Fleet managers are the unsung heroes of the fleet industry, responsible for overseeing all of the costs associated with fuel, maintenance, and other fleet expenses. While fleet cards are frequently presented as a solution to the headaches and hassles of fleet managers, it’s essential to dive deeper to understand what this payment system truly entails.
In this blog, we take a deep dive into four big names in the game: Motive Card, Fuelman, AtoB, and WEX, to see if fleet cards genuinely offer the value they promise.
Motive Card
The allure of Motive Card’s Spend Management lies in its ‘no upfront charge’ approach. But while they don’t demand a direct fee, they’re not working for charity—Motive makes its earnings through backend fees from merchants. Merchants then typically pass on the cost of these fees to consumers in the form of higher prices. In addition, balances must be cleared in full, weekly, or there will be penalties.
WEX
At a glance, WEX’s $2 charge per card each month might seem minimal. But hidden beneath are the additional costs of payment processing, account management, and dreaded late fees. And in today’s fast-moving world, a wait of up to 72 hours for a new card can hinder important business operations and momentum.
Fuelman
With a variety of packages, Fuelman may initially seem appealing to different business sizes:
- Micro fleet: $7.99 per vehicle/month
- Basic: $39/month for all fuel cards
- Pro: $59/month for all fuel cards
- Enterprise: $99/month for all fuel cards
Although the Micro fleet option offers an approximate $0.04 discount on every gallon of fuel, this discount is cleverly blended on the invoice. This means that the discount is combined with other charges or discounts, making it less transparent to the invoice recipient. This can make it harder for the customer to discern the exact value or percentage of discount they’re receiving.
AtoB
AtoB requires drivers to jump through the hoop of receiving passwords/PINs on their phones to use at the pump. Furthermore, they aren’t upfront about their Premium pricing and require a sales conversation for more information. When pricing is not standardized or openly listed, it can lead to inconsistencies where different customers might be quoted different prices for the same service.
Pricing Models:
- AtoB Unlimited: $25 setup fee and $3/month for each active card.
- AtoB Flex Card: No setup fee but the same monthly cost as Unlimited.
- AtoB Premium: Offers enhanced tech features, including security upgrades and telematics integration.
Fuel Your Fleet with Car IQ Pay
While fleet cards might seem like the shiny plastic answer to fleet fuel and expense management, there are challenges lurking nearby. From blended discounts to concealed charges to long waiting times and convoluted pricing structures, fleet managers might want to consider if this is the best way to manage their expenses.
With Car IQ Pay, you can manage your fleet’s entire payment activity in ways you never dreamed of. Forget about physical credit cards and random, unapproved charges—our cutting-edge digital vehicle payment system lets you control driver payments, lets the drivers pay seamlessly, and consolidates both vehicle and transaction data in one place. This not only provides you with an incredibly detailed view of your fleet’s operations but also an incredible level of efficiency and control.
Interested? Let’s start a conversion today.
