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By: seattleite
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Date: Aug 25 04:26PM Props Case
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Date: Aug 25 04:26PM Props Case
Company: Visa Inc.
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Industry: Financial Services and Banking
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Rating:
Industry: Financial Services and Banking
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Supporting Evidence
The following was recently reported by Jesse Jones for King 5 and I thought it was a good move by VISA.SEATTLE – Debit card holds on gas purchases have frustrated many consumers. We've seen debit card holds of up to $100 for gas purchases, but now one credit card company is about to end that practice.
When Will Mace went to the Propel biofuel station in Ballard, he wanted 2.5 gallons of biodiesel. It cost him $17 on his debit card, but there was a $125 hold on his bank account.
"Especially when things are so tight, $200 might be all the disposable income that you have and this may be a surprise to you," he said.
Here's how the holds work:
I went to get $1 of biodiesel at Propel. As soon as I was done, I pulled up my bank statement and there is was: a $50 hold on a $1 purchase. That extra $49 was tied up until the dollar purchase cleared.
Propel is not alone. Almost every gas station is using some type of hold.
In a statement, the company says: "Propel, like our customers, is frustrated about the transaction limits imposed by VISA and MasterCard."
In fact, Rob Elam – Propel's CEO – says because of the high fees, credit card companies make more money on one gallon than Propel does.
But VISA says it's dropping the hold, saying it will use a "real time clearing" procedure and release frozen funds within 2 hours. Many should clear in just 15 minutes.
Propel welcomes VISA's new procedure, which will be made available to gas stations in October. Until that happens, pay cash.
Good job VISA. Thanks for helping ease the pain at the pump.
Photo Evidence
cheer_chic Says:
Sounds like a good move by visa.
Posted 4 months ago.