Corporate Fuel Cards

Companies that use motor vehicles, literally as the engine of their businesses, sometimes use corporate fuel cards in order to save on fuel costs. This way they can get the wholesale instead of the retail price and also cut down on administrative work by receiving a single regular invoice, which can be issued weekly or monthly.

Corporate fuel cards also increase security concerning fuel purchases as it eliminates the need for cash at filling stations. They replace and eliminate the fuel log and simplify accounting. In the case of hauliers, corporate fuel cards are a way to get a fixed price, which is set weekly and based on the 'bulk' market. The latter is normally lower than the retail price.

A corporate fuel card looks like a credit card, although payment terms are often shorter. Terms of use also vary and responsibility tends to fall more heavily on the client as in the case of wrong transactions. Cancellation periods also tend to be long and the card provision charges are applied on a monthly or annual basis.

Some corporate fuel cards also cover the purchase of non-fuel products such as lubricants and services. Cards can be operated by the user in the case of outdoor terminals or handed to the cashier for validation in the case of indoor terminals.

More recently, green corporate fuel cards have started to arrive in the market, allowing the purchase of biofuel. In the UK, a company called Rix launched a fuel card called GoGreen to encourage fleet motorists to purchase biofuels while also offsetting any of their conventional diesel purchases by placing more biodiesel blends onto the market.