Paying for Petrol with Cash

We’ve never actually used cash, even when we’ve had to go inside and pay with our credit card. I wonder, if you’re using a debit card to withdraw funds from an ATM, could you also not use that same card at a gas station to purchase your fuel?

One of the challenging things about traveling Scotland with an American credit card is that you often cannot use them at the unstaffed pumps. It's important to identify staffed pumps.

So long as you don't go to a pump which only offers 'pay at pump only' then yes - you fill up, go into the little shop referred to usually as the kiosk, tell them what pump number you are and then pay. If the pump allows both pay at pump and pay at kiosk you just select pay at kiosk first. Only very occaisionaly have i seen a fully self service petrol station in this country and the supermarkets usually like to lure you into the kiosk to buy over priced chocolate and snacks!

If you mean Asda then no, you will not be able to use cash.

if you’re using a debit card to withdraw funds from an ATM, could you also not use that same card at a gas station to purchase your fuel?

Probably true.

One of the challenging things about traveling Scotland with an American credit card is that you often cannot use them at the unstaffed pumps. It's important to identify staffed pumps.

Interesting, we never had a problem. I planned my fill-ups strategically. I tried to keep at least 1/2 tank in the car at all times. Before taking the ferry to Mull, I made sure to top up. I also filled up during normal business hours.

I'm sure it is even easier nowadays, since England and the rest of Europe is rapidly going cashless. I suggest taking two pin/chip cards and make sure you try your PIN before leaving the states. We rarely use cash anymore and have no problems in France, Italy, Germany or Great Britain.

Ref What Pamela mentioned:

When using the 'pay at pump' option, you will need a full chip and pin card, (no signature needed ) I understand full chip and pin technology is not available yet on American cards, they are used as chip and signature .

The self service pumps ive used also say 'contactless use not available' (tap/ pay-wave)

There is an option to use the staffed kiosk to pay, but if the garage is closed/out of hours with no staff to deal with a signature there might be a problem.

Fwiw. Modern European cars particularly diesel are quite frugal, the MPG is very good, with a full tank of diesel many can achieve up to 700 miles before filling up.

There will be a quiz tomorrow on which posters are talking about debit cards, and which posters are talking about credit cards. Stay tuned.

If you mean Asda then no, you will not be able to use cash.

Since when?

I have noticed that many people pay cash for fuel at our local stand-alone ASDA fuel station, especially taxi drivers, who receive cash from their customers. It always surprises me that they buy fuel in quite small quantities.

Well, the Asda near Luton airport doesn’t. That’s the one where I needed it.

A number of, but not all of Asda petrol stations are unmanned and cashless. They are referred to as "automats".

Okay, I am talking about credit cards in my post. I have to admit that I did not try a debit card as at one point there were dire warnings about using your debit card for anything other than withdrawing cash. Vast quantities of fees! Unknown and horrendous currency exchange rates! Strange creatures in the dark! These types of warnings linger in the psyche. So, I have always used a credit card. And as I said, my issue is really about traveling in rural areas where there unstaffed petrol pumps. Locals can use those wonderful Chip and Pin cards and get their gas. Those of us with Chip and sign are SOL.

So, there are signs of this changing. I have a Barclay Card for work. Until a few weeks ago it was basically a chip and sign card. But we got new cards and were told to remember the pin we'd gotten 18 months ago as I now they were chip and pin. I figured I didn't have to worry about this until my next UK trip. But, I was WRONG! Imagine my surprise when the MIT food service asked me for a pin for my credit card! It was shock and awe! I am now working on memorizing it. :) Sadly, the Chase Saphire card is still chip and sign.

I did not try a debit card as at one point there were dire warnings about using your debit card for anything other than withdrawing cash.

"Vast quantities of fees!" - Depending on your bank, very possible. Could be true of your credit cards as well.

"Unknown and horrendous currency exchange rates!" - Only if you accidentally fall for DCC. Also a problem with credit cards.

"Strange creatures in the dark!" - Well, that's always possible, so don't buy gas in the dark.

Actually, the only real danger to using a debit card, and this is anywhere in the world including at home, is that if your card gets compromised all of your money is gone until your bank feels like giving it back. And banks never feel like giving money to anyone so it can take more time than you want it to. Meanwhile, you are stuck with no access to cash. Using only credit cards to pay for things means your money is safer because in case of a compromise it is the credit card company's money that is gone, not yours. And banks are always interested in quickly retrieving their money.

Well, the Asda near Luton airport doesn’t. That’s the one where I needed it.

Well, there we go. One experience does not necessarily extend to all Asda's. There are plenty of Asda fuel station that will accept cash. However, if you're going to use cash why not use a debit card? I can't recall the last time I paid for fuel with cash in the UK (if at all). You'll still be able to budget your money easily.

Using only credit cards to pay for things means your money is safer...

Mark makes excellent points. I was reminded during our trip to London of an even safer method of purchase: Apple Pay.

I went to return an item I had bought at a department store. They asked for the credit card to which the item was charged. The charge went to my AMEX card, but I had used Apple Pay. Of course, they couldn't find the transaction. I remembered I'd used Apple Pay and got my refund. With Apple Pay, the merchant never sees your CC number and can't "borrow" it. It also requires a touch confirmation on my iPhone so no one else could get to it even if somehow my phone was unlocked.

I think the lesson is to use debit cards at unmanned kiosks and pay stations, and get out of the "credit cards for everything" mindset. That's my takeaway, stop worrying about whether the credit card will work or not and doing backflips to always use a credit card or cash, and just use the debit card if that's what works. Go with the flow. Don't fight the local culture.

Can US debit cards be used for point of sale purchases in Europe? I just learned this week that I can use my Canadian RBC debit card at ATMs but not for point of sale purchases. Cash or credit is the only option. Luckily we use chip and pin, but that doesn't work in the U.S. because most gas stations I've tried ask for a zip code.

Can US debit cards be used for point of sale purchases in Europe?

Well I've done it at a self-service fuel dispenser (Norway) with a debit card but only once. It was kind of liberating to not have to worry about fuel in the future, at least that's what I'm thinking. Surprised that your debit card won't work, are you sure? Local bank advice is often incorrect about that kind of thing. Better advice comes from those on the ground.

Do be aware that an automated pump may take a large reservation against your card, which is more problematic with debit rather than credit cards unless you have a large balance.

Surprised that your debit card won't work, are you sure? Local bank
advice is often incorrect about that kind of thing. Better advice
comes from those on the ground.

Canadian and American banking is very different and so I'm not surprised that you can do some things that we can't and visa versa. From what I've been reading in this forum, Chip and Pin and Contactless payment was not very common in the US until recently, but it's been in Canada for years. I also was surprised to learn that in the US you have 1 card that works as a debit or credit card, up here I've never heard of such a thing.

As for your other points, I called the bank 3 times about debit card use and got three answers, the first said she thought it was $1 per transaction for point of purchase but the way she answered didn't fill me with confidence. So I called a 2nd time and was told yes I could but only at some point of purchase terminals and to look for the 'plus' sign. Since I had two different answers I went for the tiebreaker and called and asked for a supervisor who took some time to investigate the answer and came back with the answer that Debit cards were for ATM's only in Europe-no point of purchase outside of Canada and the US.

So you're right, best advice comes from those on the ground but I have not heard back from a Canadian yet that has said that they have used debit at point of purchase. I did post some comments a couple of days ago about what I've learned this week from my bank discussions but nobody on there has confirmed that they've tried it.

If the debit card is associated with Mastercard or Visa in addition to any domestic EFTPOS network then it should work internationally, unless the issuer has put some kind of limit on it.

The UK does not have a separate EFTPOS debit network as banks issue cards that are either Visa Debit or Mastercard Debit.

.

Worldwide Access: RBC Royal Bank Client Cards are widely accepted in
the U.S and around the world at ATMs that display the PLUS+ System
symbol, providing you with quick and convenient access to your
Canadian dollar accounts. You can also use your Client Card to make
point-of-sale (debit) purchases at any of the 1,000,000 merchants in
the United States that use the NYCE# Network.

Straight off the website. Specifically says ATM use worldwide but only says point of purchase in Canada and US.

I recently just asked my bank, Key, if they could activate my C-card for Chip and PIN for use in Europe. They said "Sure," and sent me a PIN number. So American C-Cards, at least Key Bank Master Cards, can use Chip and PIN. Haven't been able to test it yet as no place local uses Chip and Pin. You might just have to ask your card issuer. It might not be something they normally activate in the US and I never got any promotional notice saying it was available.