What is a pre-authorisation?
A pre-authorisation is carried out when a merchant reserves money on a card to ensure payment for their services. Places such as restaurants and hotels do this quite often. For example, a pub or restaurant may pre-authorise a set amount when you open a tab at the bar. If your final bill is less than the pre-authorised amount it may take a few days for you to receive the balance as a refund into your eccount.
Every transaction starts with a pre-authorisation. This checks that you have funds available on your card to pay the merchant for their services. The actual transaction will come through within a few days. Until that time, the pre-authorised amount will be held on your card. For example opening a tab at the bar, a fixed amount is pre-authorised to cover what you could spend. If your final bill is less than the pre-authorisation amount then it may take a while for the difference to be released back onto your card.
