Obviously it used to be like that everywhere (except where you can't pump your own gas by law) but I'd rather pay a little bit more to not have to wait in line behind all the people buying cigarettes, chewing tobacco and lotto tickets.
I’ve only driven in maybe a dozen countries, but so far the US is the only one where the pre-payment thing existed. I was glad to have read about it in trip prep, or I would have stood there staring at a non-functioning gas pump for far too long!