IT’S brought big savings for domestic energy bills and now the system of a collective vehicle fuel card account promises savings for SMEs.

Close Brothers Asset Finance, in partnership with UK Fuels, has launched the innovative new collective fuel saver card which will cut critical fuel costs for UK SMEs, by offering a uniquely discounted price based on the collective usage of all participants in the scheme.

The new product, which is believed to be the only one on the market with this structure, is designed to help SMEs achieve a substantial cost saving on what is usually their largest monthly expenditure.

It can be used in over 20,000 filling stations across both the UK and Europe and users will also be able to take advantage of UK Fuels’ online account management portal and smart phone application.

Customers who choose to participate in the scheme are not required to pay upfront, usage or closing fees and in most cases there is no need for an upfront cash payment. In addition, there is no lock-in period therefore no commitment to remain in the scheme for a predetermined period.

John Fawcett, divisional MD of transport at Close Brothers Asset Finance, said: “Fuel costs are a significant and rising cost for many businesses and can be complex and time consuming to manage.

“Most companies will have an existing fuel card provider but these tend only to provide savings based on the volume of usage across their own vehicles, as opposed to all vehicles from all customers in the scheme.

“We wanted to change that by demonstrating Close Brothers Asset Finance’s ongoing support for SMEs by creating a value add service to make our customer’s largest monthly cost both cheaper and easier to manage.”

“With customers being able to use the fuel card at thousands of filling station across the UK and Europe, this means drivers don’t have to plan ahead when thinking about re-fuelling. Fleet managers will also find managing fuel costs much more straight-forward through the online account management portal and smart phone application.”

Bill Holmes, founder of UK Fuels, said, “We’re delighted to be partnering with Close Brothers Asset Finance, a business who like Radius, is committed to supporting UK SMEs.

“Our range of innovative and cost-saving products and services perfectly complement the services Close Brothers Asset Finance provides and we’re looking forward to developing our relationship further.”

For more details of the Close Brothers Asset Finance fuel card scheme click here.