Sainsbury's to raise the ringfence amount for Pay at Pump transactions from £1 to £100

nibsuk

h t t p s : // help.sainsburys.co.uk/help/terms-and-conditions/faq-pay-at-pump

BOWFER

Looks like they say it's nothing to do with them, out of their control.

nibsuk

Yes that's true - it does look like this is coming from Visa and Mastercard.
They tried it at Asda fuel stations in 2018 and had to roll the change back as the card issuers were not releasing the unused portion of the £99/£100 ringfence promptly enough.
It's actually good that Sainsbury's have notified customers on their website - I didn't mean for the thread title to be "clickbaity"

Petriix

Various EV charging companies also do this to different degrees. Not as much as £100 but up to £70. It's only really an issue if you use a debit card or are running close to you credit card limit.

Brie

So does this mean I won't be able to use my debit card at a pump?  The reason I ask is that it's for a Virginone account so the balance is effectively a huge overdraft as it's my outstanding mortgage.  Any time now that I get cash out at an ATM I get a message warning me about my overdraft before it will release the money.  Yes I know I am more likely to be using a CC instead of a DC but I'm curious.  I don't mind the ringfencing if the money is released within a minute or two.

molerat

It is down to individual card issuers how much is reserved so Sainsbury's have worded it rather badly.  MC state "up to £99" and Visa "up to £100".

https://www.visa.co.uk/pay-with-visa/pay-at-pump.html

https://www.mastercard.co.uk/en-gb/personal/ways-to-pay/pay-at-pump.html

I usually get my fuel in Tesco with my Tesco debit card as I get 2 points per £.  The account is kept topped to £80 as that is sufficient for its only use which is spending in Tesco.

Interestingly I filled up in Asda a couple of weeks back with my Tesco CC and the pump stated authorising £1 but no hold showed on my card account.

Jumblebumble

nibsuk said:

Yes that's true - it does look like this is coming from Visa and Mastercard.
They tried it at Asda fuel stations in 2018 and had to roll the change back as the card issuers were not releasing the unused portion of the £99/£100 ringfence promptly enough.
It's actually good that Sainsbury's have notified customers on their website - I didn't mean for the thread title to be "clickbaity"

I imagine that technology has caught up and  Visa and Mastercard will now aim  to release the balance in real time if they are to push this through.


They certainly suggest this to be the case in Visa FAQ
https://www.visa.co.uk/pay-with-visa/pay-at-pump.html


As soon as you’ve finished filling up, the fuel pump will immediately notify your bank of the actual value of the petrol you’ve purchased. That means your bank is able to update your balance, giving you greater control of your budge
There may be a small number of occasions where the updates do not occur in real time. In this case, please don’t worry. You will only be charged for what you’ve purchased. Please contact your bank if you have any concerns. Note, your petrol station or supermarket doesn’t have any control over this final step.

born_again

Not this old chestnut again....

God help these people not liking the idea, if they ever drive in Europe where it's 120 Euro auth for Pay @ Pump & has been for at least 8 years.

£100 should drop off when the amount you put in is taken from your account. But may not always as the amounts differ..

If you do not like it, then simply pay at the desk & not at the pump 👍