this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2026
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How do people pump gas before paying?
It's normal in the UK. Usually someone in the shop needs to see you, then they activate the pump, you pump what you need, then go in and pay. Some stations do have the option to pay at the pump, or via an app, but I've never seen one where you can't pay afterwards.
This was how gas pumps worked everywhere when I started driving
I'm still pissed off at being treated like a thief every time I go to gas up because they started a forever war in the middle east which inflated the price of gas. Then they never brought the cost back down with the price per barrel AND kept the paying before pumping policy.
Yeah.
If you were a local they'd see you pull up and turn on the pump. If you weren't you'd go inside and pay cash first, but it was inconvenient because it was harder to just fill the tank.
I'm 60, so me, too. But, I haven't seen a pump or a station that allows pumping before paying in many, many years.
You hand over cash at the counter, and they turn on the pump. Or you pay at the pump--you need to put your card in before the pump will start.
Depends where you live. I live in Australia, and there isn't a single service station that makes you prepay where I love. You can just pump and pay at the end, always.
You make love in the gas station?
No elevators nearby
How do you fill your tank without paying for more gas than you're going to use?
In some gas stations you must pay beforehand, but in others you can pay afterwards so you can fill your tank.
you don't pay for more than you use. I prepay $100 on my credit card, use $58 and I'm charged $58, the $100 was a security hold and is the most you can get.
In Germany that is the norm. You pay after pumping at the counter. Cashless automatic pumps that require a deposit are rare
But getting more common. The ED in Oberzissen now have one pump with a payment device and Oberzissen is in the back end of nowhere.
As an almost completely illiterate (in German) English person I prefer the pay at a counter thing because the usually pleasant person behind the counter can just accept the payment. This is good because getting a phone out to translate the instructions often results in an irate German shouting at you.
In most of northwest europe this is standard. Otherwise how do you know how much you need pay to fill the tank?
That is definitely not true. There is no gas station here where you can do that anymore without having either signed in via an app or credit card.
It used to be like that, but that was a long time ago.
In Canada its an auto function of the payment system. You say you want $100 in gas. The card gets preauthorized for $100 to ensure the money is available then the pump starts. After you finish pumping and get only $80 in fuel that is what is actually charged to the card. The card is charged only after you finish pumping.
What if one only as cash?
Then you pay at the counter for the amount of gas you want to pump and if you overpay you go back to the counter and they give you back the difference.
Standard procedure in Australia
not at Costco
How do you pay before you know how much you need?
Pay the clerk. If you can't fit x litres/gallons/whatevers, you go back to the clerk and they give you the remaining balance back.
Well these days credit cards have an authorization function where they can hold $50 or $100 and then when done can release the hold and charge you the proper amount.
And cash is rare enough that they don't mind inconveniencing those people anymore.
In Europe it blocks €300. Fuel prices are high. Sometimes a payment doesn't go through as it should and the remaining amount isn't released. Then you get an article in the newspaper of someone complaining their couldn't pay in the shop because 300 was blocked on their account. These things resolve themselves as the bank does a check automatically after a day or two but some folks get caught close to payday.
Credit cards? What's that?
It's a piece of plastic used in financial transactions, but that's not important right now.
You mean like a debit card but worse?
Credit cards are more secure.
A debit card payment is settled immediately. A credit card payment is actually a small loan that's settled at the end of the month. This goes back to the time that shops made a carbon copy of the card, fill in the amount and let the buyer sign it. That's why the numbers were raised. Basically they were used as cheques.
Personally, I estimate. I have a quarter of a tank, I need 3/4 of a tank. That's 9 gallons. Times $3.63 is $32.67. I get $30 on pump whatever
The same way that people get completely exonerated of a crime by paying a fine for missing their court date: they fucking don’t.
That's pretty standard some places. Or at least it used to be.
Its something u get in high trust society. This is the cost of soft on crime polices. In most places in Australia its just the norm. You fill up then go in and pay. I can see the downfall of my nation as they start introducing pay first.