What is fuel and payment card in trucking?

Money

Fuel and payment card

Also called Comdata, EFS, Fuel card

A fuel card is a payment card used for diesel and on-road expenses that provides negotiated pricing at participating stops and produces itemised transaction records.

Last reviewed 31 July 2026 · by the fleetchart dispatch desk

Beyond discounts, the practical benefit is the record: transactions arrive itemised with location, gallons and price, which supports both IFTA reporting and expense tracking without collecting paper.

Cards are also used to issue payment codes for lumpers and advances against a load.

Related terms

Lumper fee
A lumper fee is a charge for third-party labour to load or unload a trailer, common at grocery and food distribution warehouses, and normally reimbursed by the broker or shipper.
IFTA
IFTA is an agreement among US states and Canadian provinces that lets an interstate carrier file one quarterly fuel tax return, redistributing fuel tax to the jurisdictions where miles were actually driven.
Variable costs
Variable costs scale with the miles you run — fuel, maintenance, tyres, tolls and DEF — and they are the costs a routing or equipment decision can actually change.
Fuel economy
Fuel economy is miles travelled per gallon of diesel burned, and because fuel is usually the largest variable cost, small changes in it move profit noticeably.

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Fuel and payment card

Related terms

Lumper fee

IFTA

Variable costs

Fuel economy

See this on your own loads.

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