Cash card for fuel purchases
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Ten Texaco service stations in the Thames Valley are being fitted with direct debit equipment to allow customers to pay for their fuel with cash cards.
The installations make a direct debit from the customer's account at the point of sale.
With the Texaco scheme, National Westminster Servicecard customers and Midland Bank Autobank customers will be able to use their cards to pay for up to £50 of fuel.
A similar scheme will be introduced at Mobil service stations in Sheffield at the end of this month.
In both schemes, the customer pays for the fuel by entering the garage kiosk and presenting his card to the cashier. The cashier puts the card through a card reading machine which automatically checks the customer's creditworthiness.
The customer is then invited to press his card PIN number into a small keyboard, which automatically debits his account.
The system can also be used for the purchase of other goods at the service station.
Mobil and Texaco both plan to experiment with 24-hour fuel dispensing systems, with direct debiting equipment fitted to the fuel pump to enable customers to use their cash cards to pay for fuel electronically on the forecourt.