FLEET managers have raised concerns at the amount of administration involved in operating fuel cards when PIN numbers are used instead of signatures.

By February, most credit and debit cards can only be authorised by the owner typing in their PIN number, as signatures will no longer be accepted.

The same technology is being used on fuel cards but members of the Midlands region of Acfo, the fleet managers’ association, heard that could bring unexpected problems.

One member said: ‘Does that mean that if I have 250 cards, then I will have to have 250 pin numbers? I am sure this will cause me administration problems, especially with drivers forgetting the number and not being able to buy fuel.’

Fuel and fuel card supplier Total introduced chip and PIN for its fuel cards in 2003.

A spokesman told Fleet NewsNet: ‘We allow companies to have a single PIN for all their cards and they can choose the PIN number themselves.

‘If a driver forgets the PIN number, we can authorise a purchase after consulting with the fleet manager in some cases, but normally you couldn’t buy fuel without the PIN.’

A spokesman for Arval, the largest fuel card provider in the UK, said the company was not introducing chip and PIN technology, because current security measures through the garage network were just as effective for most card users.