Short answer: A white label eSIM for car rental companies lets you sell mobile data to every renter under your own brand, as an add-on at booking, in the confirmation email or at the counter. Through the eSIM Signal partner programme you buy at a partner price, set your own retail price and deliver each eSIM instantly with a neutral install page and a QR code in your colours. There is no setup fee, no monthly minimum and no fixed-term contract.
Why car rental customers need mobile data
A renter without data is a renter driving blind. Almost everyone now navigates with Google Maps, Waze or Apple Maps on their own phone, often mirrored to the dashboard through Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Both of those run on the phone's data connection, not the car's, so the moment a customer lands without a working plan, your car's big screen is mostly useless.
Navigation is only the start. During a typical rental, drivers also need data to:
- pay for street parking with apps such as EasyPark or PayByPhone
- find fuel stations, EV chargers and opening hours
- check live traffic, road closures and mountain-pass conditions
- message your branch about late returns, damage or breakdowns
- find the return location at a busy airport
Roaming is where it goes wrong. The EU "roam like at home" rule only covers EU and EEA countries, and only for customers with an EU or EEA home plan. A visitor from the US, the Gulf or Asia who picks up a car in Munich pays their home operator's roaming rates from the first kilometre. Even EU renters lose the protection on popular cross-border routes into Switzerland, the UK, the western Balkans or Turkey.
That gap is your product. The customer already trusts you with the trip, so data sold by you, under your name, feels like part of the rental rather than another app to research.
Why a white label eSIM beats renting out sat-navs and pocket Wi-Fi
Many rental desks still rent portable sat-navs or pocket Wi-Fi devices. Both are physical stock: they need charging, cleaning, map updates and chasing when a customer drives off with one. A white label eSIM has none of that.
- No hardware to lose or return. The eSIM lives on the customer's own phone and simply expires.
- Nothing to store at each branch. Every eSIM is delivered digitally, so a small franchise desk can sell the same range as a flagship airport station.
- Your brand stays in front. The install page carries no eSIM Signal branding, and the QR code can carry your logo and colour.
For a deeper look at the branding side, read our guide to selling a white label eSIM under your own brand.
Where to sell eSIMs in the rental journey
You do not need to pick one moment. Most rental companies get the best results by offering data in two or three places.
At online booking
Add a "Mobile data for your trip" extra next to child seats and additional drivers. You know the pick-up country, the return location and the rental length, so you can pre-select the right plan rather than showing a long list.
In the pre-arrival email
Send the eSIM a day or two before pick-up with a one-tap install link. Customers can install it at home on Wi-Fi, which is the most reliable way to set up an eSIM, and land with data already working.
Tip: deliver the eSIM close to the pick-up date rather than at booking. Fewer cancellations reach a delivered eSIM, and an eSIM that was never installed can be refunded to your balance within the refund window.
At the counter
Show a branded QR code on a tablet or printed card. Counter staff can order from the Business Panel in seconds, and the customer scans and installs while the paperwork is being done, ideally on your branch Wi-Fi.
During the rental
When a customer extends the hire or drives further than planned, sell a top-up to the same eSIM rather than a new one. Top-ups are available through the API with GET /esims/{iccid}/topups and POST /esims/{iccid}/topup.
How a white label eSIM for car rental works, step by step
- Apply for a partner account. Apply for a partner account and the team reviews every application. Most partners go from first contact to first sale within a few days.
- Pick plans for your routes. The catalogue covers 210+ countries and regions with country, regional and global plans, plus unlimited day passes in many destinations. Destination ids are readable, such as
ITorEUROPE-USA, and so are package ids such asIT_5GB_30D_FIXED. - Set your retail price. Every package has a partner price that applies automatically to every order. You see only your own price and decide what the renter pays.
- Brand it. Turn on your QR colour and logo with a live preview. The install page your customer opens is neutral.
- Connect your booking system. Small operators can order by hand in the Business Panel. Larger ones use the REST API with an
Idempotency-Keyso a retried request never creates a double order, andcustomer_refset to your booking reference. - Deliver. Each order instantly returns the ICCID, activation code, QR code and one-tap install link, ready to drop into your confirmation email or rental app.
- Track. Signed webhooks such as
order.completed,esim.activatedandesim.expiredtell your system when a customer has started using their data.
Developers can find request and response examples for every endpoint in our eSIM reseller API integration guide.
Matching plans to rental routes
The most common mistake in car rental is selling a single-country plan to a renter who will cross a border. Ask, or infer from the one-way return location, where the car is going.
Single-country rentals
A city break with an airport pick-up in Rome, Barcelona or Lisbon needs a country plan. As a rule of thumb, 1–2 GB a week covers maps and messaging, 3–5 GB suits normal use, and families streaming music or video in the back seat need 10 GB or more.
Cross-border road trips
Regional plans are made for these. A drive from Milan over the Alps to Lucerne and on to Lyon crosses a non-EU country, and so does a Croatian coast trip that dips into Montenegro or Bosnia and Herzegovina. Partners can also sell partner-only regional plans such as Europe 33 and Europe 50, which are not on the public shop. Our wholesale eSIM guide for Europe explains which plan suits which corner of the continent.
Fly-drive holidays and long rentals
Fly-drive customers in the US, Iceland, Australia or New Zealand often cover long distances where a regional plan adds nothing, so a larger country plan or an unlimited day pass fits better. For monthly rentals and car subscriptions, start with a 30-day plan and offer top-ups.
How to price and position the add-on
There are three proven ways to sell data, and you can combine them:
- Optional extra at checkout, priced per plan, with a recommended size pre-selected.
- Bundled into premium packages, such as a "worry-free" or "all-inclusive" cover, where data becomes one more reason to upgrade.
- Loyalty perk, given to top-tier members on international rentals.
You set the retail price yourself, and partners with steady volume can agree a further discount. See wholesale rates and the partner programme for the details.
Running it day to day
Support at the branch
Most questions are about compatibility and installation, so give counter staff a short script: check the phone supports eSIM and is not carrier-locked, install on Wi-Fi, then turn on the eSIM line and data roaming for that line only. Our customer support playbook for eSIM resellers has ready answers for the common cases. Behind you, a named account manager is available by email or WhatsApp, usually replying within one business day.
Refunds and cancellations
An eSIM that was never installed can be refunded to your balance within the refund window. Installed or used eSIMs cannot be refunded, so write your own terms to match: refundable until installed, non-refundable after.
Accounting, teams and billing
- The itemised ledger with receipts and CSV/Excel exports lets finance match every eSIM to a booking through
customer_ref. - Give counter staff the user role and managers the admin role, with email two-factor sign-in for everyone.
- Use the prepaid balance with low-balance alerts and optional automatic top-up, so a busy summer weekend never stops sales.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Promising calls, texts or hotspot. The plans are data only and come without a phone number. Customers keep their own number on their home SIM.
- Confusing the car with the phone. The data plan is installed on the driver's phone. It does not connect the car's built-in system.
- Paper-only instructions. Always send the one-tap install link by email or app, not just a printed QR.
- Letting the balance run dry. Turn on automatic top-up before peak season.
Frequently asked questions
Can a car rental company sell eSIMs under its own brand?
Yes. Partner eSIMs come with a neutral install page without eSIM Signal branding, and the QR code can use your own logo and colour.
Does the eSIM work with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
CarPlay and Android Auto use the phone's data connection, so once the eSIM is active on the driver's phone, navigation apps on the car screen work as normal.
Which plan should I sell for a one-way rental across borders?
Choose a regional plan that covers every country on the route, especially when the drive includes non-EU countries such as Switzerland or the western Balkans.
Is there a minimum order or contract for car rental partners?
No. There is no setup fee, no monthly fee, no monthly minimum and no fixed-term contract, and you pay as you go from a prepaid balance.
What happens if a customer cancels their rental?
If the eSIM was never installed, you can refund it to your balance within the refund window. Once it has been installed or used, it cannot be refunded.