Next Generation Fleet Fuel Fraud Prevention: Application of CAR PAY Framework

Abstract

The global fuel card market size is valued at USD 690.48 billion and is expected to keep growing at the annual compounded rate of 9.8 percent between 2023 and 2030. Growth is expected by a direct relational increase in the adoption of fuel fleet cards to manage vehicle expenses such as servicing, fueling, upkeep, and others. There are a lot of points and fraudulent threats to this traditional approach of using fuel cards, such as stolen cards and the cost of physical cards that create ambiguity and significant delays in fleet operations. In this research paper, the noble approach of leveraging vehicles as authenticators instead of physical cards to connect directly with merchants, specifically fuel stations, was discussed. Major banks use KYC (i.e., Know Your Customer) for every card payment, and the idea behind this approach is to use the car as a payment solution to pay merchants for fuel. The physical card business accounts for USD 400 million annually in North America alone. Additionally, 18 percent of fleet managers report lost/stolen cards, and unauthorized purchases also account for 12 percent of total fuel expenses in the fleets that are handled poorly. The ultimate goal of the paper is to demonstrate a noble “CAR PAY” approach to replacing the use of physical cards as fuel cards. The discovery of the CAR PAY solution at TransFleet Logistics showcases the notable operational, financial, and regulatory benefits of switching from physical fuel cards to vehicle-based authentication. The return on investment for the system was 9.3 months, but this could vary according to the size of the fleet and the willingness of the organization to embrace change. On the basis of the research study analysis of CAY PAY implementation across different fleet sizes, it was estimated that the breakeven timeline is approximately 3.1 months for large fleets over 200 vehicles, 3.9 months for med- sized fleets between 50 to 200 vehicles, and 5.5 months for small fleets between 10 to 50 vehicles. It was observed that the time spent at the fuel station during the transactions was significantly reduced by 37 percent from an average of 4.8 minutes to 3 minutes per event of fueling. The efficiency gains trans- late to 28 hours per annum for traditional small fleet operations.