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Frequently asked questions - fuel cards and fleet management

Got a query? Take a look through our FAQs about fuel cards to find the answer
 
 

FAQ Topic 1: Fuel card essentials

Fuel cards enable businesses of any size to buy petrol, diesel and other products at various service station networks. Depending on the amount of fuel your company needs, you can often make significant savings on the advertised pump price.

BP offers five fuel cards, tailored towards different types of fleets and different fleet needs: BP Plus, BP + Aral, BP Plus Bunker,  BP Supercharge and BP Fuel & Charge.

 

Our Fuel Cards already provide over 40,000 UK customers with competitive pricing, more motorway fuel sites than any other brand, advanced security and fraud detection and time-saving fleet admin solutions and management information reporting. Find out more by visiting Our Cards.

The fundamental advantage of BP Fuel Cards is to help you manage fuel costs more effectively. A full list of benefits includes:

  • Savings against national average pump prices
  • Driving time, fuel and money savings due to our extensive network that is strategically located on more motorway fuel sites than any other brand
  • Reduction in admin time through online tools for creating fleet reports and alerts
  • A dedicated account manager and customer service team
  • Advanced security features and a comprehensive fraud detection process that vigilantly protects your business
  • Interest-free credit (subject to status) and no transaction fees
  • Access to BP stores, the BPme Rewards programme and partner brands including M&S Simply Food and Wild Bean Cafe

BP Fuel Cards offer a number of benefits over cash or credit and debit cards:

  • Cost savings through competitive pricing. Improved cash flow with interest-free credit (subject to status).
  • Time and money saved on fleet administration via consolidated VAT-approved invoices, meaning no need for drivers to carry cash or save till receipts.
  • Management of card spend, with purchase restrictions set by driver or vehicle, or both.
  • Consistent high fuel quality across all sites.
  • Advanced fraud prevention and detection, with individual PIN numbers, alerts for unusual usage and online authorisation protocols.

Take a look at our cards or simply submit an enquiry form to get a call back from one of our expert team. They’ll discuss your requirements and make a recommendation that offers your business the best combination of price, network and security.

 

These are the questions they’ll ask:

  • What size and type of vehicles do you have?
  • Are they diesel or petrol?
  • Where are you based and where do your vehicles travel?
  • How much do you spend per month on fuel?
No. Unlike some fuel card suppliers, who charge as much as £2.00 in transaction or network fees every time a driver fills up, BP will charge you nothing. 

FAQ Topic 2: Network

The BP network offers over 1,200 BP sites, including around 70 motorway stations and more than 900 ‘A’ road sites. This includes the largest number of motorway fuel sites in the UK. Your drivers can also fill up at Texaco, Gulf (excluding Scottish islands) and Esso stations that display the BP acceptance sign taking the total number of stations to over 3,400.

Yes. In fact, with the BP + Aral Card we offer a huge network spanning 22,000 sites in 29 countries. Your drivers can use all BP sites in Europe plus every station in the ROUTEX network, including ARAL, Total, Eni, OMV and Circle K Fuel and Retail.

 

Most of the ROUTEX sites have been designed with trucks and buses in mind, with high canopies, more space, secure monitoring and well-lit forecourts.

Simply use our route planner to find your closest BP station. Your drivers can also download the BPme app to locate and route to their nearest BP station.

In addition to our own extensive network, BP fuel cards* are also accepted at hundreds of partner sites, including Gulf**, Texaco and now Esso (where the BP acceptance sign is displayed), bringing our network coverage to over 3,400 sites across the UK.

  • Over 1,200 BP sites in convenient locations
  • Over 700 Texaco sites
  • Over 300 Gulf sites**
  • Around 1,200 Esso sites

 

* Excludes Bunker Card
**Excludes some Gulf sites situated on the Scottish Islands and mainland UK.

FAQ Topic 3: Card Management

Easy – simply place your order via your BP Online Services portal. If one of our business partners handles your BP Fuel Cards, please check directly with them.
You can apply online or call our friendly team on 0345 603 0723. Either online or on the phone you'll hear back from us the same day
As a fleet manager or decision maker, you have complete control and visibility over every purchase your drivers make with a BP Fuel Card. You can set individual purchase parameters for every card, including diesel, all fuels, vehicle-related products and services.

BP Fuel Cards can be configured by:

  • Vehicle
  • Person
  • Person and vehicle

 

Cards can also be linked to a cost centre using our online management tools.

FAQ Topic 4: Additional Tools

Our online services tool, BP Online Services enables you and approved members of staff to access your fleet’s Fuel Card account around the clock, seven days a week. You can order and cancel cards; view and download transactions, invoices and statements; set alert and notification parameters, and more.
BP Online Services gives you access to a suite of reports on fuel usage and driver behaviour, so you can view, download and analyse a wide range of performance parameters to ensure your fleet is running as efficiently as possible.
Yes. As well as odometer readings captured at the point of sale and included on transaction data, you can harness private and business mileage capturing and reporting. We also offer a plug in and go Mileage Capture solution.

FAQ Topic 5: Customer services

Notify BP immediately if you are a direct customer, or your Fuel Card provider if you’re supplied by one of our business partners.

 

Our direct customers can log on to BP Online Services and cancel the card immediately 24/7. Alternatively, you can call our team on 0345 603 0723 (Monday-Friday 08:00-17.00).

Simply log on to BP Online Services or, if you’d prefer, call our friendly team who’ll be happy to help.

Customer service: 0345 603 0723 (Monday-Friday 08:00-17.00).

 

If your Fuel Cards are supplied by one of our business partners, please check directly with them.

Yes. Simply visit BP Online Services to instantly change any PIN number.

FAQ Topic 6a - BPme for Fleet Managers

Yes you can control it in two ways:

  1. You can selectively enable/disable cards for use with BPme. If a card is not enabled for BPme, then it cannot be used on the app
  2. Once a card is enabled you need to provide the driver with an activation code before they can add the fuel card to the BPme app

You have full control of which cards are enabled and which drivers can add their cards to the BPme app by providing them an activation code.

 

This can be managed within the ‘BPme Management’ section of your BP Online Services.

Yes, it is mandatory for the driver to enter information into odometer and vehicle registration fields on the BPme app as part of a transaction authorisation request.

BPme provides all the transaction security and vigilant fraud protection of plastic cards.

 

Firstly, a BP fuel card cannot be set up within a BPme wallet without the card details and a unique activation code provided by the fleet manager.

 

Once set up, the driver has to use a PIN or fingerprint recognition on their phone to access the app for each use, meaning it cannot be used without knowing what this is. As the driver chooses this PIN there is the additional security benefit of reducing the temptation to write this PIN down as well as the frustration of forgotten card PINs.

 

For the actual fuel purchase there are similar checks as physical card transactions.

If you don’t want drivers using BPme with their fuel card, and they aren’t already set up, then you don’t need to do anything to stop them using the app. Without enabling their card and sending an activation code they will not be able to add their fuel card to their BPme wallet.

 

If you have enabled a card and sent a driver an activation code, but later want to stop them using BPme with their fuel card you can do this in several ways:

  1. Remove a card from the driver’s wallet using BP Online Services. The physical card will remain active but they will no longer be able to use their card via the BPme app.
  2. Change the activation code of a fleet card. This will ensure that the driver cannot use the fuel card for refuelling with the old activation code
  3. Using BP Online Services, the BPme enabled card can be stopped immediately. This will ensure that even though the card is in the driver’s wallet, the driver will not be able to use it for refuelling. Please note however this will also stop the physical card so should only be done if you want to completely stop the use of a particular card
Yes. This will enable them to purchase other vehicle-related goods from the shop as allowed on their fuel card, as well as access cross acceptance partners which still require the physical card.
Yes. The driver can continue to use BPme. As a fleet manager, you can decide whether to stop just the physical card, or to stop both the physical card and BPMe usage.  If you decide to continue with BPme usage, then the card will be valid until the third calendar month end after the physical card is stopped and can be used by the driver for this period via BPme.
Currently the BPme app cannot be used in these sites.
Only one item will change which is the “pickup type”. There will be a new type labelled “V” for virtual. All other data remains the same.
The price will be the same as if you were to pay in the normal way. Whatever price you pay on your plastic fuel card is what you will pay using the same card on BPme.
Yes. You will need to remove the card from the existing driver’s wallet and then change the activation code. This new activation code can be created in BP Online Services after 60 minutes following a removal of the card from the previous driver’s wallet.

FAQ Topic 6b - BPme for Drivers

  1. Request an activation code from your fleet manager
  2. Allow 60 minutes for this code to be updated in the online system
  3. Download and open the BPme app
  4. Go to the payment section
  5. Select ‘Add’ and choose ‘Add Fuelcard’
  6. Enter the card details and activation code
  7. Give your card a name of your choice, for example “BP Plus”, or use the last few digits of the card
  8. Select “finish”
You can use BP Plus and BP Plus Bunker cards with BPme.
Currently you can only use either a BP Plus or a BP Plus Bunker card.
You can add as many fuel cards as you like to the BPme account. However, a fuel card can be associated with only one BPme account at any time and cannot be added to multiple accounts.
Your fleet manager needs to enable any fuel card for use with BPme and also provide you with a 6-digit activation code to add the fuel card on to BPme.
You cannot use your mobile phone outside of a vehicle on a forecourt, however you can park your vehicle safely at the pump, switch your engine off and then open the app, whilst sitting in your vehicle. BP have approval from the petroleum authorities to allow this to take place in this way. You must leave your phone safely in your vehicle when you exit the vehicle to refuel.
On the BPme app, you can enter the new expiry date of the renewed card, allowing you to continue using BPme with this fuel card.
Yes, you must enter the odometer reading and registration number prior to making a fuel purchase on BPme.
No. You can use the BPme app to perform fuelling transactions. For any non-fuel related products (such as Oil for example), you will have to go into the store to pay.
No. If your authorisation request sent via BPme is approved, then you will not need to go into store to unlock your pump.
Yes, as long as it is AdBlue from a pump. AdBlue canisters must be paid for in store.

At the moment, you are only able to pay for fuel using the app. If you wish to purchase any other products, you will need to pay for these in-store.

 

Additionally all purchasing restrictions on fuel cards apply to both plastic fuel cards and virtual fuel cards in your BPme wallet. As of December 2017 only vehicle-related goods are possible to purchase on your fuel card, therefore to purchase coffee and non-vehicle-related shop goods you will need to pay in store using an alternative payment method.

Please fill up and pay in store using your physical fuel card or any other payment method if your transaction is stopped before the pump is unlocked.

 

If you received a notification on the app during the authorisation process to say that the pump is unlocked prior to the phone switching off, please continue with your BPme transaction. You will receive a delivery notice via email.

Once you've finished fuelling - you're good to go! You will see a transaction summary appear on your phone once you return to your car, and will receive a delivery notice on email too.

Following a successful BPme transaction you’ll see a transaction summary within the app when you return to your car. Additionally you’ll receive a delivery notice on email with the details of your transaction.

 

This transaction will also appear in the same way current physical transactions do today within the fuel card online account and invoicing.

A transaction can be cancelled through the app all the way up to the point that you lift the pump handle. As a safety measure, the app will automatically cancel the transaction if you haven’t lifted the pump handle within one minute.
As a safety measure, the app will automatically cancel the transaction if you haven’t lifted the pump handle within one minute.
BPme cannot be used in cross-acceptance sites such as Texaco, Gulf and Esso as it is only available at BP sites.
You can earn BPme Rewards points when you use the BPme app. Find out more at www.bpmerewards.co.uk
The price will be the same as if you were to pay in the normal way. Whatever price you pay on your plastic fuel card is what you will pay using the same card on BPme.
Whilst you don’t need the physical fuel card with you when you pay via BPme at a BP site, you should continue to carry this with you. You will need this in order to purchase other vehicle-related products within BP shops and to make fuel purchases at cross acceptance sites such as Esso, Texaco and Gulf.
Yes, these still work, and will be treated as one card with the physical card, so the overall limits will be applied.
Any BP Plus or BP Plus Bunker Fuel Card can be added to the BPme app. The odometer reading and vehicle registration number will still be required during a transaction as per a physical transaction.
No. A BPme account can add any number of fuel cards. However, a fuel card can only be associated with one BP account. A BP account should not be shared between multiple drivers.
Please contact your Fleet manager in this instance and they will be able to advise.
No, Gas Oil is not an allowed fuel grade as part of BPme transactions.
Currently, the UK fuel cards within the BPme app can only be used in UK fuel stations.
If you remove a fuel card from your BPme wallet, you will require a new activation code from your Fleet Manager. Please contact your Fleet Manager for a new activation code.