A “pre-authorization” is the “hold” that is put on your Fancard account at the time of making a purchase. The merchant then has 24-48 hours to actually post the final dollar amount and collect the funds from your account. Example below!
At the time of purchase, a merchant “pre-authorizes” the transaction to your card. This reserves the estimated dollar amount of the purchase.
Typically, within 24 hours of the pre-authorization, the merchant will post the transaction. When the transactions “posts,” the “pre-authorization” drops off. The posted dollar amount is the final amount of the purchase.
Keep in mind that gas stations may pre-authorize a specific amount to your Fancard. To avoid this, we recommend going inside and prepaying for a specific amount of gas that you want.
The reason why the “pre-authorization” and “post” amounts can be different is best illustrated with the example of leaving a tip at a restaurant:
When a restaurant requests a “pre-authorization” on your Fancard, 20% is added to this amount to estimate the tip that you will leave. Once the transaction posts 24 hours later, the amount will reflect the actual tip amount that you left.