Be Careful When Filling Up With Your Debit Card
Watch out when using your debit card at the pump. Did you know that every time you top off the tank, a chunk of your checking account may be blocked—sometimes for days, with the potential to cause you all sorts of financial headaches and bounced checks? Also, you stand the chance of being declined if you don't have enough in your account.
If you use your debit card at a pump that does not require a PIN, the station may block out an amount—often $50 or $75—on your card. That amount doesn't "un-block" as you drive away. Instead, the hold remains until that evening, and sometimes for up to several days, until the station does a "batch" transaction, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
If you use your debit card at a pump that does not require a PIN, the station may block out an amount—often $50 or $75—on your card. That amount doesn't "un-block" as you drive away. Instead, the hold remains until that evening, and sometimes for up to several days, until the station does a "batch" transaction, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Each big oil company has a different policy:
- Shell places a $75 hold for gas purchases, and it can stay in place for as long as three business days.
- British Petroleum (BP/Amoco/Arco) places a $75 hold on accounts when customers use debit or credit cards, but the hold is usually lifted after about two hours.
- Chevron applies only a $1 hold to debit cards, to ensure that a card is active.
The reasoning behind this policy is that oil companies don’t know how much gas you're about to pump—only PIN-based debit transactions are processed immediately—and so they earmark a certain amount of your money.
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posted by Vicki at
11:27 AM
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