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7 Processing pre-authorisation
7.1 Pre-authorisation
The Pre-Authorisation feature is optional. You may enable or disable this feature
by contacting the Merchant Helpdesk.
A Pre-Authorisation is used to reserve funds on a card for a sale to be processed
at a later time. Car rental companies and hotels/motels most commonly use this
function. The funds are not debited from the cardholder’s account until the final
payment is processed. A Pre-Authorisation completion must be performed to process
the final payment.
Note:
• Pre-Authorisation transactions can only be performed on credit cards and charge
cards and only where you have been authorised to do so.
• It’s important that the Pre-Authorisation receipt is retained to enable you to
complete the Pre-Authorisation easily.
• Pre-Authorisations will be held on the customer’s card for a period of up
to 31 days unless the Pre-Authorisation is completed or cancelled. The length
of time funds are held, varies by card scheme, and may depend on the rules set
by the cardholder’s issuing bank.
• Retain the record of the Merchant receipt. This contains the RRN that will be
required for the Completion transaction at a later stage.
• Refer to the table below for the actions you can perform on a Pre-Authorisation
transaction, by scheme.
Transaction Type
Visa
Mastercard
UnionPay
American
Express
JCB
Diners Club
Domestic
Debit
(Sav/Chq)
Pre-Authorisation
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗
Pre-Authorisation Complete
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗
Pre-Authorisation Adjust
(Top Up and Partial Cancel)
✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Pre-Authorisation Cancel
✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Pre-Authorisation Extend
✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
Account Verify
✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗