Tesco is set to charge motorists a larger deposit for fuel at it's Pay at Pump facilities soon - and it's not cheap.
Currently there is a £1 pre-authorisation charge in place, however due to the recent changes, people will now see it leap to an eye-watering £99.
The new charge, which is being trialed, has been increased due to a change set by card companies including Mastercard, Visa and American Express, according to Birmingham Live.
If successful in its trial stage, it's understood that the changes will be rolled out across the whole of the UK later this year.
Why are the changes being made?
All Pay at Pump transactions were authorised previously by requesting a £1 transaction from card holders before taking payment for the face value of the fuel one to three days later.
The supermarket has said that the changes are being made by Mastercard, Visa and American Express to help cardholders to keep control of their budgets in real time.
According to the Mastercard website: "The way you pay for your fuel at an automated fuel pump in the UK is changing. Your card issuer/bank will temporarily reserve up to £99 of your available balance while you fill up. Then when you have completed fuelling, you’ll be charged for the correct amount of fuel you have used and the remainder of any reserved funds will be released back to your available balance."
How will it work?
Step 1: After you insert your card at the automated fuel pump, the petrol station will submit a pre-authorisation message to your card’s issuing bank for £99.
Step 2: Following this pre-authorisation message, your card’s issuing bank will either accept, decline, or propose a lower authorised amount depending on the funds available in your account at the time the message is received.
Step 3: Shortly after you complete the fuelling process at the pump, the petrol station will inform your card’s issuing bank of the final transaction amount.
Step 4: Your card’s issuing bank will post the transaction to your account and release the un-utilised pre-authorisation amount. Banking systems have been readied for this process and the release of funds should be instantaneous.
Step 5: Should you have any questions as to the release of funds, please contact your card issuer. The fuel supplier cannot control this final step of the process
What if I don't have £99 in my account?
Tesco says if your account balance is under £99, your card issuer should respond with the lower amount they’ll allow and the fuel pump screen will show the value you can fill up to.
Some card issuers might not allow partial authorisations below £99 and the advice then is to try another card.
Tesco says despite the new rules, it will only ever charge drivers for the value of the fuel they have purchased, but advise people to talk to their bank if they have concerns.
Is it just happening at Tesco stations?
The changes will be brought in to cover all pay at the pump petrol stations as they are being driven by card companies including Mastercard and Visa.
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