New initiative to curb fleet card fraud

In a joint move to cut down on fleet
card fraud, WesBank and Visa have
introduced online authorisation.
Fleet cards have historically not
used pin numbers. “Recently, however,
we have seen a move into the ‘chip’
environment whereby pin numbers are
issued with fleet cards, although at this
stage not all cards operate on pins,”
says Shona Selley, general manager of
WesBank’s Fleet Services.
“WesBank and Visa are in an
exclusive pilot currently to launch the
first Chip- and PIN-enabled fleet fuel
card in the world. We believe this will
provide best-in-class fraud mitigation
opportunities and great security for
fleet cards.
“In addition, we also have a team
of fraud forensic investigators and
analysts who monitor transactions
and detect when and what type of
fraud has occurred. Their role is to
investigate syndicates and assist with
apprehending suspects. WesBank was
involved in the arrests of two fairly
large syndicates towards the end of last
year and early this year,” she said.
According to Selley, five years ago
cloning of fleet cards was rare, although
it was already being carried out on
credit and debit cards. “Once stricter
controls were imposed on credit and
debit cards, syndicates turned to fleet
cards, and consequently we have seen
an increase in fraud.”