Pre-authorisation allows you to temporarily hold a specific amount of funds on a customer’s payment card without charging them immediately. This confirms the card is valid and has enough funds before you provide a service.
You can capture the funds later to complete the Payment, or void the transaction to release the hold.
Who is this for?
Pre-authorisation is turned on by default for businesses in specific industries that require security deposits or tab management, including:
- Hotels: To cover room service, minibar usage, or potential damages.
- Car and Equipment Rentals: To secure funds for insurance, potential damage, or late returns.
This feature is currently only available on your Card Machine.
Creating a new Pre-authorisation
- Open the Menu on your Card Machine.
- Select Pre-authorisation.
- Tap New Pre-authorisation.
- Enter the amount you wish to hold and tap Next.
- Ask the customer to tap, insert, or swipe their card.
- Select Customer receipt or Merchant receipt to print proof of the hold.
The funds are now reserved on the customer's card.
Capturing a Payment
When you are ready to complete the sale (for example, at checkout or vehicle return), you must "capture" the funds to move them into your account.
- Open the Menu and select Pre-authorisation.
- Find the transaction using the filter, or ask the customer to tap their card to search.
- Select the correct payment from the list.
- Tap Capture payment.
- Enter your Manager PIN to confirm.
Once captured, the status will change to Payment approved, and the funds will be included in your next Settlement.
You can capture the full amount or a partial amount. You cannot capture more than the original pre-authorised sum.
Voiding a Pre-authorisation
If you no longer need to charge the customer (for example, a guest cancels their reservation), you must void the transaction to release the held funds back to them.
Note: You can only void a transaction on the same day it was created.
- Open the Menu and select Pre-authorisation.
- Find the transaction using the filter or by tapping the customer's card.
- Select the payment and tap Void payment.
- The status will update to Payment void.
Checking transaction status
You can check the status of any hold by navigating to the Pre-authorisation menu.
| Payment authorised | The funds are successfully held and waiting to be captured. |
| Payment approved | You have captured the funds. The money will be settled to your bank account. |
| Payment void | The hold was cancelled, and funds have been released to the customer. |
| Payment expired | The hold time limit has passed. You can no longer capture these funds and must create a new transaction. |
Key details and limits
- Expiry times: Holds last between 1 and 30 days depending on the card scheme (Visa/Mastercard) and business type. Check the transaction details on your machine for the specific expiry date.
- Supported cards: You can currently use Visa and Mastercard for pre-authorisation.
- Fees: Transaction fees are the same as standard payments.
- Refunds: You cannot "refund" a hold that hasn't been captured. If you captured a payment by mistake and need to return the money, go to the Transactions and refunds menu and issue a standard refund.