A major concern for a lot of companies is fraudulent activity. Every year, a large amount of fueling budget is lost to illegal practices, which can affect revenue for a lot of businesses, and ultimately, drives prices up, which negatively affects the consumer. To combat this problem, the majority of corporations impose strict security controls which can help lessen the impact of illegal activity.

Because of the damaging effects fraudulent activity has on a company’s bottom line, organizations that operate fleets get fleet cards to help protect them against this kind of activity. Not only do fleet cards provide an extra level of security with their reporting packages, they also let businesses impose strict purchasing controls. These controls can help organizations recognize and prevent unwanted purchases from occurring, and ultimately reduce a company’s overall fueling expenses.

One of the biggest ways fleet cards protect against illegal activity is the protection they provide against employee fraud. With a fleet card, it’s impossible for employees to “forget” or “lose” their receipts and claim expenses which aren’t legitimate. Fleet cards provide records of every transaction made, which are immediately available in their fleet management account system, making it impossible for employees to claim unapproved expenses. In addition, fleet cards can require a signature, PIN, and even an odometer reading to be given every time fuel is purchased. This helps protect against a card being used when stolen as it’s harder to use a credit card illegally when a PIN is required. It also prevents employees using their fleet card for their own personal vehicles as there is no way for employees to explain a discrepancy in odometer readings.

Odometer readings protect against fraudulent activity

Since each fleet card is issued by a particular employee, it is easy to prevent unauthorized purchases from happening. If a fleet card is stolen, it is easy to cancel that individual card and issue the employee a new one with a minimum amount of damage being done. Furthermore, purchasing controls can be put on the card to limit the time of day and day of the week purchases can be made. This prevents employees from buying fuel on the most expensive days of the week, but it also helps safeguard against use if the card is stolen.

Most businesses need to find a way to prevent unwanted activity from harming their revenue, and with the rising cost in fuel being so significantly, it’s important to protect against incidences of fraudulent activity. The right fleet card will help organizations minimize risk, protect their bottom line with strict security controls and in-depth reporting packages and reduce their overall fuel management costs.