I always pay at prepay pumps and the pre-auth has always cancelled itself with the correct amount, I always ask for receipt when entering my details so that I have some redress if there is an anomaly, hopefully yours has now balanced itself. Just a quick thing, but when I return the pump into the holder it will stop whirring and if you check the console it will have set itself for use to next customer, so there is little chance of someone using your card to fill up.
1 Like
Yes, but what has that got to do with anything other than setting a limit on what I can spend. That amount never touches my card, only the real amount that my card has spent.
Generally, the pre-auth is released pretty quickly. The only time (in the past) I noted any issue was where we had drawn fuel at a weekend using a pre-paid card where this impacted on the available funds remaining (temporarily) on the card until the start of the working week (or the next working day) when the accounts dept have released the pre-auth after the correct payment has been received and matched up to the corresponding transaction.
It’s standard practice.
As for normal banking activity using a French (or in any jurisdiction for that matter) bank is to negotiate a small overdraft facility to cover this or any other eventualities when only small balances are maintained in an account. Where regular payments in to the account are a feature of your banking history it really is no big deal for the Bank to authorise it - in our case at no additional cost.
Whilst we have been using our French Bank card for fuel, I haven’t noticed any pre-auth transactions on my statement.
Totally understand. I currently have a (UK) 1% cash back debit card - it gives a good euro exchange rate with the cash back - above the spot rate at the time. To maximise my interest I too keep small amounts and tend to top up when going out shopping.
It’s still worth topping up a few hundred euros to take advantage of the good Total energie prices and the exchange rate though 
As others have said petrol works slightly differently - the maximum amount is pre-authorised, then the transaction is put through for the actual amount of petrol purchased. Normally happens quite quickly so unless you look at pending transactions immediately afterwards you won’t notice
must confess I’ve never noticed this… is it something new???
There was one time when petrol was rationed to xyz€… but that’s about it…
I put in my card… just tell it what type of fuel I want… and it tells me to take the nozzle… and away we go…
I’m pretty certain self-serve petrol has always been done on credit cards like this - to protect the retailer from someone filling up and driving away.
It’s just struck me…
“pending transactions”??? where are these listed… ???
on the fuel pump??? surely not
I’m probably in a different world to many of you others…
If you have online access to your CC account you might find them listed - but they don’t appear on your statement.
Ah… it’s something to do with banking apps I suspect…
that explains it… no wonder I haven’t a clue…
I’ll go and nod off by the fire…
1 Like
Not sure for France. In the UK this was introduced in 2021, after being initially trialled in 2018. Prior to that petrol pumps would still do a pre-auth check but it was only for £1. It was really designed to check the card is valid though, not to check that you had the funds in your account. Interestingly it was Visa and MasterCard who introduced this, not the petrol companies themselves.
1 Like
It definitely happens at some French fuel stations. Our local E LeClerc stations even have notices on the pumps explaining the process.
1 Like
Oh, yes, ours too. I meant I’m not sure whether it’s new or not… I’ve only been here this time round since 2020.
Pending transactions don’t appear in the same place as confirmed transactions when we look at our account online, blink and you miss them.
Are we talking credit cards? Or debit cards? I’m with @Stella on this one. Never, ever, ever seen anything on my French a/c in the 15 years I’ve been here which indicates there has been a pre-authorisation of 100 (or something) euros.
And I am buying petrol and /or diesel almost every week for our two cars and whenever possible at our Total garage because it’s such a good price.
So really don’t understand what the rest of you are experiencing and have certainly never had anything as bizarre as an SMS from the bank to warn me of a large petrol transaction. For which I am grateful.
I’ve seen it in France and - latterly - in the UK, but only with a UK credit card.
I have an app for my credit card account. There are two users.
In France, the pre-authorisation amount sometimes appears in the app as a pending payment, but this disappears after a short while.
In the UK (as I noticed a couple of days ago) I get an alert on the app, but the amount was not shown as a pending payment (I looked at the app immediately because it looked a suspicious amount).
Ah, maybe that’s it? I NEVER look at apps on my mobile phone. I rarely have my phone on. So far as I’m concerned my phone is only for letting OH know that I’m on my way home and am going to be late. 
1 Like
and my mobile is so ancient, it doesn’t do Apps… 
1 Like
Been the case in France for at least 10 years? some petrol pumps still won’t take UK cards and wouldn 't even when UK was EU.
I noticed though that when I happened to use a Mastercard on my UK business account, it wasn’t happening, it’s been useful to have that type of card (identified somewhere between digits 5 and 8 of its number - I think it’s digits 5 and 6) - as business type was accepted in other places and cases where I later found out any personal card wouldn’t or might not have been
Ah, confess I thought it was always for the higher amount - but, checking, it seems you are completely correct - pre-auth for the full amount did, indeed, start fairly recently.