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Introduction

Commercial fuel card providers are increasingly coming under pressure from corporate cards which are providing a widening array of benefits. In response issuers of commercial fuel cards need to innovate to increase card uptake, especially within the SME sector. Based on Datamonitor's in-house research, this brief identifies the areas where fuel card issuers can gain a competitive advantage.

Scope

A quantitative analysis of the growth rates of corporate cards and commercial fuel cards across Europe. An assessment of the facilities provided by corporate cards which are popular among small and medium sized businesses. An understanding of how oil companies have innovated in their commercial card offerings to win the custom of smaller businesses.

Highlights

Although there are more commercial fuel cards than corporate cards in Europe, between 2000 and 2005, the number of corporate cards on the European market increased year-on-year at a rate of 5% above that of commercial fuel cards. Corporate cards incorporate a wide range of facilities and benefits that are attractive to SMEs; examples include multi-retailer loyalty programmes, account management, planning facilities and even fuel discounts, especially if offered by supermarkets. Selected oil companies such as BP, Total and Ultramar have responded to the threat of corporate credit cards by expanding their commercial fuel card offerings to include credit card functionality and multi-retailer loyalty schemes.

Reasons to Purchase

Understand the extent to which corporate cards are growing in popularity and the relative weaknesses of existing commercial fuel card propositions. Gain insight into innovative corporate credit cards in Europe and understand the main features which should be applied to your commercial fuel card. Learn why certain businesses choose not to use commercial fuel cards and how they currently purchase their fuel.

DATAMONITOR VIEW 1
CATALYST 1
SUMMARY 1
ANALYSIS 2
Corporate fuel cards are becoming more popular in Europe, but face numerous challenges from commercial cards 2
Germany and Spain have the largest number of corporate fuel cards in circulation in Europe 2
A significant proportion of businesses that do not use corporate fuel cards use credit cards instead 4
Providers of corporate fuel cards in Europe face stiff competition from commercial cards 5
Commercial card numbers have been growing at a quicker rate than corporate fuel card numbers 6
Commercial cards which are part of the Visa scheme are particularly popular 7
Companies' perception that their firm is too small and lack of awareness are the main barriers to fuel card uptake 8
Companies are attracted to commercial cards because of the range of benefits on offer 9
When corporate fuel cards and commercial cards are measured against five qualities, commercial cards come out on top 9
Some commercial credit cards have started to provide fuel discounts 10
Commercial credit cards with multi-retailer loyalty programmes can provide more savings features than fuel cards 11
Firms are attracted to the wide range of account management and planning facilities offered by commercial credit cards 12
Whilst commercial cards carry familiar financial services brands, corporate fuel cards suffer from a lack of brand awareness 13
Oil companies are expanding the functionality of their fuel cards in order to counter the threat of commercial cards 14
Oil companies are responding to the threat of commercial cards by launching their own business credit cards 14
Corporate fuel cards are offering more benefits and facilities to businesses 15
Oil companies are increasingly providing corporate fuel cards which are tailored to different types of company 16
Service stations should devote more advertising space to fuel cards 18
APPENDIX 19
Definitions 19
Sources 19
Western European Cards Database 19
Datamonitor Fleet Managers Survey 19
Datamonitor Forecourt Retailing Convenience Study 2006 20
European Fuel Cards Database 20
Further reading 20
Websites 20
Ask the analyst 21
Datamonitor consulting 21
Disclaimer 21
List of Tables
Table 1: Commercial credit cards provide businesses with a range of benefits 9
List of Figures
Figure 1: The number of cards in Spain has been growing at an average rate of 22% year-on-year 2
Figure 2: In Spain and the UK, credit cards are used to purchase a sizable proportion fuel volumes 4
Figure 3: Across Europe, the UK has the most commercial cards in circulation 5
Figure 4: Over 5 years, commercial card numbers in Europe increased at almost twice the rate of fuel cards 6
Figure 5: In Spain, over 75% of commercial cards are part of the Visa scheme 7
Figure 6: Half of fleet managers in the Netherlands believe that their firm is too small for a fuel card 8
Figure 7: The Tesco business credit card and the Caja Madrid card offer discounts on fuel 10
Figure 8: The Natwest commercial card and the American Express Nectar card offer retailer savings 11
Figure 9: Barclaycard, the Bank of Ireland and BNP Paribas offer account management facilities 12
Figure 10: Shell and BP are the best-known fuel card brands 13
Figure 11: The Ultamar and RaceTrac fuel cards from North America have credit card functionality 14
Figure 12: Fuel cards from Total, BP and Shell offer businesses a range of non-fuel benefits 15
Figure 13: Repsol and BP's corporate fuel card ranges offer cards tailored to different business types 16
Figure 14: Only 4.4% of European forecourt advertising space is committed to fuel cards 18