13 July 2009
Motorists in South Africa will now be able pay for fuel with their credit cards. Filling stations that cannot handle credit card payments have been urged to put up prominent notices to this effect.
Convenience, safety
While the use of credit cards to pay for fuel was previously not allowed, with the Department of Energy says the new rules will make life easier for overseas visitors.
It will also be safer for both customers and employees at filling stations (or garages, as South Africans often call them) to reduce cash payments.
Department spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said that all credit, debit, cheque, garage, fleet and petrol cards could now be used to pay for fuel.
Notice displays
The new rules came into effect last week, when Energy Minister Dipuo Peters published regulations regarding the use of cards at petrol stations under Section 2 of the Petroleum Products Act of 1977.
“The retailers are expected to do the following: accept payment in the form of cash; accept payment in the form of a payment card,” Peters said.
Peters urged garage owners who were unable to accommodate the use of credit cards to prominently display notices to that effect.
Profit margins
A Sasol filling station owner in Pretoria, who did not want to be named, told BuaNews that his garage currently only accommodated debit card payments.
He said that if implementing both debit and credit card payments affected the profit of the garage, he would not implement the system. “If it cuts into our profit margin, we will not do it,” he said.
Source: BuaNews
