Fuel terminal
The fuel terminal is an outdoor device that is used at filling stations . It enables refueling to be carried out independently without operating personnel (usually cashiers). The main task is to take over the payment function. The fuel terminal controls the fuel pumps , which then ultimately deliver the fuel. The fuel terminals that are common today are divided into:
Automatic fuel dispensers for company filling stations
This type of fuel terminal is often used at company filling stations or shipping companies (mostly only diesel fuel) and is only available to a limited group of users. The customer is usually identified using magnetic stripe cards , chip cards or transponders . The pump will only be released after a successful credit check of the customer. The deliveries made are usually billed monthly or transferred to vehicle fleet systems for further processing.
Fuel terminals for public petrol stations
These fuel terminals accept debit , credit or station cards as a means of payment . There are also machines that have a banknote acceptor (cash reader) and thus also enable cash payments. This type of fuel terminal must have PTB approval and, like the fuel pumps, are monitored by the calibration authorities .
procedure
Since, in contrast to the usual refueling process in Germany, payment must be ensured before the refueling process, a so-called pre-authorization must take place first. Depending on the card used, a maximum of e. B. 80 euros (with the ec card). This is then "reserved" on the bank account. To do this, the customer inserts his card and enters the PIN . The fuel terminal then establishes an online connection to the bank computer and checks whether these 80 euros are available. In the positive case, these are reserved with the customer and the customer can select the pump at which he would like to fill up. After the refueling process, the partial amount used is transferred back to the bank computer, which then ultimately carries out the booking and debits the amount that has been refilled from the bank account. To prevent refueling of more than 80 euros, the fuel pump switches off automatically before the maximum authorization amount is reached (e.g. at 77 euros).
If the customer pays in cash, the pump switches off automatically as soon as the amount paid is reached. If the amount is not reached, the fuel terminal issues a credit slip with which the customer can have the remaining amount paid out.
A known problem arises when the customer cancels the refueling process after a pre-authorization (e.g. because he has dialed an incorrect column number). Then the fuel terminal cancels the entire amount. However, the bank computers are currently not able to process this "zero booking" correctly. The customer will not be charged, but the pre-authorized amount (usually 80 euros) will still be reserved in the bank account. Depending on the bank, the customer may not have access to this amount for up to 14 days. Only after this time does the bank automatically "delete" the reservation.