[chimpansteve]

I've had a driving licence in the UK for 26 years, and have never once paid for my fuel before filling up. This is normal everywhere in Europe at least, to the point where I suspect the US is the outlier

[theultdev]

That used to be normal in the US, nowadays most pumps are automated.

You can fill up 24/7, even if the store is closed.

[AdamJacobMuller]

cries in new jersey

[vinay427]

I’ve driven in the US and the UK (among other countries) and haven’t paid before filling up in either. Is this a result of paying with cash or other non-card methods, as pumps in the US seem to require inserting the card first probably as an authorisation?

I also don’t drive that much these days so may be misremembering things. The only issue I had with payments was in a station in a small town in Italy which refused to accept most foreign cards (ant least based on other people around me also struggling) and was the automated no-human type of station so there wasn’t an easy solution.

[mminer237]

Putting a card in before pumping is considered "prepay". They'll put a hold on your account to make sure you have the money. There isn't much point to post-pay with cards.

10–15 years ago it was common in the US where you would pull up, hit "pay inside", pump all your gas, then go inside and pay at the register. Now because of theft, if you want to pay with cash, virtually all stations require you to go inside, pay for x gallons of gas, and they'll turn on the pump to give you that much. Which is annoying because unless you're really good at guessing, you can't just fill it up anymore.

[julosflb]

In France at least, more and more stations require pre-paying at the counter, especially stations in big cities.

[fuzztester]

Fill, then pay is normal in India too. And AFAIK, all pumps are manually operated. Not seen any automated ones.

[someotherperson]

It's not uncommon in Latin America, too, at least.