Most fuel-card problems present issues at the extremes. A card that can buy anything, anywhere, will eventually be used that way. A card locked down too tightly will strand a driver, who will then find a workaround. Good controls sit between those failures.
Driver cards vs vehicle cards: which should you use?
A driver card follows a person. Use it when drivers swap vehicles. Its weakness: it does not prove which vehicle was fuelled. A driver card used for a personal small vehicle shows as gallons that do not fit the assigned truck’s tank or route. Often times it would result in Intervention and Termination of the driver.
A vehicle card follows a truck. Use it for dedicated, pool, and work trucks. It identifies the intended vehicle, not the person — proof relies on assignment plus PIN or telematics prompt — so pair it with a driver log, PIN, or telematics login to know who was driving. Pairing a Fuel Card with Telematics is one of the most effective ways of controlling and monitoring use. even if there are multiple drivers per vehicle per day. The use of vehicle card plus driver PIN per shift, with a handover log, fleet managers will know who fuelled how much; without it, a driver swap looks like a shared-card problem.
Many fleets use both: a vehicle card as the main control, with a driver identifier on the transaction. Avoid a card that identifies neither.
Shared PINs are the most common version of this problem. One PIN for a depot means every transaction looks the same and no one is accountable. Give each driver their own PIN. Manage the card lifecycle too: activate on issue, cancel and reissue lost or stolen cards, change PINs on driver exit, deactivate cards for sold vehicles.
The controls to set, one by one
Per-transaction, daily and weekly limits. Set three caps, not one. Per-transaction: usable tank capacity, including dual or transfer tanks, plus a small margin. Daily: route plus reserve. Weekly: a normal week for that vehicle, with room for a long day, but not for a second vehicle. Base them on that vehicle, not a fleet-wide default — a daily cap alone will not stop a single over-capacity fill. Add a velocity limit: fills per day, and a minimum time between fills. Review dollar limits after fuel-price spikes, not only after route, vehicle, or driver changes.
Fuel-only vs non-fuel purchases. Decide what the card may buy besides fuel, set it on the card, and write it down. Many fleets allow fuel only; others allow diesel exhaust fluid or oil within a small limit.
Fuel type. Restrict the card to the fuel the vehicle actually uses. A diesel truck should not buy petrol on a fleet card, and vice versa.
Merchant and network restrictions. Restrict use to your preferred network, or to fuel merchants only. A tight network makes reconciliation easier. If you restrict the network, plan the exception first, as below.
Time-of-day windows. Time windows suit fixed-shift vehicles: a card that only works during shift hours makes an after-hours purchase stand out at once. They suit night, weekend, or on-call work far less well. Allow a grace buffer around shift start and end for legitimate early or late fills, so routine fills are not declined.
Tank-capacity and location checks. Some providers, including AtoB and WEX, describe blocking or flagging a purchase that exceeds tank capacity, or made when the vehicle is not near the pump. FleetCor also describes location-based controls. Record usable tank capacity, not spec-sheet nominal capacity — record dual and transfer tanks, or a single-tank figure will generate false flags. Make the odometer prompt mandatory, and require a receipt photo where the fleet uses one. Confirm whether each check blocks or only flags, and test it with a real transaction.
Setting controls without stranding a driver
Start with limits that fit the job, not the lowest number you can defend. Tighten them after a few weeks of real transactions, not on day one.
Build exceptions for long routes and out-of-network fuel before you need them: a temporary increase, approved by a dispatcher, for a named vehicle and route, with an end time. Record who approved it and why.
Give drivers a clear escalation route: who to call, and what happens next. If it is pay and claim it back, say so and make the claim fast.
What card controls do not cover
Card controls do not cover yard tanks or mobile fuellers — those need a separate dispensing log, or the card controls give false security. Equipment fuel needs a separate equipment card or code for generators, compressors, and transfer-tank fills.
The mistakes that cause the most trouble
First, one shared PIN for a whole depot. It removes accountability.
Second, limits set once and never reviewed.
Third, no vehicle assignment on the card. Without it you cannot match a purchase to a tank, route, or telematics record.
Fourth, ignoring alerts. An alert inbox no one owns creates a false sense of control.
Fifth, setting every control to its tightest value at once, then loosening them in a panic.
Setup checklist
- Assign each card to a vehicle, each PIN to a driver, and record driver per shift. Single driver per vehicle only for dedicated trucks. Remove shared PINs; deactivate cards for sold vehicles and on driver exit.
- Record fuel type and usable tank capacity per vehicle, including dual and transfer tanks, and set the mandatory odometer prompt.
- Set per-transaction, daily, and weekly limits, plus a velocity limit, from that vehicle’s actual route.
- Set fuel-only or limited non-fuel purchases.
- Set merchant/network restrictions, plus the out-of-network exception process.
- Set time windows only for fixed-shift vehicles.
- Turn on tank-capacity and location checks, confirm whether each blocks or only flags, and test with a real transaction.
- Give drivers the escalation route.
- Test with one vehicle group, then review early transactions.
- Review limits and alerts after any route, vehicle, or driver change, and review dollar limits after fuel-price spikes.
Controls need a real vehicle, a real job, and someone who reads the alerts.