When you decide to set up a fuel card, you might be expecting to pay a variety of fuel card charges. To help you understand the context of these fuel card fees and manage your expectations, we’ve broken down industry standards by quoting tariffs from other fuel card providers across the industry:

Card Fees
While fees for physical cards vary across the industry, you’ll typically be looking at an average of £10 per card. This cost covers the overheads associated with manufacturing a card, engraving, and dispatching, etc.

Service Charges
Some fuel card companies charge convenience fees for the use of their alternative method of payment. Again, this varies across the board but expect to see fees averaging at 0.5p per litre. An SMR (Service, Maintenance and Repair) handling charge is also not uncommon across the industry and generally sits at around 10%.

It’s also good to be aware of possible data processing fees (approx. £0.002 per litre) and network service fees (often a maximum of £3 per transaction).

You may also be wondering if any service charges apply depending on your location. Many providers across the industry will charge an M6 toll handling charge of approx. 20% and if you’re driving abroad, you can expect a foreign currency exchange handling fee of 10%.

Invoicing Fees
While many companies include invoice fees in the cost, others charge extra depending on the format of the invoice. For example, electronic invoices are generally included as part of the service, but additional charges can apply, such as:

• Paper invoices – approx. £10
• Non-standard invoices – approx. £25
• Invoices requested over phone or email – approx. £25
• Standard reports via email – approx. £20

Penalties
Due to the nature of fuel cards, there can be penalties for breaches of the card agreement. For example, with some fuel card providers, you can expect to pay the following penalties:

• Underused accounts could result in penalties of approximately £10 per month
• Late payment fees at 2% of the outstanding balance and overdue payment interest of approx. 5%
• If your direct debit bounces, you could be looking at penalties as high as £100 per incident

Payment Fees
Other fees across the fuel card industry include risk-based fees. Instead of taking a bond payment from applicants with poor credit, some companies will charge interest averaging at 26p per litre to compensate for the risk.

Should you choose to pay by a method other than direct debit, you can expect to pay approx. £15 per invoice.

If you exceed your monthly fuel limit, some providers will charge around £35 per billing cycle you exceed.

What to Expect from Fuelmate
While we don’t charge setup or transaction charges, we do have two types of fuel card fees, which we ensure you’re aware of from the outset.

Similarly to the industry standard, our approved fuel cards come at a card fee of £9.50 which covers the manufacturing of the card and related overheads. This is a one-off, upfront payment.

Additionally, we charge an ongoing administration fee which generally works out at 0.5% of the total invoiced amount and is applied to and listed on your monthly invoice. This fee covers the administration for your account, including but not limited to consolidated invoicing, your online account management service, credit check and fuel analysis (where applicable).

To begin exploring the application process, contact us today or fill out our online application form. Or, if you want to continue your research, please take a look at Your Complete Guide to Fuel Cards.

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