No Zip Code For You!

I didn't even know this was an issue:

Customers who use their credit cards at stores can no longer be asked for their ZIP code, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

In a unanimous decision, the state's high court concluded that person's personal information includes their ZIP code and that California's Credit Card  Act prohibits a merchant from asking for it.

The class-action case was brought by Jessica Pineda against Williams-Sonoma.

Pineda alleged that while she was paying for a purchase with her credit card, the cashier asked for her zip code. Pineda thought it was needed to complete the purchase but later learned that Williams-Sonoma used special software to match her name and ZIP code to locate her home address for marketing purposes, according to the ruling.  

So, how does this ruling affect gasoline pump purchases? When you put your card in the pump it asks you for your zip code as a security feature to make sure the card isn't being used by an unauthorized person. I would think that would still be legal, but if not, that's going to make credit card fraud a lot easier.