When you pay at the pump, some card issuers place a "hold" on their cardholders' funds in anticipation of the final transaction amount, to help ensure their cardholders' accounts do not become overdrawn. Gas merchants do not place account holds. If you have questions about a hold on your account related to a fuel purchase transaction, please contact your card issuer.
Gas merchants account holds and account alerts: Account deductions may not be applied immediately when the final amount isn't known. Visa has established these processes to protect Visa Debit card issuers, merchants and cardholders. This occurs most often when meeting consumer demand for payment conveniences, such as pay-at-the-pump fueling.
For example, if you use your Visa Debit card at a restaurant, your card may be authorized before the gratuity is applied. For these types of purchases, Visa Debit card issuers may earmark cardholder funds to cover the estimated cost of the transaction. This process, known as a "hold," safeguards both cardholders and merchants. It ensures cardholders don't spend more money than they have and merchants are paid for the transaction. While most transactions have a hold of less than 24 hours, Visa protects cardholders by requiring issuers or financial institutions to remove all holds within 72 hours.