What is with the $100.00 limit at the fuel pumps?

ktmrfs wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
^^^^^^^Most of the "not secure" issues with the chip card is that you are not necessarily required to input your PIN when using the card. That takes away part of what makes the chip card more secure.

true. unfortunetly very very few of the chip cards require or even allow use of a PIN, so all they do is prevent card skimming. someone gets your card they can still use it.

And even with a pin, it doesn't do anything about online transactions that still require entering the card number.

That's because you aren't there yet. In Canada, all in store and at pump purchases require a PIN if you are using a chip card.

Tap and Go purchases are limited to $100 and at least one Canadian bank (mine) has a total tap limit of $200, after which you have to insert your PIN before you can use Tap and Go again.

As far as the internet goes, I use PayPal whenever I can.

I suspect why many of use see the 1 dollar pending is that the card issuer knowing your credit limit and available balance knows you cannot possibly run up a charge anywhere near the balance limit so just responds with the dollar pending. In my case most of the time I have a 10-20K available credit. That a LOT of fuel.

fj12ryder wrote:
^^^^^^^Most of the "not secure" issues with the chip card is that you are not necessarily required to input your PIN when using the card. That takes away part of what makes the chip card more secure.

true. unfortunetly very very few of the chip cards require or even allow use of a PIN, so all they do is prevent card skimming. someone gets your card they can still use it.

And even with a pin, it doesn't do anything about online transactions that still require entering the card number.

^^^^^^^Most of the "not secure" issues with the chip card is that you are not necessarily required to input your PIN when using the card. That takes away part of what makes the chip card more secure.

Charlie D. wrote:
A little research will tell you that the chip cards are not as secure as one would think.

austinga, I agree with you. I often see 2 charges on my "pending" section of my card statement when viewing on line. Actual charge and "$1.00". Once the card company has approved, the $1.00 goes away. Usually the next day.

Chip are much more secure than strip cards, they are much harder to duplicate and generate a unique code for each transaction. However, they are only effective when used with a chip reader and you have kept your PIN secure in case your card was stolen. Fraud is a problem when they are used as a strip card or for non card present purchases like phone or internet, then they are no different than a strip card.

ktmrfs wrote:

well, I wonder what they do when someone goes over the credit limit or cash in debit account then. they don't get any money, but your tank is full.

Well if it's a credit card, you will get hit with an over limit charge from the card company. If it is your debit/cash card from your bank, you will get hit with a overdraft charge. Either way the station gets paid, if not you will get a visit from a LEO.

Back before the local Shell station made you pay first I swiped my card but it didn't read. The attendant authorized the pump and after I filled up I jumped in the truck and drove off. About a half an hour later the door bell rings and it's a buddy of mine that is on the police force. He said hay did you just get fuel at the Shell station? I said yep why? They said you never came inside to pay. I told him I used my Shell card?! I had to go to the station and pay them. When I got home I called City Bank and told them what happened and sure enough there was no charge.

Don

ktmrfs wrote:

austingta wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:

wnjj wrote:
I believe the retailer limits the amount and here's one reason they might:

When you buy gas, your card is pre-authorized for the "limit" amount. This is because once the gas is pumped they can't get it back if your card doesn't let the charge through. So your card is charged say, $100 until pumping is done and then it's modified to the actual total. If you raise the limit too high, some customers don't have enough balance left on their account to get any gas, even if they only want $5 worth.

exactly. And the signs at the local fred meyer make this statement and go on to state that depending on the credit card it may take several days for the limit amount to be removed and replaced with the actual amount. And they have a different limit for debit vs credit cards.

In most cases the pre authorized amount will be removed the same business day. If you go online to your account as you are filling up or right after and the account is doing real time data you will see the pre authorized amount being posted against your account.

Many stations also post that if you think you will go over the limit, go inside and prepay or say how much you want to fill and they will run the card inside, in which case they run the card with the amount requested then adjust when your done.

At the stations around here, they just authorize 1.00 and then charge what you actually spend.

well, I wonder what they do when someone goes over the credit limit or cash in debit account then. they don't get any money, but your tank is full.

From what I was told, the $1.00 charge was to make sure your card was in good standing (not reported stolen, etc.). When it runs that $1.00 through, the system identifies any limits the credit card has and how much is available. The pump will simply shut down when it reaches that limit. This goes against your actual numbers.

The other process of having a cap limit of $75 or $100 is different. It is a set limit to prevent a stolen card from being used to get cash from other vehicle drivers.

For the poster with the credit union limit, you can call and get that increased - either a one time increase or a permanent increase. I had picked up my RV after a repair and the amount was above my daily limit (by quite a lot). I called and told them I needed a one time increase for "today" to cover this payment (about $3000) plus I would be buying gas for the RV and that would be another $200. They increased my limit for the day giving me an additional $300 cushion.

Normally, my daily limit is high enough that normally it never is an issue - so I just call and increase it when I know i'm going to have a major purchase.

austingta wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:

wnjj wrote:
I believe the retailer limits the amount and here's one reason they might:

When you buy gas, your card is pre-authorized for the "limit" amount. This is because once the gas is pumped they can't get it back if your card doesn't let the charge through. So your card is charged say, $100 until pumping is done and then it's modified to the actual total. If you raise the limit too high, some customers don't have enough balance left on their account to get any gas, even if they only want $5 worth.

exactly. And the signs at the local fred meyer make this statement and go on to state that depending on the credit card it may take several days for the limit amount to be removed and replaced with the actual amount. And they have a different limit for debit vs credit cards.

In most cases the pre authorized amount will be removed the same business day. If you go online to your account as you are filling up or right after and the account is doing real time data you will see the pre authorized amount being posted against your account.

Many stations also post that if you think you will go over the limit, go inside and prepay or say how much you want to fill and they will run the card inside, in which case they run the card with the amount requested then adjust when your done.

At the stations around here, they just authorize 1.00 and then charge what you actually spend.

well, I wonder what they do when someone goes over the credit limit or cash in debit account then. they don't get any money, but your tank is full.

SouthpawHD wrote:
I used to have that, then I graduated from high school and my bank said it was ok to spend what I wanted....

Seriously though, all you have to do is call your bank and ask them to remove the limits.

yeh.. or fit a smaller gas tank.. :B

jake2250 wrote:
I had to stop using my Credit Union card for purchasing fuel. Not only would it limit me to $75, it would run a $350 pre approved hold on my account. If I tried to use my card anywhere again for a couple of days it would not authorize!
Very frustrating!! The bank would blame the station and the station would blame the bank! bottom line if I wanted to use that card I would have to withdraw the amount of cash I thought it would take to fill the tank, then I could use the card somewhere else for the next few days!!

I had a Chevron/Texaco fuel card but the finance charges were to high, plus most stations I have used have a cash discount!

Your card is not responsible for obtaining an authorization or hold. That is from who wants the payment. This is entirely the function of the store/vendor and their merchant bank.