Every UK forecourt now has 30 minutes to report price changes to a government database. The Fuel Finder scheme went mandatory February 2nd, ending a voluntary system that covered just 40% of Britain's roughly 17,000 petrol stations.
How it works in practice
Forecourts submit prices via API, web portal, SMS, or IVR. VE3 Global aggregates the data, which feeds existing apps - PetrolPrices, Waze, My RAC, AA, and in-car satnavs. There's no government app. The CMA notes 15-minute delays are typical; drivers should verify prices at the pump.
The model is TfL's open transport data, which supports 17,000 developers and 500 jobs. Chancellor Rachel Reeves projects £40 annual household savings. That assumes the CMA's finding holds: pump prices can vary 20p/litre by location, and competition remains "weak" with "persistently high" margins.
The implementation question
The scheme addresses what the CMA calls "rocket and feather" pricing - costs rise fast when oil spikes, fall slowly when it drops. Forecourt Trader warns the reverse risk: real-time transparency could trigger volatile pricing as retailers react dynamically to competitors.
Integration matters. Registration opened December 18th, 2025, giving operators six weeks. Rate limiting, caching strategies, and error recovery will determine whether apps handle 17,000 data sources updating every 30 minutes. For context: petrol averaged 131.91p/litre at launch (lowest since July 2021), diesel 140.97p.
The Petrol Retailers Association notes margins are tighter than 2022-23's Ukraine-driven highs, with operators facing higher wage and tax bills. Whether transparency drives prices down or just moves them around faster - that's the six-month question. The data infrastructure is live. Now comes the behavioral economics test.