Credit cards allowed for fuel

Fin24.com>>Economy>>Credit cards allowed for fuel.

Motorists could soon use their credit cards to pay for petrol and diesel at fuel stations, the Department of Minerals and Energy said on Tuesday.

However, the draft bill published in the government gazette and the department’s website will only come to pass if the public gives the department a nod.

“The department has published regulations on the government gazette and we are asking the public to respond to that issue. This is a means of being technologically advanced and a way of coming on par with the international public,” spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said.

He said credit card payments would also contribute towards the fight against crime as fuel stations have always been easy targets for criminals.

Also, motorists without petrol cards would be at ease when filling up their cars late at night as they would no longer carry huge amounts of money around, Khumalo said.

“We all know that most fuel stations have fallen victim to robberies because people know there’s cash there. We have been talking to the SA banking council and the fuel retailers association… they are very excited about this,” he said.

Using credit cards will also come in handy for the 2010 World Cup events as thousands of tourists and sport fanatics expected to visit the country next year will travel freely without fear of being crime victims.

“We are expecting an influx of foreigners for the Confederations Cup and the World Cup and we think it’ll make it easier for them not to carry around cash… that’s a phenomenon in European countries,” Khumalo said.

A public meeting is expected to be held on May 20 to allow the department to “consolidate the input from the public”, Khumalo said.

The draft published in the department’s website reads: “A retailer must accept payment in the form of cash, debit, credit and hybrid cards for the payment of petrol and diesel supplied into the tanks of vehicles”.

A rise in Bike and scooter sales?

As more South Africans come to grips with the absolute chaos that is being caused by the lack of sufficient electricity capacity in the country and rolling blackouts, there is an increasingly strong case for people to ditch their cars in favour of bikes and scooters to avoid the traffic jams associated with what has become an everyday life – load-shedding.

They are by no means that safest mode of transport, given the terrible manner in which South Africans drive (particularly min-bus taxis and rich-kids in SUVs), but their fuel efficiency and their ability to weave in and out of stand-still traffic make then a very very attractive investment.

Heck, using them on the highway is also a possibility as many highways in SA tend to move at snail’s pace during rush hours.

The cost of fuel in South Africa nowadays is reason enough to spend most of your travelling time on a Bike or scooter. And at the price-point (between R7,000 and R15,000), even financing a scooter over 54 months will cost little over R150 – R300 per month – making it the perfect wheels for even the most cash-strapped South African.

For the more affluent amongst us, put it on your credit card and pay it off over 12 months, or finance it over 24/36 months (At around R400 per month) and you’ll avoid the wrath of the reserve bank minister when he decides to continue the interest rate carnage.

The bottom line is that South Africans are going to lose their minds if they have to sit in four hours of traffic a day and hopefully, with enough of them on the roads, there may be a more favourable environment for bikes and scooters to keep SA on the roads.

(Ed’s note: I for one am going to buy a scooter this week!)