Visa Used to Cap Gasoline Purchases at $125. Now, That’s Not Enough
Credit card behemoth Visa is planning on lifting limits it had on fuel stations after customers began hitting its $125 per pumping station limit and had to pay for their gassing up in two transactions, the company said Friday.
Now, the credit card company will quadruple its price limit, a new report says, in a change that will apply to commercial and small business cards, while lifting its fraud liability threshold.
The pinch consumers are paying at the pump these days has vacillated between mild irritation to true pain, as the price of a gallon of gas continues to whipsaw from as high as $7 in Los Angeles last month to an average of $4.22 today.
Not So Nice Pumping Twice
So it is no surprise that some Visa (V) – Get Visa Inc. Class A Report cardholders were reaching their $125 limit barely halfway through their fill-ups for larger vehicles.
But it was a shock that they then had to conduct a second transaction in order to finish putting gas in their vehicles, after the pump automatically shut off when it hit Visa’s gas station limit.
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That lead to some irritated customers, of course, and a lot of pressure on Visa to reprice that particular limit as inflation and gas prices continue to soar.
The company said it had heard those complaints and is attempting to adjust how much gas stations can charge, so that drivers can fill up and be on their way in one smooth, simple transaction.
“In response to increased fuel prices, Visa is making an adjustment,” according to a document viewed by Bloomberg and confirmed as authentic by Visa.
“This change will ensure the best-available interchange rates are received for larger fuel transactions, which should lead to fewer pumps shutting off while cardholders are refueling.”
Wondering what the average price of gas is today? Check out AAA’s daily calculator right here, and narrow in by state or zip code.
Visa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
