WEX launched SecureFuel, a fraud-detection tool that uses real-time vehicle telematics information, detailed fleet card transaction data, and AI-powered models to identify and stop potentially unauthorized fuel purchases before they are approved.

Last week, during the third annual WEX North American Mobility Summit in Portland, Maine, WEX announced SecureFuel is now generally available to fleets. At the WEX Venture Capital Summit earlier in the week, WEX also announced that eligible fleet customers can now access the Standard Fleet connected-vehicle platform.

“For our customers, we know that control is incredibly important,” said Dylan Jones, senior vice president and general manager, Mobility Growth. “With the SecureFuel launch, we're enabling customers to connect their fleet transaction data and their fueling behavior with their telematics data and telemetry from the vehicles.”

The WEX proprietary, closed-loop network covers approximately 95% of US fuel stations and provides purchase details, including fuel quantity, fuel type, and merchant location.

SecureFuel combines those results with telematics data and WEX-designed, AI-powered fraud models to help identify suspicious activity more precisely while reducing false positives.

“So, put really simply, it's the ability for us to know that a vehicle is at the pump when the card is used,” he explained.

SecureFuel adds real-time vehicle intelligence to that foundation, helping managers:

• Stop unauthorized fuel purchases before they happen
• Reduce unnecessary card declines
• Minimize manual investigations and reconciliation
• Confirm purchases using current vehicle location
• Bring fleet card and telematics data into one workflow
• Improve visibility into exceptions and attempted purchases

Fuel Fraud and the Impact on Fleets

Fraud and misuse can comprise as much as 12% of a business’s total fuel spend, according to the National Association of Fleet Managers (NAFA).

“Fraud prevention is only as strong as the information behind each decision,” said Carlos Carriedo, chief operating officer, Americas Payments and Mobility at WEX. "SecureFuel gives us a more complete view of each purchase, assisting customers stop unauthorized transactions without creating unnecessary disruption for drivers. This capability is especially important in today’s volatile fuel price market.”

WEX processes more than 30 million transactions a month, so it has its finger on the pulse of fleet fuel purchasing. WEX's closed-loop network provides control over misuse or unauthorized spending and improves expense management through Level III data on 99.8% of transactions, which open-loop systems can't offer.

WEX leverages all that data with what Jones called “deep expertise with the most modern real-time information” to deliver insights and now tools to fight fuel fraud before it can happen.

The Power of Transaction Data & Telematics

SecureFuel integrates with telematics providers and OEM data streams to help drive fraud detection and prevention.

Jones said more and more fleets are connected to vehicles via telematics, and each year even more data can be collected from those vehicles. What that means in the fight against fuel fraud is that when a fuel purchase attempt is made, all the data must match.

SecureFuel can ensure the purchase transaction matches the vehicle’s location, and telematics data can also show the vehicle’s fuel tank levels and compare them with the volume of fuel purchased.

“As we've launched this product, we've thought about how we meet customers where they are. There are some customers who will right away want to incorporate all of that vehicle data, all of the telemetry into every fuel decision,” Jones said. “There are others who really want to see what that data looks like? How does it compare to what my drivers are doing offline? Are my drivers doing what I expect them to be doing? Are the vehicles where I expect them to be?”

“Once they get comfortable with the accuracy of the data, they're able to then move forward with us into a more real-time, more proactive position.”

WEX said SecureFuel is not a standalone feature; it strengthens the value provided by the WEX Fleet card by providing:

• Closed-loop network – WEX sees transactions at the product level, which allows fleet managers to see purchase details and know that drivers bought fuel and not fuel plus extra items.
• Acceptance and controls – SecureFuel is accepted at 95% of fuel stations in the U.S. and provides spend controls such as limits, time of day, day of week, and product class.
• AI fraud protection – WEX modeling scours tens of millions of transactions each month while learning fraud patterns and helping catch fraud actions before they cost fleets money.
• Zero fraud liability – If something slips through, WEX pledges to fleets that they will get their money back.
• Policy at the point of truth – Powered by telematics, SecureFuel helps stop fraud and misuse at the transaction, rather than having it be spotted a month later in a spreadsheet or report.

Fleet Savings & Improved Fuel Costs

With SecureFuel, WEX offers more than just an AI-driven fraud tool. On the front end, it can also help ensure drivers make the right choices about where to purchase fuel to get the best savings.

“We view control as a critical part of our value proposition. Savings and efficiency is one of the other pieces. And so, we're always working with customers to help them understand how they can save money,” Jones said.

“And so, yes, we'll be able to save money by introducing capabilities like SecureFuel. Along the way, we also help them understand where's the best place to fuel. And so, if that means taking advantage of one of our discount networks, if that means understanding where pump prices are lower or where their specific discounts are eligible, all of those things are part of the relationship that we try to build with our customers,” he explained.

Why Choose AI-Driven Fleet Tools?

So, if there are fleet managers who may be late adopters of technology, particularly AI, what would Jones share with them to convey its importance and value?

“I think that the best way to do that is to look at the data together. And that could be how do we stop fraud in your fleet? That could be how do we help you choose the right vehicles? It could be how do we help you make sure that you're fueling at the right sites in the right network?” he said. “All of those things are very data-driven. And at the end of the day, we're here to create tools for them. It's easy for us to think about how great the tools are, but it's important that they use the tools.”

Built on Decades of Fuel Payment Expertise

With decades in fuel payment solutions for fleets, why is WEX well-positioned now to roll out SecureFuel?

“I feel like we have an incredible position advantage as we think about this capability. It comes from our experience. And so, all the years our teams have spent with customers and merchants observing fueling behavior gives us an incredible foundation to build from. On top of the experience, we have incredible scale in our data,” Jones answered.

He explained that all those transactions help WEX distinguish legitimate fuel purchases from fraudulent ones.

Then, the WEX technology allows the team to take all of that experience and data and couple that with telemetry data from telematics devices from connected vehicles in a way where WEX is able to leverage “deep expertise” with the most modern real-time information off those fleets and bring it together in a way that creates a very simple decision for the customer.

“At the end of the day, we are helping take an incredible amount of complexity and introduce that to someone who is often in a very chaotic environment where this is not the number one thing that they're focused on and make it easy for them to make a smart decision for their business,” Jones added.