Gas prices create higher holds on debit purchases

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (7/26/05)--Rising gas prices are leading to higher temporary holds on debit card accounts for members who use debit cards to pay at the pump.

When a member swipes his or her card at the pump, the retailer determines whether the account contains enough money to pay for the potential cost of the gas and places a hold on the account for that amount. As gas prices have increased, the amount of the hold placed on the account has also risen.

For example, Costco requires that members have at least $75 available in the account linked to the debit card before it will preauthorize a gasoline purchase, while QuikTrip sets its hold at $60. Most temporary holds are released within minutes so consumers can use the funds to pay for other expenses.

At Mazuma CU in Kansas City, higher holds for gasoline purchases combined with lingering problems from a data processing conversion to create problems for some members. Software glitches in Mazuma's new system caused holds to remain on accounts for as long as three days. One member who purchased $17.52 worth of gas with a debit card discovered that a $75 hold remained on the account a day later.

Mazuma is refunding any overdraft fees experienced by members and is fixing its system so holds drop off accounts within the industry standard of 30 minutes (The Kansas City Star July 24).

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