Hold funds for extended periods before capture

Pre-authorisation allows you to reserve funds on a customer's payment method with extended clearing windows (up to 30 days, depending on card scheme), compared to standard (final) authorisation (7 days).

This guide shows you how to implement pre-authorisation for scenarios where the final charge amount may vary or where you need extended time before capturing funds.

Payment method support

For pre-authorisation orders, only card-based payment methods are available. Support depends on both the Revolut product and card brand:

Revolut product	Pre-auth support
Card payments	✓ Supported
Revolut Checkout (card payment)	✓ Supported
Apple Pay / Google Pay	✓ Supported (if card supports it)
Hosted Checkout Page (card payment)	✓ Supported
Revolut Pay (card payment)	✓ Supported via direct API (not shown on hosted checkout for pre-auth orders)
Revolut Pay (A2A)	✗ Not supported
Pay by Bank	✗ Not supported
SEPA Direct Debit	✗ Not supported (requires automatic capture mode)

Advanced authorisations are only supported for Card Not Present (CNP) transactions.

	Card brand	Support level
	Mastercard	All cards
	Visa	All except Vpay
	Maestro	Limited support

What is pre-authorisation

Pre-authorisation (also called "pre-auth") is a type of payment authorisation that reserves funds on a customer's card with an extended clearing window—the period during which you can capture the authorised amount.

Key differences with final authorisation

	Final authorisation	Pre-authorisation
Clearing window	Typically 7 days	Up to 30 days (card scheme dependent)
Purpose	Immediate or near-immediate capture	Extended holds for variable amounts
Capture mode	Automatic or manual	Manual only
Amount flexibility	Fixed amount	Can be combined with incremental authorisation
Card scheme indicator	Marks transaction as final	Marks transaction as estimated/pre-auth

What you can do

Hold funds for up to 30 days (depending on Merchant Category Code (MCC) and card scheme)
Capture the exact amount needed when service is completed
Release funds immediately if service is cancelled
Combine with incremental authorisation to increase the authorised amount during service
Avoid authorisation expiry during long-duration services

Use cases

Pre-authorisation is designed for scenarios where you need to hold funds for extended periods or the final charge amount is unknown:

Hotels and lodging - Authorise deposit at check-in, capture actual charges (room, minibar, services) at checkout
Car and vehicle rentals - Hold deposit at pickup, capture actual cost including fuel and damages at return
Equipment rentals - Reserve deposit for equipment value, capture based on rental duration and condition
Event venues - Hold deposit during planning period, capture after event or release if cancelled
Service providers - Authorise estimated cost, capture actual amount based on materials and time used

Clearing window availability

Every card scheme has different rules that determine clearing window lengths for pre-authorisation. The capture_deadline parameter in your order response is automatically calculated based on the card scheme and your Merchant Category Code (MCC), and represents the authoritative deadline by which you must capture the payment.

The following table shows typical validity windows for Mastercard and Visa to help you understand the timeframes. However, always use the capture_deadline from your API response for the actual deadline, as it accounts for your specific MCC and card scheme rules.

Card scheme	Merchant category	Clearing window	Notes
Mastercard	All (except special MCCs)	30 days	Can be extended with incremental authorisation
Visa	Lodging, cruise, vehicle rental	30 days	Fixed window (no extension)
Visa	Other rentals	10 days	Fixed window (no extension)
Visa	Most other categories	5 days	Fixed window (no extension)

How it works

Pre-authorisation is a server-to-server integration between the Merchant API and your backend server. Your frontend (website or app) implementation is up to you—this guide focuses on the server-side API interactions.

Pre-authorisation works like manual capture, separating authorisation from capture. The key difference is setting authorisation_type: pre_authorisation when creating the order, which gives you extended clearing windows (up to 30 days) instead of the standard 7-day period.

This extended window lets you hold funds during long-duration services, giving you time to determine the final charge amount before capturing.

Pre-authorisation flow

Here's the step-by-step process:

Your server creates an order with capture_mode: manual and authorisation_type: pre_authorisation via the Merchant API.
Customer makes a payment via your chosen card payment integration.
Order reaches authorised state and funds are reserved on the customer's card.
Funds remain on hold during the service delivery period (up to 30 days depending on card scheme).
At this point, you decide to:
- Capture - Settle the final amount (full or partial).
- Cancel - Release the held funds immediately back to the customer.
If no action is taken within the clearing window, the authorisation expires and funds are automatically released.

Before you begin

Ensure you have:

Active Revolut Business account with Merchant capabilities
API credentials for the Merchant API
Understanding of basic manual capture
Server-side integration capability (server-to-server API flow)

Create a pre-authorised order

Follow these steps to create a pre-authorised order, then capture or cancel it.

1. Create an order with pre-authorisation

Call the Create an order endpoint with the following parameters:

Request body
{
  "amount": 10000,
  "currency": "GBP",
  "capture_mode": "manual",
  "authorisation_type": "pre_authorisation",
  "description": "Hotel booking deposit - Room 101"
}

Required parameters:

Parameter	Description
`capture_mode`	Set to `"manual"` to separate authorisation from capture, giving you control over when funds are settled
`authorisation_type`	Set to `"pre_authorisation"` to enable extended clearing windows
`amount`	Initial authorisation amount in minor units (e.g., `10000` = £100.00)
`currency`	Three-letter currency code (e.g., `"GBP"`, `"EUR"`, `"USD"`)

Optional but recommended:

Parameter	Description
`description`	Helps to identify the transaction
`customer.email`	For sending receipts and notifications
`merchant_order_data.reference`	Your internal order reference
`cancel_authorised_after`	Automatic cancellation period in ISO 8601 duration format. For pre-authorisation orders, you can set this up to 30 days (`P30D`), aligning with the maximum clearing window available. If omitted, only `capture_deadline` governs expiry.

2. Collect payment from customer

Take a payment from your customer with your preferred payment solution. For pre-authorisation orders, only card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are supported. Choose an integration that accepts cards:

Revolut Checkout: Offers an embedded checkout form with card payment options.
Card payments: Our widget accepts most major credit and debit cards. This is a familiar and widely used payment method.
Apple Pay or Google Pay: Provides a quick and convenient checkout experience, if the underlying card supports pre-authorisation.
Hosted Checkout Page: Use payment links to redirect your customers to our self-hosted checkout page with card payment option.

3. Monitor order state

After the customer completes payment, monitor the order state to confirm successful authorisation:

Configure a webhook URL to receive real-time notifications:

Webhook payload
{
  "event": "ORDER_AUTHORISED",
  "order_id": "6920869a-8d8d-aefd-a3c3-8fe4690e4323",
  "merchant_order_ext_ref": "Hotel booking #12345"
}

When you receive the ORDER_AUTHORISED event, retrieve the full order details using the order_id to confirm the authorisation and check the capture_deadline.

Handling events:

Event	When it fires	Recommended action
`ORDER_AUTHORISED`	Payment authorised successfully	Deliver service, capture when ready
`ORDER_PAYMENT_DECLINED`	Payment declined by issuer/bank	Notify customer to retry with different card
`ORDER_PAYMENT_FAILED`	Technical failure during processing	Customer can retry same payment method
`ORDER_CANCELLED`	Order manually cancelled	No action needed
`ORDER_FAILED`	Order expired (timeout)	Create new order if customer returns

When a payment is declined or fails, the order returns to pending state and customers can make another payment attempt.

4. Capture the payment

When you're ready to finalise the transaction (e.g., when service is completed), capture the authorised order:

Use the Capture an order endpoint in the Merchant API to capture the payment. You can choose from two approaches:

Full capture: Send the request without a body to capture the full amount.
Partial capture: Send the request with a specific amount in the body to capture a partial amount of what was initially authorised. The remaining amount will be automatically released back to the customer's card. For more information see: Partial capture.

5. (Optional) Cancel the payment

If the service is cancelled or not delivered, you can cancel the order. The amount will be immediately voided and returned to your customer's card, providing a much faster experience than standard refunds (which typically take 5-7 days).

What's next

Explore related topics:

Incremental authorisation - Learn how to increase authorised amounts during service
Clearing windows - Detailed card scheme and Merchant Category Code (MCC) clearing window rules
Authorise a payment to capture later - Basic manual capture tutorial

API references:

Related resources:

What is pre-authorisation​

Key differences with final authorisation​

What you can do​

Use cases​

Clearing window availability​

How it works​

Pre-authorisation flow​

Before you begin​

Create a pre-authorised order​

1. Create an order with pre-authorisation​

2. Collect payment from customer​

3. Monitor order state​

4. Capture the payment​

5. (Optional) Cancel the payment​

What's next​