It's just security theatre then... Something to inconvenience you and make you feel safer

It's up to the merchant what level of verification they want. Some want to verify the zip code, some choose not to.

Just because some choose not to doesn't mean it's security theater. Every business makes their own decision based on the risks they feel are involved and the charges they pay for using a lower verification standard.

My point was merely that if the ZIP code verification isn't effective in those cases mentioned by a previous poster then why do they bother with it?

Because some merchants are willing to take the risk and some are not.

Not sure how much clearer it could be.

it's up to the merchant what steps they want to verify on a credit card transaction. Some will ask for an ID with every transaction (even though in most cases their agreement prevents them from doing so) and some won't. Some will verify zip code and address, and some will not.

The assumption that just because somebody chooses not to do something means that that something is not effective is just silly. Some people don't have working fire alarms in their house, and their house has not burned down. Does that mean all fire alarms are useless?

Apparently, using the logic that some people can get gas without a proper zip code, yes.

It is hit and miss for me. I've gotten gas in NJ where there is always an attendant and sometimes they will ask me for my zip.

Other times in NY or PA, where there isn't an attendant, the machine almost never asks for my zip (although recently in Manhattan it asked). At the end of the day, I think it depends on the merchant and what level of protection they want.

Surely this isn't done to displease Canadians or other non-US residents.

Not specifically, I'm sure, though it is doubtless done without thought for them.

But, really, cannot one always pay inside, by giving the card (or even money) to a person? The amount of extra time that this takes is usually trivial for most people. (I except those people who may have mobility problems from this statement.)

It's not just gasoline. Many of the Metrocard vending machines in the NYC subway ask for the zip code when buying or topping up metrocards. Now interestingly enough, although I might be wrong on whether this is still so, originally you could not use a credit card if you're at a station (and they're fewer and fewer) which has an attendant....many stations don't leaving somebody without a zip code out of luck and forced to pay cash.

Of course and this dates back a couple of decades....I remember one time my credit card was cloned and the first transaction was a $1 charge for gasoline. It took me a few seconds to realize the piece of garbage sub-human who had cloned the card was just checking to see if it worked......

Verified card numbers sell for ten times the amount unverified numbers sell for. Now they hit up non profit websites and do transactions for a dollar to see if the cards are valid, though because most people who have a stolen card do not have the billing address address verification and zip verification help stop that (along with only allowing a certain number of transactions from the same IP address in a given time, IP's coming from proxy or out of the country, and other things like that). Non profits are targeted because unlike the big commercial sites they may not be closely monitored 24 x 7, and there's no need to stand at a machine someplace and insert card after card and risk getting caught.

Perhaps I didn't phrase my point well. If a merchant is comfortable with a higher risk threshold and decides not to go with ZIP verification then why does THAT merchant, not the others, bother asking for the ZIP if he isn't going to use it. That was my point and that only.

What have I learned from this thread. (Quite a lot actually so thank you to all who have posted.)
1. That I can prepay for more gas than I actually use and in the end won't be charged for it. I'll take your word for that but it would normally make me nervous.
2. This would have avoided my issue with leaving a card with the attendant. Something I would never recommend or do again.
3. I could try and play around with a variety of fake/ make believe ZIP codes but MMMV.
4. I could stick with my solution of prepaying gas at my rental company, my current preferred method because it is also more convenient.
5. US travellers have problems abroad because US banks have been slow to adopt CHIP & PIN.
5. Not everyone understands my sense of humour.


Please understand that from my perspective at least this was never about any perceived inconvenience in prepaying, having to walk into the store more than once, feeling discriminated against etc. In my case it was purely about avoiding getting my card cloned again and a genuine query ( since answered) about why the US was so far behind pretty much every other developed country with regards to adopting other apparently more effective securiy measures ( and I am no expert on CC security so I expect to receive more enlightenment if this assumption is wrong).

Hi....did you see my post above regarding the fact that many Canadians (and I suppose Brits too as they use the same postal code set up) claim the system will work if you pick out the 3 numbers in your postal code and finish with 00. No guarantee but most report it works.

Incidentally, I thought the funniest comment on this blog was from some Canadian who wondered why the Canadian government had decided to use the British system of postal codes rather than the US. After all, this Canadian wrote, we"re North Americans too.

^
I did indeed but it got swalowedup in Point 3 in my list. I haven't tried it but it seems it works sometimes. Anyway It's a non issue now for myself at least but it has been an interesting discussion.
As fr the Canadian concerned about ZIP codes at least he / she should be relieved that there was a compromise somewhere. We have same the style of dialing codes and the same Country code for long distance telephone calls.Now if only we could get the same cell phone rates we'd be laughing.

All one needs to do is enter a zip code on the card with the issuer of that card.

When ask to enter it do it...

Many places also asks for your zip code for market research purposes only (where people live to come and buy stuff at their stores) and it has nothing to do with verifying your credit card.

That's how it normally works even with cash.

Go in, give the clerk some money and indicate what pump it's on.

Pump your gas.

Go back to the clerk and get the change on the pump you were using.

While I do not normally use plastic at the pump I would expect it to work basically the same way.

We decided this problem needed a solution! Check it out: http://youtu.be/GPdx077tz8I.