Pay at the pump is a system that enables customers to pay for their fuel at the pump itself, so they don’t have to go to the kiosk or into the shop to pay for their fuel.
Until lately, if you used Pay at Pump, the fuel station would temporarily reserve a small amount of money on your card. This was the case for most cards and most banks. But a brand new system has now been introduced by Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.
The new authorisation amount is up to £100 on your card, which will apply to everyone. Though the amount held may often be £99, the idea is to ensure you have enough funds to afford the fuel.
The new authorisation limits may take some time to roll out to all petrol stations throughout the UK.
How does it work?
When you put your card into the machine at the fuel pump, the fuel station will hold a certain amount on your card. In the example below, we will say that this amount is £100.
You can then fill up your car or van, and once you’re finished, the fuel station (known as the merchant) will tell your bank exactly how much you’ve spent on petrol or diesel. You will then be charged this amount to your card, and the remainder of the £100 is issued back to you. The process should typically only take a few minutes.
In some cases, processing the payment can take up to an hour. It all depends on how swiftly the merchant tells your bank how much you’ve spent. But, don’t worry; you won’t have to wait about at the fuel station while processing the payment.
The temporary amount held on my card was £99, not £100?
The exact amount may differ depending on the retailer and whether Mastercard, Visa, American Express or other is used.
Why has Pay at Pump changed?
Paying for fuel at the pump should be a stress-free and straightforward solution. But under the previous system, it often led to people accidentally going into an unarranged overdraft or exceeding their overdraft limit. And that led to extra fees and stress over how to pay for other things.
The new method helps ensure that you’ll have enough to cover your fuel before you start to fill up your vehicle.
What happens if I don’t have £100 in my account?
If you have less than £100 in your account, you’ll still be able to use Pay at Pump. However, most cards and banks will use a different method, which is called partial authorisation.
This involves checking your balance to see how much you have available to spend and communicating this to the fuel pump, which should then cap how much you can spend on fuel. So, for instance, if you have £20 in your bank account, you’ll be able to buy up to £20 worth of fuel.
Similar to the method that involves reserving £100 and then charging the exact amount, when you have less than £100, your bank or card will freeze your total available balance and release this when the merchant tells the same amount you’ve spent. All merchants should accept partial authorisation, although it could be the case that some merchants may not do this.
Is there a credit check done to pay at the pump?
No, there is no need to run any credit checks before allowing you to pay for the fuel at a pump.
What if there’s a delay in the exact amount being charged?
Suppose there’s a delay in the communication between the merchant (the petrol station in most cases) and your bank or card provider. In that case, this can impact how long it takes for funds not spent on fuel to be released.
For example, suppose you’ve spent £71 on petrol. In that case, the full £100 will be reserved until the merchant communicates with your card provider that you spent £71 and need £29 to be released.
If you experience a delay, you can find more information on why from Visa, Mastercard or Amex. We don’t recommend speaking to people working in the petrol station as they won’t have the information required to resolve the issue.
