we take security incredibly seriously. We know that every dollar we like to say to the engineering, every dollar, needs to end up where it needs to and we can never go down, right, because trucking is 24-7. And so we know we're only as good as those two standards and so every dollar goes where it needs to go and we don't go down, and that's really what's kept us ahead and allowed us to grow and build the trust from the market and from the industry Awesome.
Speaker 1:So let's zoom out. There's a lot of old school processes that are still hanging out there in trucking.
Speaker 2:Beyond payments, what do you think is the next line of tech upgrade that's coming up process? You know, proof of delivery is still paper you got to actually scan that in and invoicing is slowed down because a lot of it's still paper. A lot of that can be digitized. A lot of that can be automated. You know there is some work going into that. People are moving to their phones or to apps, or I know folks are looking at AI and seeing how they can, you know, automate those processes as well. But those are some other areas in the industry that we see that are ripe for more digitization and automation that can help the industry continue to keep moving and make it easier for everybody.
Speaker 1:And where do you see this all headed over the next year? Is it AI or automation and you know, is this? We're just kind of probably scratching the surface, or is it possibly these tools like Relay are going to be something they're going to be around for a long time?
Speaker 2:So I think the next three to five years, you know, instant payments will become the norm, right, real time payments. You won't have to wait for days for drivers or vendors to get paid. You'll have data systems. You know, just like what we did with Pulse telematics, eld and routing, they'll start really talking to each other so fleets can make better and faster decisions.
Speaker 2:Now, ai is an interesting one. We've looked at it for our business a little bit. We do see different competitors or not competitors, but different folks in the industry trying to see how they can leverage that. But you know that one's going to be an interesting one. But you'll be helped. You know they'll help optimize costs. You'll be able to flag different potential spend patterns or potential fraud, you know, just like it can in any industry. We'll suggest some different vendors that you could use.
Speaker 2:We've heard actually I ran into a company that's trying to predict maintenance before breakdowns even happen, and so that's might be an interesting use case that we see. But really, when it comes to the next three to five years, I think it's just going to be more around leveraging all the different systems that you have, uh, using data to connect these systems more seamlessly. But I do think instant electronic payments right, bringing the industry into more consumer grade, like payment technology. We've done a lot there. I think that continues. So you know cash is king, right, and so that's where I really see the next big wave of innovation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you're right. I mean, you just think about those truckers out there. They got used to something they've been doing for so long. So let's say you're in the front seat and how have drivers been adapting? Can you share a story, maybe something that's surprising or inspiring, that you know, remind you of why this all works and why it matters?
Speaker 2:this all works and why it matters. Sure, I've got a couple. I mean, you know, 90, I think it's like 97% of drivers have a smartphone, right, and so the you know we we add over 5,000 drivers a month to, uh, our solution for for paying for fuel. Um, the adoption we've taken really seriously, and what I mean by that is we have a huge focus on customer service. Um, we handhold the drivers every step of the way. We'll actually work with a fleet and onboard those trucks. We'll call every single driver because we know that we want to just give it to the fleet and say good luck. We work with them hand in hand to actually get these drivers onboarded 24-7, 365, us-based customer service. You can call us 1-877-RELAY-10, 877-735-2910. We pick up the phone in less than 30 seconds and it's somebody in the US that the driver can talk to. You call some of our competitors and it's not the same type of service, right? And so we take those really seriously.
Speaker 2:I was at a distribution center a couple months ago and the manager of that warehouse says hey, I just want to let you know thank you for what you all have done when it comes to digitizing these payments and now that I don't have these checks, I don't have to go to the bank at the end of the day, and a lot of these locations are very rural, right, they're in the middle of nowhere, and so driving to the bank can take 20 or 30 minutes. At the end of a shift and that warehouse manager said I just want to let you know that I'm now able to get home to my kids and actually put them to bed because I don't have to drive an hour to make this bank deposit. And that's the type of stories that keep us going. Right, like, we know that we're serving a very underserved industry when it comes to technology and innovation. It's still archaic in some of the things that we do. But when we hear from fleets that, hey, you've eliminated fraud for me and now I don't have to deal with cashflow at choose or that worry, or hey, now I don't have to, you know, wait 30 minutes to make a phone call at 3 AM. Uh, one of our taglines back in the day was hey, relay, we let you sleep right, cause you don't have to. Driver doesn't have to call you at two in the morning for a check. The payment's ready to go. Um, those are the types of things that keep us going.
Speaker 2:For the fleets it's business operations processes, better experience for everyone that works there, no fraud For the drivers in an industry that has high turnover right, how do you keep the drivers moving and having a good experience? For them, just getting in and out of the dock or in and out of the fuel stop is a better experience on the road. Uh and so. And then for the warehouse workers, it's again getting rid of some of the liability when it came to those paper checks where, if they leave one in their pocket and go home and wash their pants and ruin the check, they're on the hook.
Speaker 2:Uh and so it's. Really. It's a win-win-win for everybody involved. And those are the types of stories that keep us going, keep us moving, that we love to hear. We share them. Every month We'll have a customer spotlight where we'll interview a customer and we'll tell the story to the company. Got to love helping people, right? If you're not, if you don't love serving this industry, then this isn't the place for you, and it's been very motivating to hear the stories and the outcomes that we've had for these companies.
Speaker 1:Yeah, serving is definitely going to be helping and you're going to reap the benefits from that, because people are going to keep coming back and wanting more. So awesome, great job. I mean, man, that sounds like you guys got your eye on the ball. You're doing quite a bit there. What do you see the future is for the company? Are they looking to expand, maybe to something new in the horizon that they could look forward to, maybe like factoring or something?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know if we're going to get into factoring, but you know what we do is we listen to our customers right Again, the 100,000 fleets that we serve. You know we listen to our customers right Again, the hundred thousand fleets that we serve. Uh, you know we say to them hey, where else do you have payment problems? Where else, who else do you pay? On the road? That's a challenge.
Speaker 2:Um, right now what we're really focused on is expanding our merchant network. Uh, so, anywhere else that a carrier may need to make a payment, we have teams who are who are working on adding those to the relay network. We're going to do some good announcements here over the next three to six months about some other partners that we're bringing on who want to work with us to digitize and automate payments, and so that's a big push for us. And then there are some other payments that happen at the ports or some other payments that we may get involved in. But again, we just go where our customers tell us to go. We have quarterly meetings with a lot of them, learn where they also make payments and where they need us to automate and digitize, and we just follow what their lead, and that's how we continue to innovate for them Sweet.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean just before we wrap it up, there's quite a few drivers out there listening maybe want to jump into and get these tools started for themselves. What's one small step that they could take to get started to see the difference for themselves?
Speaker 2:Sure. So you know, if you're an owner operator, you just go to the App Store and download Relay Payments. We have a whole program called our Clutch Network where we've actually gone and pre-negotiate discounts on behalf of the carriers that they can use us for automating their fuel payments and getting good deals. In the meantime, if you're a fleet, check out RelayPaymentscom, reach out to us or call us at 877-RELAY-10-735-2910. And we're there to help you get set up, automate your payments and make you know cards and checks and cash a thing of the past. And so we're here to help.
Speaker 1:Nice, you know. Last thing we want is people losing more cards out there and having to send them new cards or they expire, or I mean, man, it can be very frustrating uh trying to get all those cards straightened in the right truck or whatever. So, yeah, let's uh eliminate some of that stuff. Great, um, so anything else you want to share, or a tip that you want to hand out for the drivers out there? Maybe some of the customers that are already listening that have used you guys, um, what's one thing you want to tell them, listening that have used you guys.
Speaker 2:What's one thing you want to tell them? Sure, I would just say that you know we get to work with some of the best folks in the industry right 10 of the top 34 hires, 10 of the top 10 LTLs, 100,000 carriers. We thank them for allowing us the opportunity to serve the industry. We're really focused on great technology to serve the industry. We're really focused on great technology, transparent pricing and fees. Everything we do is month to month. Everything we do is month to month.
Speaker 2:We don't lock people in the long-term agreements. We know that if we're not helping and serving, you don't work with us. Right, and we do that because we stand by what we've built right. We have a really high what we call say-do ratio and then our customer service 24-7, 365, us-based customer service. I've been on calls with potential customers and I will call our customer service line in real time to show them that we're not making stuff up here, tenants, and continuing the opportunity to serve this industry. It's a great one, we love it and we just thank you for having us on and for the opportunity to share our story.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, man. I think you guys are doing great things and I'm rooting for you guys to keep going, and you're going in the right direction. So to help the industry grow and help everybody else, I know teamwork is what we need. We can't get this stuff done by ourselves, so we need each other. So that's great.
Speaker 2:Thanks, roy, appreciate you having us on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so big thank you to Spencer and all your team and the company out there that's doing things and taking the time to talk with us and work with this team at Relay or doing things that bring real change into our industry. And if you want to learn more, to check them out the Relay Post or other tools that are out there visit RelayPaymentscom. And remember to all you guys if you have anything you like that you see you want to share with people from this show, feel free to do so. Change doesn't always come easy in trucking, but it's happening and it makes life a lot easier on the road, a little smoother, when we look forward to what these changes can happen. So keep it safe, keep rolling, and this is your host, truckin' Ray, signing off until next time.
