Fuel cards for small business
Fuel cards are an increasingly popular solution for small businesses looking to reduce their fleet costs.
Fuel cards have been around for decades, mainly geared to haulage companies or large fleets of cars or vans. Today fuel card suppliers are also looking to small businesses.
Fuel card payment options
Fixed-price: you pay a weekly charge set by your card provider, not the one advertised by the petrol station. Generally it should be lower than the national average; however, it’s important to remember that these cards are usually valid only for a small or specific network.
Pump-price: you pay the amount displayed at the station. These are more flexible than the fixed rate option and are accepted at a wider range of filling stations. They are ideal for a small business fleet whose drivers often fill up at supermarkets or if petrol is relatively cheap in your locality.
Who are the providers?
- Allstar: One of the most popular cards from the pump-price category, it can be used at over 8,000 locations throughout the UK.
- Fuel Genie Tesco: A pump-price card exclusively for use at participating Morrisons and Tesco forecourts. Fuel Genie enables small businesses to benefit from the low petrol and diesel prices offered by these leading UK supermarkets.
- Shell Local Business: a pump-price option that also allows drivers to pay for oil, car washes and road tolls. All purchases are combined in a single invoice.
- Texaco: A pump-price card offering convenient refueling for small businesses needing access to fuel throughout the UK. Site coverage is good – the card is valid at 1,000 Texaco garages and a similar number of BP sites.
- FSB: A fixed-rate option from the Federation of Small Businesses offering preferential charges through diesel fuel cards that can save you an average of 3p per litre compared to the national average. That doesn't seem like much, but small savings add up over time.
