Canadians who have had difficulty filling up on gas in the United States can rejoice.

A security tool that prompts people to enter their zip code while fuelling up at pay-at-the-pump locations did not previously recognize Canadian postal codes, which include letters as well as numbers.

The feature is part of the Address Verification Service, which ensures the digits match that of the billing address of the credit card being used to pay for the transaction.

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MasterCard has rolled out a fix for Canadians. When prompted, Canadians can now enter the three numbers in their postal code, and two zeroes.

So, if your postal code is A2B 3C4, you enter 23400.

But MasterCard cautions there is no guarantee this will work at every gas station. It will only be effective at spots where the pump works in a prepay scenario that requires a zip code to authorize the transaction.

"This tip does not apply to gas stations without the zip code prompt, so consumers should be prepared to pay inside the station if necessary. Since this tip can't be used at 100 per cent of gas stations in the U.S., consumers should consider this an option to try rather than a guaranteed solution," a MasterCard representative said.

"Just as you plan to pack your passport, check the weather and plan your travel budget, keep this tip in mind for when you're driving south of the border."

The announcement that Canadians will now be able to use these pumps was met with excitement online.

The MasterCard representative said all response their way has been positive.

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"Canadians love to travel and this will help them get back on the road faster," they said.