# Pre-authorisation (hold)

https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/pre-authorisation/

*Last updated: 2026-08-03*

An authorisation placed on a card to reserve an amount without taking it, later either captured or released. It is how hotels, car hire and similar trades cover a deposit or incidental spend. The mechanics — how long a hold may stand, and how a release reaches the cardholder’s available balance — are set by the card schemes and the issuer rather than by the merchant.

> **For Uniweb Pay specifically** — This site does not publish whether or how pre-authorisation works on Uniweb Pay’s acceptance. For an accommodation provider that is the most consequential question in choosing an acquirer, and it should be answered in writing before signing — with any provider.

## Why it matters to a merchant

The mechanism most people meet as the hotel or car-hire "hold", and the one where assuming is expensive. How long a hold lasts, whether it can be increased, and how it is released vary by scheme, by issuer and by provider setup — which is why a merchant whose business depends on holds should get the behaviour confirmed in writing for their own configuration rather than reading a general description of it, including this one.

## Related terms

*How a payment moves*

- [Authorisation](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/authorisation/)
- [Capture](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/capture/)
- [Settlement](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/settlement/)
- [T+1 settlement](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/t-plus-1/)
- [Batch](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/batch/)
- [Reconciliation](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/reconciliation/)
- [Chargeback](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/chargeback/)
- [Refund vs void](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/refund-void/)
- [Issuer decline](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/issuer-decline/)
- [Merchant descriptor](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/merchant-descriptor/)
- [3-D Secure](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/three-d-secure/)
- [Tokenisation](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/tokenisation/)
- [Card on file](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/card-on-file/)
- [Payment link](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/payment-link/)
- [ARN (acquirer reference number)](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/arn/)
- [Representment](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/representment/)
- [Chargeback ratio](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/chargeback-ratio/)

- [All 74 terms](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/)

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