Over the last 30 years the Commercial Fueling Network (CFN) fuel card has been the staple fuel card for companies on the West Coast because of it’s reliable network of cardlock fuel stations that are specifically built for business fleets. Almost any major 18-wheel access fuel station on the West Coast is a CFN station.
In addition to providing a reliable means to fuel, the CFN card has also added controls and reporting features to help company’s manage their fuel expenses.
Okay so your officially fired up about the CFN fuel card, but maybe you’re unsure of where to start. No problem, we’ve created the ultimate CFN fuel card guide.
Read along, or jump ahead to sections that you’re most interested in.
How and Why The CFN Fuel Network Started
It’s been 30 years since the Commercial Fueling Network (CFN) formed to provide companies with a wide network fuel stations by connecting independently owned cardlock fuel stations under one network.
Before the CFN network was formed many these cardlock fuel stations manually kept open tabs with any business that used their location and settled the tab on a weekly basis. This worked well for companies that only had local routes, but for other companies that needed to fuel on the road keeping track of tabs at multiple stations is cumbersome.
Thus, the CFN network setout to enable these independent oil companies that owned cardlock stations to issue CFN fuel cards to their own customers that could be used at any participating cardlock fuel station.
The CFN network was then purchased by Fleetcor (a giant financial payments company) in 2003 who then combined their own retail fuel network (Fuelman) to the CFN card and now there are over 57,000 locations that accept the CFN fuel card.
Today CFN is still comprised of roughly 300 independent oil marketers that own the cardlock fuel stations and issue CFN fuel cards. Sure some have grown, some have sold, but for the most part the CFN network maintains the same goal to provide business with a great place to fuel (It just has a lot more stations).
Fuel Stations That Accept The CFN Fuel Card
The CFN fuel card is accepted at all CFN network and Fuelman network locations nationwide totalling to over 57,000 locations. The CFN network is comprised of 2,300 cardlock locations while the Fuelman network has roughly 55,000 retail branded gas stations and truck stops.
The CFN network originally started on the west coast where cardlock fuel stations (fuel & go truck stops with no additional amenities) are the best source of fuel for companies due to the lack of land for building larger truck stops that the rest of the country can take advantage of. Later the Fuelman network was added to the CFN fuel card to fill in the gaps where there are no CFN stations so drivers only have to carry one fuel card and don’t have to go out of their way to look for a CFN gas station.
How To Find CFN Locations
The easiest way to find gas stations that accept the CFN fuel card is to use the CFN FleetWide site locator on your desktop of download the FleetWide app for your phone. Simply allow the app to find your nearest location or enter an address, city, or zip code to search for locations.
CFN Fuel Prices
CFN fuel card pricing can varies by the type of station you use. Pricing at CFN network cardlock locations is based off a wholesale pricing formula that is regulated by CFN. Where as pricing at Fuelman network retail gas stations and truck stops is based off the posted pump price at the gas station.
Which pricing is better? Usually the CFN network will have the cheapest average pricing compared to retail gas stations by roughly 5-25¢ per gallon on diesel and 1-10¢ per gallon on gasoline. The other major benefit to CFN network pricing is that the station pricing formula is regulated by CFN so you can rely on getting a consistent price on any given day no matter which station you use in a specific area. Where retail gas stations and truck stops can vary sometime by 25¢ per gallon within blocks from each other.
Requirements For Getting A CFN Card
If you own a company big or small and you have good credit you would more than likely qualify for getting a CFN fuel card. Other than that a lot of CFN fuel card providers don’t have monthly purchase minimums or fleet size minimums. Companies ranging from large transportation companies that have 100’s or even 1,000’s of vehicles to small plumbing companies that may only have a few vans use the CFN fuel card.
How To Apply For A CFN Card
You can fill out our online CFN fuel card application or find another CFN fuel card provider and apply open an account with them. The application process usually involves filling out a standard company credit application and a CFN fuel card order form to order your cards. The application process can vary anywhere from 1-12 business days depending on the CFN fuel card providers credit process and their ability to print cards at their location or not. Some CFN card providers rely on CFN’s office to print their cards for them, whereas other just simply print onsite and ship.
How To Setup Your CFN Fuel Cards
When you are ready to fill out the CFN fuel card order form there’s a couple things you need to consider. First, do you want to assign your cards to the vehicle or to the driver? Would you rather have the driver carry the fuel card with them and enter the vehicle number they are driving at the pump or the card stay in the vehicle and each driver gets their own individual pin that works on any card?
Then which types of CFN card controls do you want to use on each card?
CFN Card Controls
- Number of Transactions Per Day
- Gallons Per Transaction
- Gallons Per Day
- Gallons Per Month
- Type of Fuel
- Time of Day
- Days of Week
Check out this guide for more details on how CFN card controls work.
Once everything is setup it’s time to start swiping your CFN fuel cards. To use the card is pretty simple.
Step 1: Swipe the card at the card reader
Step 2: Enter driver id (pin number)
Step 3: Enter unit number
Then begin to fuel your vehicle.
Check out this article for more detailed instructions on how to use a CFN fuel card.
Get Electronic Fuel Receipts In Your Inbox After Every Purchase
As you probably already know tracking down fuel receipts from drivers can be difficult. With the CFN fuel card you can sign up any 5 email addresses to receive electronic fuel receipts after every purchase.
