Drivers longing for simpler ways of buying fuel at the gas station pump, there may be good news. A gasoline station in Saginaw, Mich., is testing a new pump technology called Post-Pay that allows cash-paying customers to unlock the gas pumps with a mere swipe of a driver's license.

When they're done fueling the car, drivers can pay for fuel with cash at the station's register. But, if they "pump and run" without paying, the information captured from the license swipe is transferred to the police.

Post-Pay eliminates the need for station customers to first pre-pay—say, with $60—to fill up with fuel and then return to the register for change—because they only needed $52.36 for a completely full gas tank.

Bob Hohn, president for Paxson Oil Company and inventor of the Post-Pay system says information from a driver's license can't be viewed by the cashier in the store nor is the data recorded in any matter. That is, unless a driver attempts a pump-and-run theft.

So far, the technology—which Hohn has applied for a patent—is being tested only at two gas stations owned by Paxson Oil.

ABC News report on Post-Pay technology from WJR-TV in Flint, Mich.

Gas drive-offs drastically reduced with new invention [WJRT-TV ABC12 News]
New pump technology prevents gas theft, lets you pay after pumping [Autoblog]