Why no ‘pay at the pump’ in UK?

[Enrichetta]

Why don’t we have pay at the pump technology like they have in other countries, for instance the US…

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/21/petrol-theft-crisis-uk

it seems an obvious solution to what has clearly become a real,problem.

The occasional small or independent fuel station might not have pay at the pump (the one in our small town doesn't) but all the main supermarkets do, as do most operated by Shell, Esso, BP etc.

We do have it. I've been using it since my children were tiny babies and they are in their 20s and 30s now.

Late 90s I think I first saw it !

Well, that’s me told. I shall disappear, quietly, stage left, with my tail between my legs…

We do.

I might be wrong but think in the US you have to go into the shop and pay for the petrol before you pump it. So you go in and ask for however much you want, pay and then the pump automatically shuts off at a certain point. So stealing it is basically impossible

Just to let you know. If you pay at the pump at Sainsbury’s , you won’t get the double or triple nectar points vouchers. You can only get those from the cash til.

So lots of people are missing out on nectar points because they are paying at the pump.
Its usually £45 or over if you get them .

We've had it years.

However my local petrol station had it and then it was taken over by a different company which decided to remove the pay at pump facility so everyone had to go into the shop, presumably in the hope people will then buy other things too.

And then it changed hands again and they still didn't change it back.

I can't remember how long it is since I went into the shop to pay for petrol. That's how long we've had pay at pump.

Yes, that was a very confusing post

I’m actually quite relieved when I find a station with a little shop attached. I just think it’s nice. Although thinking about it mostly when there’s a little shop attached you still pay at the pump…

I first used Pay at Pump 12 or more years ago. There were no instructions to press buttons and I put the nozzle in the car and wondered why the pump wasn't working. But soon got the hang of it.

What's different in the US isn't pay at the pump, it's that you always prepay unless it's secured by a credit card. So at stations that dont have the technology, you'll have to go inside before beginning to pump. Many people will just pay for 20 bucks worth, but you can also swipe your cc and then go back in after you've finished pumping.

So not for another 20/30 years then. 75% of new cars sold in the UK need petrol/diesel to run. And of course filling stations sell all types of fuel, petrol, diesel and ridiculously overpriced electricity.

Even with technology moving on, there will still be people for whom an electric car is impractical or unaffordable so there will still be a demand for petrol/diesel for some time. Of course, the government will probably try and price people off the road, even trapping them between a rock and a hard place where petrol/diesel becomes unaffordable but they can't afford to switch to an electric car or can't afford to run one because they can't charge it at sensible rates.

God I've done a lot of hallucinating over the last decade or so then.

Have you got any useful advice for me on how I can stop imagining filling my car with petrol at a self service station.

More to the point, can you tell me how the hell I've driven the car for years with no petrol?!

’I don’t have a car’ Brilliant.

I've only ever used Pay at the Pump for years. Can't remember the last time I did otherwise.

your car is actually an EV 😂

The majority of petrol stations around us are independent. The nearest Tesco is 20 miles away. A lot of them have you pay first so you pay at the till for say £40 petrol and then go to the pump which will then dispense £40 of petrol. I don't particularly like it as I like to fill up the tank to full especially if the price is good. There us one near us which actually has an attendant to fill your tank plus there is another which has someone fiill your tank which we use occasionally if passing and need fuel plus they are usually good on price.
DH and I were out today and he filled up at a Go station which just does petrol and car wash. No shop. Plus the price was 18p cheaper per litre than our local petrol stations.

Why is the man in the article saying that the whole industry would have to do it?

I guess that must be an area which is full of places where filling up and driving off is possible and he’s worried about losing business to other places

So he needs his whole area to do it not the whole industry

I’m genuinely surprised that in Birmingham they don’t have this

Do you live under a rock lol?

Even morrisons has this function.

Nope! Definitely petrol.

We had an EV in France last year. Running out of battery terrified me.

Sounds like you owe a few places some money, @VodkaAndSoda! 🤣

Morrisons and Sainsbury’s also.

We do have it but it's not very user friendly. The local ones near me take a £100 pre-authorisation on your card and automatically reject it if you don't have that on there.

So I can't use them for my £40 worth of fuel because i've typically forgotten to move the full £100 across and I live in a complete signal dead zone. I wish they would let you put an amount in that you want to fill to and only check your card for that amount, then cut off when you reach it.

Just poured myself a glass of wine while cooking the dinner and idly scrolling MN. Read your post and it’s now snorted all over the screen 🤣

Our asda in somerset too.