How WEX telematics and fleet cards tackle fraud and fuel costs with integrated data

Telematics and fuel card data on their own are valuable, providing fleet managers with better visibility into vehicle health, driver behavior, and fueling practices. While this is true, combining them is fundamental for success. These two critical aspects of fleet management enable greater insight and become even more impactful — making it easier to discern patterns and plan for the future of your business.

Fuel costs have always been an expected expense that fleet managers must consider and develop solutions for. The volatility of fuel prices in the United States, combined with the increased risk of fraud, is an expensive force that fleet operators must manage.

Here, we’re discussing some of the common problems and challenges of disconnected fleet data, and how bringing things together in one report is beneficial for business.

The problem with fragmented fleet data

Premium telematics technology and fleet fuel cards provide fleet managers with complete visibility into vehicles, drivers, and other vital assets. Without that visibility, challenges arise from the disconnect between them, which can affect your bottom line over time.

Without the right diagnostics and telematics technology, mechanical problems risk going unnoticed. This can lead to unexpected breakdowns, more costly repairs, and shorter vehicle life — leaving vehicles unsafe to drive.

On the other hand, fleet card data helps managers fight back against fraud and misuse. Unfortunately, even ethical drivers agree that fleet fraud is a problem, with 44% saying other drivers exploit company loyalty programs for personal use. Additionally, 39% of drivers say there’s intentional misuse of company cards.

The ongoing challenges of fleet fraud and card misuse

Fleet fraud can be difficult to quantify and keep tabs on, but it happens in several ways — all of which fleet managers should be aware of and take precautions to prevent:

• Fuel card abuse and misuse: Company-provided cards, especially fuel cards, are a frequent subject of fraud. Employees may use company fuel cards to fill up their personal vehicles, costing your company money.
• Fuel theft: Similarly to fuel card fraud, some employees may move the pump from the vehicle to a jerry can.
• Vehicle misuse: Fraud can happen through inappropriate or unauthorized use of company fleet vehicles. For example, an employee may use a vehicle for personal purposes without permission, like using fleet trucks to complete side jobs for personal profit.
• Routing fraud: Like vehicle misuse, routing fraud involves unauthorized diversions from assigned routes for personal reasons — something that is tricky to monitor without the right tools.

This increase in fraud paired with a lack of operational visibility can incentivize bad actors to continue making fraudulent decisions. No matter how large or small, businesses can expect to pay more in operational expenses across the board. This is especially true with fuel if they don’t get out ahead of the problem. Other ways organizations may end up paying include: 

• Financial loss: Fraudulent activities, such as unauthorized fuel card use or false maintenance claims, can result in significant financial losses for your company.
• Increased operational costs: Fraud can lead to inflated operational costs. This is because your company may be paying for services, fuel, or maintenance that were never authorized or received.
• Reputational damage: News of fraudulent activities within your fleet can damage its reputation. Customers, clients, and partners may lose trust in the integrity and reliability of your business.
• Skewed data: Another devastating result of fraud is inaccurate data about fuel consumption. This can cause a misallocation of resources and unreliable predictions, leading to ineffective decision-making. Having the right tools in place to accurately collect data is paramount to your business’s efficacy.

How telematics data can help relieve financial pressure alongside fleet cards

GPS devices and software work together to collect and transmit near real-time vehicle data. This data provides insights into vehicle location, speed, fuel consumption, maintenance requirements, and even driver behavior:

• GPS tracking: WEX premium GPS tracking enables near real-time location monitoring. This allows fleet managers to know the location of each vehicle in their fleet. Armed with such insight, managers can track instances of unauthorized vehicle use or route diversions and take action accordingly.
• Fuel management: Telematics is a strong tool. It enables deeper fuel usage monitoring to track consumption patterns, helping fleet managers identify anomalies or potential fuel fraud right when it happens.

The benefits of integrated telematics and fleet card data

Combining WEX telematics and GPS tracking with fuel card data helps businesses reduce operational costs and fraud risks. At the same time, this combo provides opportunities for better training to enhance driver safety and fuel efficiency. More specifically, integrated data can provide the following benefits:

Reduced fraud

Fraud and financial crime are on the rise. In response, organizations are committed to investing more in advanced technology to mitigate risk.

With integrated telematics and fuel card data, managers can limit fraud by monitoring patterns such as drivers’ daily start and stop times, time spent at customer locations or events, and fueling activity. 

Suspicious transactions will be flagged in a report to help managers discern when fraud may have taken place, such as when a fuel transaction occurred when a vehicle was not at a station, or when a purchase exceeded a vehicle’s tank capacity. Managers can schedule reports to be sent to their emails on a particular cadence for easy access.

Augmented maintenance planning

According to ATRI, medium-sized fleets pay the most in maintenance costs compared to larger fleets, which stands to reason why integrated data between telematics and fuel as part of your fleet management solution is important for cost savings.

Data integration allows for near real-time monitoring of vehicle health and usage, helping fleet managers schedule timely, preventive maintenance based on near real-time vehicle conditions.

Improved driving habits and driver safety

Everyone makes mistakes, but faults on American roadways can quickly turn fatal. In 2022, speeding caused 29% of all traffic fatalities in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the United States Department of Transportation.

WEX telematics tracks driver behavior and overall vehicle safety to help reduce bad habits such as speeding, idling, harsh stopping and acceleration, and swerving. When integrated with fleet fuel card data, you’ll get insights into how bad driving habits like these can impact fuel efficiency. With a holistic report, you’ll have easier access to the data you need to bolster driver training efforts and encourage better habits—for more safety and better fuel economy.

Compliance with International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) regulations

By combining telematics and Fuel Tax data into one report, WEX makes it easy for fleet managers to reconcile quarterly taxes — especially for fleets that operate in more than one state. This is imperative to comply with IFTA regulations. Failure to keep complete and accurate records for each vehicle in your fleet could put a strain on your organization by way of:

• Financial penalties.
• Audit risk.
• Lost business opportunities.

Vehicle-level data with WEX

Beyond tracking vehicle locations, simplified dashboards allow fleet managers to analyze data and take action to save money, encouraging better spending habits, and improving efficiency and productivity.

Integrate WEX telematics with your fuel card included in WEX Telematics Service plans at no additional cost to unlock vehicle asset tracking and simplified IFTA reporting. Ready to get started? Visit the WEX GPS tracking page for more information and when you’re ready, contact us to learn more.

WEX is a leading, global fintech solutions provider, simplifying payments and back-end business processes in the fleet management, benefits management, and corporate payments areas. To learn more, please visit the company’s About WEX page.

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Editorial note: This article was originally published on February 16, 2016, and has been updated for this publication.