[ska]

Really you are authorizing some amount above what you will need, but only getting charged what you pump. I guess they consider that anyone who is actually going to overrun their card limit isn't too worrisome to annoy.

Not so long ago it was common enough in some places to have to go inside, give them X cash, then pump, then come back inside to get change - they would set the pump to only dispense up to X. It's basically that system digitized.

If you go back far enough the only record was on the pump itself, so it was either full service, or trust people would come in a pay what they pumped. People did just drive off sometimes in that case, but at least in the full serve case, you still had their gas cap and plate number, which was a disincentive.

[detourdog]

The best old gas pump system I have seen is in the Alfred Hitchcock Movie Young and Innocent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_and_Innocent

The car is a Morris and the gas pump is a pole coming out of the ground and rotary hand pump at the top of the pole to dispense petrol.

I love old movies for these at glimpses of early technology.