A pre-authorization is a temporary hold on your card or account for an expected amount before the final charge. Hotels, car rentals, and fuel stations use it to confirm your card works and reserve funds for the bill you will owe later.

What is a pre-authorization?

When a merchant pre-authorizes your card, they ask your bank to reserve part of your balance without taking it yet. The hold reduces what you can spend elsewhere until the merchant either captures the final amount or releases the hold. On your statement or app, it may show as “pending” alongside the merchant name.

Pre-authorization is not a second payment. It is a placeholder. The final charge can be lower (you used less fuel than the hold), equal, or sometimes higher within agreed rules (hotel minibar or damage fees).

How pre-authorizations work

Typical timeline:

Check-in or start: Merchant requests a hold (for example, €100 at a hotel or €150 for a rental car deposit).

Hold active: Your available balance drops by that amount even though cash has not left for good.

Settlement: At checkout, the merchant captures the real bill and the hold is replaced by the final charge.

Release: If no extra charge applies, unused hold funds return to your available balance. Releases can take a few days depending on the bank and network.

Online, subscription trials and some apps use a small pre-authorization (such as €1) to verify the card, then void it.

Pre-authorization vs. a normal chargeA normal card payment debits you once, immediately or at end of day. A pre-authorization is two steps: authorize now, capture later. Until capture, the merchant might cancel the hold with no charge.

This matters for Credit Card vs debit card use: some businesses require credit because their systems expect credit-style holds. The bunq Credit Card is funded from your balance but behaves like credit at the terminal, which helps at hotels and rentals.

Managing holds with bunq

Instant Notifications show pending and completed amounts so you are never surprised by a hold. If you need headroom for travel, move extra funds to the pocket linked to your card or use Budgeting to separate travel money from daily spending. Details on cards and limits: bunq Cards.

Common questions

Why is money still blocked after I checked out?Banks and merchants release holds on different schedules. The final charge may post first; the hold can take several business days to disappear from “pending.”

Can I cancel a pre-authorization myself?

Only the merchant or the expiry of the hold removes it. Contact the hotel or merchant if a hold looks wrong after you left.

Do pre-authorizations work with digital wallets?

Yes. A mobile wallet uses the same card rails; hotels and rentals still place holds on the underlying card.