Authorisations

A payment authorisationA temporary hold placed on a card that reserves the money without taking it yet. It is captured (actually charged) when the order is approved. A hold is only good for a few days: if it is not captured in time it lapses, and payment then has to be collected another way. is a temporary hold on a card that reserves the money without taking it. It is how an order can secure payment before you approve it, most often on a booking placed ahead of time. This page covers working with a hold once it exists. For how holds fit into paying an order, see the Payments overview.

How a hold is used

When you approve an order that has a hold, the hold is captured: the card is charged for the amount owing and the order is paid. Most of the time you never touch the hold directly, you just approve the order and the charge happens.

Working with a hold

Orders → (an order) → Authorisations

A held card shows its status and the amount held, with the actions available for it.

Open the order and go to the Authorisations tab. On a held card you can:

• Charge the order, to capture the hold now and take payment, without going through approval.
• Refresh, to re-check the hold’s current status with the card provider, for example if you are unsure whether it is still valid.
• Cancel the hold, to release it so the reserved money returns to the customer. Do this when the order will not go ahead.

Holds expire

Caution

A hold is only valid for a few days after it is placed. Once it lapses, the reserved money is released and the hold can no longer be charged. If that happens, take payment another way: charge a saved card or record a manual payment. Approve orders with a hold promptly so the hold is still good when you do. See Approving orders.

How a released hold reaches the customer

A hold is released either automatically when it expires, or straight away when you cancel it (or the customer’s own booking is cancelled). How quickly the money reappears is up to the customer’s bank, not something EventDrake controls:

• With most banks the held amount frees up almost immediately.
• Some banks, often smaller or non-bank providers, can take one to three business days.
• Some show the release as a separate line on the statement; others simply remove or update the original hold, so nothing new appears.

Note

Holds confuse people, especially when a released one does not show up as an obvious refund. If a customer asks about a hold you have cancelled, you can reassure them that no money was taken and their bank will free up the amount, and suggest they check with their bank if it has not cleared after a few business days.