The fuel card is a practical and efficient means of payment for companies with their own vehicle fleet. It replaces cash and private credit cards at the petrol pump and enables transparent, centralized billing of fuel and vehicle-related expenses.
What is a fuel card?
A fuel card is assigned to drivers or directly to a company’s vehicles. It works like a payment card – but only for specific purposes: mainly for refueling, but also for tolls, car washes, lubricants or workshop services, depending on the provider.
Billing takes place collectively via the company, usually on a monthly basis. Each refueling process is automatically documented – including time, location, fuel type, price and mileage (if entered).
Advantages in fleet management
- Transparency: all fuel costs can be viewed and allocated centrally
- Time saving: no expense reports or receipts from drivers necessary
- Control: anomalies such as unusual consumption or double refueling can be easily identified
- Cost optimization: Many providers offer discounts, rebates or their own fuel networks
- Integration: interfaces to fleet software or accounting systems enable automated evaluations
Typical functions of fuel cards
- Payment at petrol stations in Germany and abroad
- PIN protection and transaction limits
- Locking functions in the event of loss or misuse
- Detailed monthly statements per vehicle or driver
- Linking with telematics systems or digital logbooks
Selection criteria for companies
- Petrol station network: regional or international availability? Brand-bound or flexible?
- Cost structure: Are there basic fees, transaction costs or discounts?
- Additional services: Toll billing, parking services, workshop connection?
- Data interfaces: Compatibility with existing fleet software?
- Security features: PIN protection, blocking via app, limits?
Conclusion
The fuel card is an indispensable tool in modern fleet management. It simplifies fuel billing, increases cost control and improves transparency in operations. Through targeted selection and integration into digital systems, administrative effort and expenditure can be significantly reduced – a real efficiency gain for companies of all sizes.
