Visa Payment Systems Take Down Gas Pump Fraud

June 17, 2016         By: Steven Anderson

Gas pump fraud, otherwise known by its more direct name the “drive-off”, is what drives many gas stations to treat its cash-paying customers like criminals, requiring them to pay up front before pumping gas.

Those who use a payment card or similar device, however, have a little easier time of it, and recently, it was revealed that the Visa version—the Visa Transaction Advisor (VTA)—has proven quite a help in preventing fraud at the gas pump, reducing it as much as 54 percent in some cases.

Indeed, use of the VTA has proven to have a lot of impact depending on how it’s used. A pilot program with Chevron, for example, used VTA’s intelligent analytics system to reduce fraud 23 percent just by spotting “higher-risk” transactions more likely to be fraudulent.

That was just from the pilot program; reports from Visa’s senior vice president of risk products and business intelligence, Mark Nelsen, notes that station operators have seen fraud fall an average of 54 percent for counterfeit fraud, and 51 percent for chargeback rates focusing on lost and stolen fraud.

With over 35,000 gas stations running VTA so far—mostly because it’s easy to work with—it’s delivering protection on several levels.

Reports suggest it’s as easy to put to work as just telling Visa what risk tolerance level is most preferred and letting Visa install the necessary material from there.

Several levels of protection can be put in place, including several levels that require the buyer to physically see the attendant to complete the transaction.

Mostly when I buy gas, I use cash payments, and I’m constantly annoyed by the requirement to pay before I pump for one simple reason: I have no way of knowing how much I really need before I pay.

I have a reasonably good idea, granted, but if I wanted to fill up the tank, I’d have to guesstimate at what I needed, pay for it, and potentially have to go back in a second time to collect my change.

That’s annoying, and frankly, gas stations need to be working on ways to keep us out of the attendant’s focus.

Still, a tool like this might be just the help that’s needed, and unless you can find a gas station that lets you pump then pay—as I have—the end result is either advancing in payment technology or facing frustration.