Fleet Card Meets Prepaid For SMEs Without Credit

For small and medium-sized businesses, accessing a commercial card can be a struggle, especially with minimal or a complete lack of credit history.

Fuel card issuer Fuelmate, based in the U.K., is hoping to fill in the gap left by SMEs that need a fleet card solution but don’t have sufficient credit reports.

Reports on Wednesday (Jan. 13) said the company has introduced a prepaid fuel card, dubbed Flexi-pay. To meet the needs of SMEs with little or poor credit history, Fuelmate will offer a prepaid card with features of a fleet card, providing users with a fixed weekly fuel price lower than retail price at gas stations.

[bctt tweet=”Fuelmate introduced a prepaid fuel card for SMEs with little or poor credit history.”]

The card allows fleet managers to top up online or over the phone by direct deposit, reports added, and the prepaid card provides drivers with a maximum volume of fuel they can purchase. According to Fuelmate, the card operates over the Keyfuels network, meaning it can be used at more than 1,600 fueling stations in the country.

“Flexi-pay has been introduced into our extensive fuel card portfolio to help new companies with little or no credit history and established companies with a poor credit history get access to a fuel card,” stated Fuelmate Manager Andy Smith. “It means they can get access to all the benefits of a fuel card — cheaper prices, better financial planning, no need for cash, a single, weekly invoice — and is available to any company that spends more than £500 per month on diesel, regardless of their credit history.”

The Flexi-pay card links fleet managers to controls to track driver spend, set spending limits and customize cards for each driver or vehicle. The solution also provides managers with text and email alerts for low balances.

For businesses that wish to use a traditional fleet credit card, Smith explained that SMEs using the Flexi-pay card for more than a year can then be eligible to do so.

“Once companies have established a reputable trading history with us, they are far more likely to pass a credit check, and then they can decide to change to a different product if they wish,” he stated.