FleetCor Technologies, now known as Corpay, and its CEO Ronald Clarke have agreed to pay $100 million to resolve a Federal Trade Commission administrative action involving fuel cards marketed largely to small businesses.
The proposed settlement, announced September 17, follows years of litigation over FleetCor’s fuel card practices. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the company charged customers hidden or unauthorized fees and made deceptive claims about fuel savings, fees and fraud-control features associated with its cards.
The $100 million payment is expected to be used to provide redress to business customers harmed by the practices, according to the FTC. The proposed administrative settlement still must go through a public-comment process before the Commission decides whether to make the consent order final.
FTC Says Small Businesses Faced Undisclosed Fees
FleetCor sells fuel cards that businesses can provide to employees who purchase gasoline and other fuel for company vehicles.
The FTC said FleetCor’s customers were overwhelmingly small businesses and alleged that the company imposed a broad range of fees customers did not know about or agree to pay. According to the agency, those charges totaled hundreds of millions of dollars and affected tens of thousands of customers.
The allegations weren’t limited to ordinary account fees.
The FTC’s case against FleetCor also alleged that the company charged late fees to customers who had paid on time or, in some instances, had been prevented by FleetCor from making timely payments.
According to the FTC, some fees didn’t begin appearing until customers had gone through several billing cycles, potentially making the added charges less noticeable.
Some Fees Were Difficult for Customers to Spot
The way the charges appeared—or didn’t appear—on customer records was another major part of the government’s case.
The FTC alleged that FleetCor invoices didn’t disclose that certain fees were being charged. Customers instead had to look at other account-management reports to identify them.
Even there, the agency said, some fees were mixed in with other information or weren’t listed at all.
A federal district court entered summary judgment for the FTC on all counts in 2023, finding that FleetCor had charged hidden or otherwise unauthorized fees and misrepresented both fuel savings and fees associated with its cards.
A federal appeals court upheld the judgment against FleetCor on all counts in 2026. The appeals court affirmed the judgment against CEO Ronald Clarke on all but one count while vacating the injunction against him.
FTC Challenged Fuel-Savings Claims, Too
Fees weren’t the only issue.
The FTC alleged that FleetCor promoted some fuel cards by promising businesses specific savings on fuel purchases, but those promised savings weren’t always available.
Court records in the case describe claims that customers would receive specific discounts on every gallon purchased, while restrictions could prevent those discounts from being available at certain retailers or reduce or eliminate the savings under some circumstances.
For a small business operating several vehicles, the difference between an advertised per-gallon discount and the savings actually received can become significant as fuel purchases accumulate.
The FTC also challenged representations FleetCor made concerning fraud controls associated with the cards.
$100 Million Is Intended for Customer Redress
Under the proposed settlement, FleetCor and Clarke will pay $100 million, which the FTC says will be used to provide redress to business customers harmed by the company’s practices.
The agreement also says FleetCor and Clarke won’t oppose reimposition of a federal court injunction against Clarke.
A court order already permanently prohibits FleetCor from billing customers for charges unless the company obtains express informed consent and provides clear and unavoidable information about those charges.
The order also prohibits FleetCor from hiding material information about a charge behind a hyperlink and from making deceptive representations about its fuel cards.
Those provisions address practices at the center of the FTC’s original allegations.
The Settlement Isn’t Final Yet
The FTC voted 1-0-1 to accept the proposed consent agreement, with FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson recused.
The agency said a description of the agreement will be published in the Federal Register and will then be open for public comment for 30 days.
After the comment period closes, the Commission will determine whether to make the proposed consent order final.
That distinction matters: FleetCor and Clarke have agreed to the $100 million settlement, but the administrative consent order was still proposed when the FTC announced it on September 17.
Once an FTC consent order becomes final, violations of the order can potentially result in additional civil penalties.
Businesses That Used FleetCor Cards Should Watch What Happens Next
Businesses that previously used FleetCor fuel cards don’t need to assume they’re automatically entitled to part of the $100 million settlement simply because they were customers.
The FTC has said the money will be used for customer redress, but details about which businesses qualify, how payments will be calculated, and whether customers will need to take any action may depend on the final order and the agency’s redress process.
For now, affected businesses can follow the official FTC FleetCor case page for updates and future documents.
Business owners may also want to preserve old FleetCor account statements, invoices, fee records, and other account documentation while the case proceeds.
The case offers a broader reminder for businesses using fuel cards and other payment products: advertised discounts don’t necessarily reveal the complete cost of an account, so reviewing actual fees and realized savings can be just as important as comparing the headline offer.
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Amanda Blankenship is the Chief Editor for District Media. With a BA in journalism from Wingate University, she frequently writes for a handful of websites and loves to share her own personal finance story with others. When she isn’t typing away at her desk, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, son, husband, and dog. During her free time, you’re likely to find her with her nose in a book, hiking, or playing RPG video games.
