The Best Fleet Cards for Businesses in Malaysia
The best cards offer many advantages for businesses of all sizes. Using fleet gas cards can reduce fuel costs, cut down on paperwork and help managers monitor fleet vehicles.
Finding the right business fleet cards can be difficult. We’ve broken down all the small print details into one guide to help you find out more about fleet card applications, features to look for and how to find a provider.
What are fleet gas cards?
The cards are a way of buying fuel and paying later that can only be used to pay for fuel or fuel-related purchases. These cards can be used to manage the expenses of the fleet’s fuel, check driver spending and collect mileage information.
The best cards: fleet card comparison
Comparing cards for fleets is tough. To find out which one is best, you’ll need to decide which features you need and what network you require.
Based on our market research, the Shell petrol card came out on top. Let’s dig into the details of the best features for each business type.
Fuel Card | Best Feature | Where to Use It |
Buy fuel on credit and pay later | Accepted at all 960+ Shell stations in Malaysia |
Best fleet card for small businesses
Small businesses should look for a card that helps to control expenses, cut down on paperwork and track spending at an affordable rate. Look for these features when applying for a fuel card:
- Lets drivers buy fuel on interest-free credit
- Invoices online and available for download
- Stations within your network
- Online spending tracker to manage your budget
- Fuel card reports to gain further insights
- Ability to remove cards from your account online for security
Best features of petrol cards for motorway drivers
Fleets mainly using the motorway and truckers with specific routes will need to carefully select the best card. Petrol cards are only accepted within their network. Shell cards are not accepted at other brand locations, for example.
When looking for the best fleet gas cards, consider these features:
- Track spending online and secure payments
- Pay for fuel on a scheduled date every month or few weeks
- Buy fuel on credit to avoid giving drivers cash or credit cards
- Cards that are accepted along your routes
- Route planning support from apps
- Apps for drivers to find nearby stations on the go
As always, check and do a fleet card comparison to see what offers you could get.
How do fleet cards work for drivers?
Drivers can use fleets cards in a similar way to credit cards, but only at the accepted petrol stations for specific purchases.
- To use a fleet gas card, simply find the nearest station that accepts your card. This information should be given to you when applying and available on the provider’s app or website.
- Then, drive to the station and refill your vehicle. Most gas cards should let purchase any fuel of your choice, including premium fuel options.
- Go to the petrol station to pay. In general, we recommend using business fleet cards that have a PIN for further protection.
- Drivers will need to enter their PIN to pay, just like using a credit card.
After this, the money doesn’t leave your business account right away. Instead, you buy the fuel on credit and pay the bill later.
The scheduled date for payment is usually on a monthly or biweekly basis, though it varies depending on the provider. Choose a provider with a scheduled date that works for you.
How do fleet management cards work?
Fuel cards work in many ways even beyond the point of use. Managers can use these cards to monitor spending and improve. Here’s how you can use smart fleet cards to make your fleet even better.
What are smart fleet cards?
Some petrol cards simply let you buy fuel and offer no further insights. Smart fleet cards let you pay for fuel without requiring the hassle or receipt tracking of cash. These smart cards also gather information and send it to your online account for analysis.
The cards also create reports for you, so you can see mileage, performance and more in one place. Smart cards are also called fleet management cards or simply petrol cards.
How to use fleet management cards
To manage your cards, make an online account. Your provider should send the details on how to do this when your cards are delivered to you or during your application.
Log into your account and add your details. After this, any spending your drivers do with these cards will be added to the system.
Fleet card benefits for managers
Considering applying for cards? See how these cards can benefit your business. Get invoices online, spot unauthorised use and remove cards to secure your business. Using cash or credit cards is not as beneficial or as useful for business compared to these cards!
1. Get invoices online for easy paperwork
After a month, you should receive your first invoice. This can be sent via email to download or available through your online account.
Getting invoices online is easier than collecting receipts as you are always guaranteed to get them and can redownload any time if the paperwork gets lost.
2. Spot unauthorised use quickly
Regardless, using your account online makes it very easy to spot any unauthorised use to avoid fleet card fraud. The system may show an unfamiliar station, a driver using a card outside of work hours or an amount you didn’t expect.
3. Secure your business and remove a card
Cash can be stolen and never replaced. Credit cards can be lost or taken. Petrol cards are unique as they can be temporarily locked or removed from your account completely by management. If a driver leaves your fleet, you can remove their card the same day or hour without a fuss.
Suspect fraud? Again, remove the card without needing to wait on the phone with your bank. Some cards also allow you to set spending limits to put a cap on the amount drivers can spend or thieves can take should any card be stolen.
4. Use smart fleet cards to get reports
The only way to manage a fleet is to have the data with you, preferably on your side and helping you achieve your goals. After using cards for some time, you should have enough data to start looking into the details of how to improve.
Cards can give you detailed insights into your fleets mileage, what stations are being used, how much each driver is spending and much more.
For larger fleets, we recommend using telematics systems alongside fuel cards to get all the data you need.
How to do a fleet card application
Ready to get your cards? Complete a fleet card comparison and see which ones could be right for your business. After that, choose your card and select apply.
From there, fill in an application with iCompario. The application paperwork requires details of your business, how many cards you need and which ones. Filling it in can be done quickly, but our expert team is here if you have any further questions about the process.
We send your details to your chosen provider when you submit your application. The provider then completes a credit check. When your application has been approved, you receive your cards to your door.