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.”