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Why was a hold placed on my EUR card when I paid for fuel?

When you pay at Automatic Fuel Dispensers (AFD) — self-service pay-at-pump terminals — our system places a temporary pre-authorisation hold on your balance before the actual fuel amount is known. It is standard industry practice for pay-at-pump stations.

Why does this happen?

At a pay-at-pump terminal, the final transaction amount isn't known at the moment you insert your card (you haven't fuelled yet). To make sure there are enough funds, the fuel merchant sends a pre-authorisation request for a fixed amount and places that amount on hold. The exact figure is set by the merchant and varies by network — it can be as small as EUR 1, or a larger amount such as EUR 99, depending on the station.

What happens next?

  1. You insert your card at the pump — a pre-authorisation is sent and the funds are placed on hold.

  2. You fuel up — the terminal records the actual amount dispensed.

  3. The merchant sends clearing for the real fuel amount.

  4. The pre-authorisation hold is released and replaced by the final charge.

If the merchant doesn't send clearing, the pre-auth hold automatically expires and is released after up to 32 days.

Good to know

  • AFD pre-auth holds of up to 32 days are by design and cannot be manually released before expiry unless clearing is received from the merchant.

  • If you'd prefer to avoid a hold, pay inside with the cashier instead.

  • Make sure you have enough available balance to cover the pre-auth amount before using a self-service pump.

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