17.2 Pre-Authorisation
Under the Visa International Credit Card Scheme Rules, a merchant who operates a
Hotel, Car Rental, Cruise Line or Mail/Telephone Order business can process a
Pre-Authorisation Transaction. Access to Pre-Authorisation menu screens (PRE AUTH)
will be available to approved merchants within these specific industry groups.
Pre-Authorisation authorises a Transaction that will be completed at a later time.
These Transactions can only be performed on credit card accounts.
Some examples are listed below to assist in estimating your Pre-Authorisation
amount:
Example 1:
A hotel may estimate Transaction amounts based on:
• Cardholder’s intended length of stay at check-in time
• Room rate
• Applicable tax
• Service charge rates
• Other allowable charges eg. mini-bar and telephone calls.
Example 2:
A Car Rental Company may estimate Transaction amounts based on:
• Cardholder’s intended car rental period
• Rental rate
• Applicable tax
• Mileage rates
• Other allowable charges eg. petrol and extra mileage.
It is important to estimate Pre-Authorisation amounts accurately as cardholder funds
are placed on hold. The completion amount should be within 15% of the
Pre-Authorisation Transaction. If the completion amount varies by greater than 15%,
the terminal will display an ‘AMOUNT NOT MATCHED’ screen. In this instance, process
a completion Transaction to the value of the Pre-Authorisation and then complete
another purchase Transaction for the difference.
The Card Issuer determines the number of days the cardholder ‘s funds remain on
hold. As a guide, the funds may be held between 4 and 10 days for Australian banks
but may be longer for overseas banks.
If the terminal goes offline during Pre-Authorisation, you will receive a declined error
message as Pre-Authorisation Transactions are not processed when the terminal
is offline. Please contact the appropriate Authorisation Centre (please refer to
section 1.2) for a manual authorisation and complete the Transaction using Manual
Processing. An Authorisation number must be recorded.
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