03/02/2023
Thank you Mr and Mrs Tesco for being so conscientious and not trying to make money from us. No chance of being overdrawn if we purchase £20 of overpriced fuel for instance.
Tesco confirmed to MyLondon that the 'pay at pump' holding scheme works by having the set amount of £120 at the pumps, which is ring-fenced. When a customer pays for their fuel, the total amount becomes a pending transaction in their account but they are not charged for the amount.
The idea is that whatever amount you spend on fuel is taken as payment, and the rest is refunded within the hour© Getty Images
The customer is then charged for the fuel they used, and the remaining, ring-fenced amount is placed back into their bank account. According to Tesco, the amount should bounce back into their accounts as soon as they have left the petrol station.
Tesco said that following discussions with Visa and Mastercard, the way customers pay at the pumps for their fuel has changed. The payment changes were first trialled at a small number of petrol stations across the UK, and they are now being rolled out to the rest of Tesco's fuel stations throughout the year.
Part of the reason the changes were made, according to Tesco, was to help customers keep an eye on their finances. When a customer used a self-service pump to buy fuel in the past, the exact cost would show up against their account balance one or two days later, which could make it hard for customers to keep track of their daily spend, Tesco confirmed.
So now, the scheme works by the customer's bank pre-authorising £120, with the unused amount released back into their account immediately. They also noted that if a customer does not have £120 available in their account, the pump will tell them how much they have to use and allow them to refuel up to this amount.
Previously, £1 was pre-authorised with the full amount debited later, but according to Tesco, it risked customers spending more money than they had available.
Thank you Mr and Mrs Tesco for being so conscientious and not trying to make money from us. No chance of being overdrawn if we purchase £20 of overpriced fuel for instance.
Tesco confirmed to MyLondon that the 'pay at pump' holding scheme works by having the set amount of £120 at the pumps, which is ring-fenced. When a customer pays for their fuel, the total amount becomes a pending transaction in their account but they are not charged for the amount.
The idea is that whatever amount you spend on fuel is taken as payment, and the rest is refunded within the hour© Getty Images
The customer is then charged for the fuel they used, and the remaining, ring-fenced amount is placed back into their bank account. According to Tesco, the amount should bounce back into their accounts as soon as they have left the petrol station.
Tesco said that following discussions with Visa and Mastercard, the way customers pay at the pumps for their fuel has changed. The payment changes were first trialled at a small number of petrol stations across the UK, and they are now being rolled out to the rest of Tesco's fuel stations throughout the year.
Part of the reason the changes were made, according to Tesco, was to help customers keep an eye on their finances. When a customer used a self-service pump to buy fuel in the past, the exact cost would show up against their account balance one or two days later, which could make it hard for customers to keep track of their daily spend, Tesco confirmed.
So now, the scheme works by the customer's bank pre-authorising £120, with the unused amount released back into their account immediately. They also noted that if a customer does not have £120 available in their account, the pump will tell them how much they have to use and allow them to refuel up to this amount.
Previously, £1 was pre-authorised with the full amount debited later, but according to Tesco, it risked customers spending more money than they had available.