CreditCardsAct

The exact year that the fuel card was first used is difficult to pinpoint, but wide use began in the late 70′s and early 80′s. However, these early generation cards were unlike the cards we use today. The first cards had no electronic memory, and they were used almost exclusively by truckers, due to the limited number of facilities where cards were accepted.

The card had to be cross-checked with the signature on the card and the vehicle registration. Later, the cards were embossed, instead of printed, because information on printed cards would rub off after several uses. In its early stages, the process of using the card was time consuming. Due to a lack of electronic data on the fleet cards at this stage, transactions were recorded by the card being ‘stamped’ onto a manual transaction sheet. Further details such as date, time, volume, grade of fuel and registration were hand-written.

Later on, starting in the mid 1980′s, fuel cards began having magnetic stripes on them that stored information. The electronic process began at this time. Human errors were cut down tremendously. Checking signatures was still part of the process, but the information was now stored electronically. Magnetic stripes also enabled fuel card providers to increase fuel card security by ensuring that PINs were encoded on each card. These cards were an upgrade from what was available, but the cards still had problems.

Many of these problems were resolved as fraud management technology became increasingly sophisticated. Innovative, decision-support technologies have been developed that identify potential fraudulent transactions on fuel cards, using systems of complex business rules and patterns and advanced early warning systems. Some of the more advanced solutions feature 24/7 real-time transaction monitoring, a process capacity of more than 10,000 transactions per second, and the inclusion of hundreds of customizable business rules built into each authorization process. Fraud management solutions such as these have been instrumental in significantly reducing the amount of fraudulent activity on fuel cards.

Fuel cards have improved dramatically since their first use in the late 70′s, and advances in technology will only make them more secure and convenient in the years to come.

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