Three quarters (75%) of all transactions at the pump are by card, whether debit (46%) or credit (29%). Here’s some common customer questions related to payment cards and fueling.
 
Skimmers
Skimming is when a criminal installs an illegal card-reading device outside or inside a fuel dispenser, which allows the thief to capture a customer’s credit or debit card information.
 
Skimmers can replicate the payment information on a card, as opposed to creating fraudulent identities via hacks or data breaches.
 
External skimmers are typically a keypad “overlay” on top of the original keypad that records the information entered. Here’s what to look for:

• Is the keypad raised to an unusually high level? While thin, the overlays should be obvious.
• Is the keypad secure? Overlays may feel loose compared to a proper keypad. Run your finger around the keypad to see if it is secure.

Internal skimmers are more difficult to install. To guard against this type of skimmer, retailers regularly inspect their dispensers to detect signs of forced entry (dents, misaligned doors), or may use tamper-evident labels that indicate if the dispenser had been opened. Visit Skimming and Payments Security for additional information and resources.
 
Cash Discounts
Processing payments by plastic carry higher costs than cash payments, and cash discounts are a way for retailers to reward customers who help reduce operating costs.
 
Here are the typical fees assessed to retailers for a 10-gallon fill-up, assuming the price is $3 per gallon.

• Cash: No fees
• Debit: Roughly 2.4 cents per gallon* in additional expenses. Debit fees are 21 cents per transaction plus other costs, with a maximum charge of 24 cents for the transaction. (*Applies to the 60% of debit cards that are regulated. The other 40% of debit cards carry fees that are closer to those for credit cards: around 2%.)
• Credit: 7.5 cents per gallon in additional expenses. Credit card swipe fees include both fixed and variable costs. Combined, they average about 2.5% at the pump.

Many retailers offer approximately 5 cents off per gallon to customers paying by cash. Some retailers offer higher discounts for cash, particularly if the gas purchase is tied to another purchase, such as a car wash. Some retailers prefer not to offer these discounts, as the discounts could be misconstrued by customers paying by debit or credit as surcharges.
 
Requirements for how retailers offer cash discounts are set by the state department of Weights and Measures. Typically, retailers must prominently post the higher (credit) price.
 
Debit Holds
Holds are standard practice for any business that accepts plastic as a form of payment in a situation where the final dollar amount that will be assessed is unknown in advance, whether fill-ups, hotel rooms or car rentals.
 
Both Visa and MasterCard require that holds, or pre-authorizations, on debit and credit card gas purchases. While online banking statements look like the hold has been placed by the retailer, the retailer is only responsible for setting the amount of the hold—a decision highly influenced by credit card rules that could later deny payments for some transactions.
 
There are two charges that hit a customer’s account when they purchase gas. One is an authorization charge, typically for $1. Its purpose is to make sure that the card being used is a valid card, and then it’s removed. The second charge is the hold, which is required by card network rules. The bank issuing the debit/credit card is responsible for the length of the hold—not the retailer.
 
The amount of the hold and the time of a hold may vary, but the length of a hold is significantly affected by how the card is used. PIN-debit transactions are real-time transactions and holds should be released within minutes, as opposed to days. However, signature-based debit transactions—those where customers do not use a PIN—are processed like a credit card transaction and have longer hold times that could take several days to clear.
 
Entering ZIP Codes
In some areas, retailers may ask customers to enter a 5-digit ZIP code associated with their credit card before fueling. The reason is that someone trying to use a stolen card won’t know the ZIP associated with the card.
 
If customers do not enter their ZIP code or enter an incorrect one, the card will be declined. Unfortunately, this adds a level of inconvenience for law-abiding customers, but it’s a bigger inconvenience for criminals.
 
Payments by Phone
Paying by phone is safe, even though signs at the pump had discouraged being on the phone while fueling. These signs were intended to make sure customers were paying attention and not distracted while refueling. Snopes debunked the myth that cell phones cause fires at the pump.