Comparison

Vetrol vs Fuel Cards.
The gap is bigger than you think.

Fuel cards were designed for convenience β€” not control. They leave every gap that fraud and waste need to thrive. Vetrol closes them at the hardware level.

Authorization

A card can be anyone. A tag can only be the vehicle.

Fuel cards authorize a person β€” whoever holds the card. Vetrol authorizes a vehicle. The encrypted tag is hardware-mounted and physically bound to one specific vehicle. There is no card to share, hand to a friend, or use after hours.

Visibility

Monthly statements vs a live dashboard.

With fuel cards, you find out what happened when the statement arrives β€” often 30 days later. With Vetrol, every fill appears in your dashboard the moment it happens. Every blocked attempt too. You're never managing the past.

Fraud

Discovered too late vs blocked at the pump.

Fuel card fraud β€” ghost fills, card sharing, inflated volumes β€” is typically only caught in a reconciliation review, if at all. Vetrol blocks unauthorized fueling in real time. The transaction never completes. There is nothing to recover.

Feature by feature.

Every gap fuel cards leave open β€” and how Vetrol closes it.

Feature
Fuel Cards
Vetrol
Authorization method
PIN or card swipe by anyone who holds it
Encrypted Vehicle Tag β€” hardware bound to one vehicle
Card sharing / misuse
Undetectable β€” any cardholder can fuel
Impossible β€” tag is mounted to the vehicle itself
Station restrictions
None β€” accepted anywhere the network covers
Per-vehicle station whitelist β€” only approved locations
Volume limits
None or basic monthly card limits
Per-vehicle daily and monthly limits, enforced at the pump
Time-of-day controls
None
Configurable time windows per vehicle or route
Fraud detection
Discovered in monthly statements, if at all
Blocked at the pump in real time β€” no recovery needed
Ghost fueling prevention
None
Hardware authentication β€” pump only activates for valid tag
Visibility
Monthly statement β€” data is always 30 days old
Live dashboard β€” every fill visible the moment it happens
Settlement
Periodic billing cycle
Instant automated settlement per transaction
Disputed invoices
Common β€” fleet and station data rarely match
Impossible β€” shared immutable ledger, one source of truth
Lost or stolen risk
High β€” card is usable immediately if stolen
Zero β€” tag is vehicle-mounted hardware, not portable
Multi-currency / multi-market
Manual conversion, manual reconciliation
Automated in local currency per market
Integration / API
Limited β€” proprietary formats
Full REST API and webhook events
Reconciliation
2–5 days per month, manual
Zero β€” automated and real time

We were using fuel cards for six years. We thought we had control. Vetrol showed us we had none β€” and then gave us actual control for the first time.

JH
Jean-Pierre Habimana
Head of Fleet Operations Β· Inyange Industries Ltd Β· Kigali

Ready to replace your fuel cards?

Book a demo and we'll show you exactly how Vetrol would work with your current fleet β€” including what your fuel card setup is costing you today.