How Drivers Can Evade Gas Station Increase in Holds on Card Swipes

Amid rising gas prices across the nation, some financial payment institutions have increased the hold amount that is placed on debit and credit cards when purchasing gas, however, there are some ways that drivers can avoid this.

Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that both Visa and Mastercard have increased the hold amount for gas stations to $175, which is up from the $125 hold amount that was imposed in April. According to TheBalance.com, a hold amount is "an initial pending amount the merchant places on your card to verify that you have the funds to cover the transaction."

The increase comes as drivers across the U.S. continue to face increasing gas prices. According to data from AAA, the national average gas price as of Tuesday is $4.881. In comparison, on the same day last year, the national average gas price was $3.099.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Visa said, "Limits for automated fuel dispenser (AFD) $1 status check authorizations at EMV-enabled terminals were recently increased from $125 to $175. While fuel merchants have always had the ability to set their own pump shutoff limits, this change encourages fuel merchants to allow larger fuel purchases with reduced transaction risk."

A spokesperson for Mastercard issued a similar statement to Newsweek, saying, "In the U.S., that hold amount was increased from $125 to $175 in April, reflecting trends identified by both retailers and financial institutions."

The Mastercard spokesperson also explained that a hold when purchasing gas is used to support a maximum purchase. The hold on the person's credit or debit card is lifted shortly after and the exact amount of money they spent is deducted from their account.

While these holds are imposed so that the gas station can assure they receive the amount a driver purchased, there are ways to workaround a hold.

One of the main ways to avoid a hold at a gas station is to pay in cash. This will allow the driver to pay the gas station the exact amount of gas they intend to purchase.

A second way for drivers to avoid a hold is to pay with a debit or credit card inside with the gas station attendant for a specific amount. For example, if a driver wants to purchase $65 worth of gas, they can notify the gas station attendant of this amount and pay for that exact amount, rather than inserting a card at the pump and getting charged for the hold.

The spokesperson for Mastercard told Newsweek that if a driver is unaware of the exact funds in their bank account and wants to avoid the hold, they can prepay a specific amount instead.