'Money Card' cashless self-service
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• An electronic fuel pump payment system called "Money Card", which has been developed by Automated Fuel Dispensing Ltd, of 151 Lower Luton Road, Harpenden, Herts, may eventually replace conventional credit systems. The card can be used in conjunction with any dispensing pump which has been fitted with the company's nloney-card terminal, to obtain fuel at any time of day or night without the need for cash.
Unlike normal cards which have no value in themselves, the "Money Card" is magnetically imprinted with a sum of money. As fuel is drawn from the pump the value of the card is automatically reduced accordingly. When "zero" is reached the pump switches off. The value of the card can readily be restored on payment of a fresh deposit or clearance of a credit account. All transactions are simultaneously recorded on a tear-off paper receipt (see picture) and in the retailer's headquarters. The information is carried in a high coercivity magnetic strip embedded in the card and is impossible to alter or erase without specialist equipment.