Pre-Authorisation - VeriFone VX 820 User Manual

Pre-authorisation

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Pre-authorisation transactions are only available to merchants within specific
Merchant Category Codes and must be approved by the Bank prior to having the
functionality enabled. The following procedures outlines the steps to be taken
when carrying out a pre-authorisation on a credit or charge card.
Important
A pre-authorisation does not mean that an actual purchase transaction has
been processed on the card. It is simply a way of checking that the card being
presented can sustain the expected amount. This way it is known in advance that
the cardholder has enough credit available to be able to purchase the goods or
services. The funds will be placed on hold for a period of 3 to 9 days, depending
on each cardholder's issuing bank.
The terminal will store the pre-authorisation record for seven days to allow
completion of the pre-authorisation process. After this period, either a new pre-
authorisation or a new purchase transaction must be processed.
When performing a pre-authorisation completion, the final value must be within
15% of the original amount. If the value to be processed exceeds this margin, a
new purchase transaction must be processed. If this occurs, it is best practice
to contact the cardholder's issuing bank to notify them that the original pre-
authorisation amount is not longer required to be held
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