Guides · Card payments
Pre-authorisations: how long you really have to take the payment
Reserving money on a customer's card is easy. Knowing how long you can safely wait before taking it is where businesses get caught out. Visa, Mastercard and Maestro deadlines in plain English.
- 5 daysVisa, customer in front of you
- 10 daysVisa, card details by phone
- 30 daysMastercard, credit or debit
- 7 daysMaestro
The basics
What is a pre-authorisation?
Think of it like a hotel holding your card at check-in. The money is set aside on the customer's card, but it has not left their account and has not reached yours. When you know the final amount, you complete the pre-authorisation. That is the moment the payment is actually taken.
Businesses use them for deposits, hire, bespoke orders and any sale where the final figure is not known yet. There are four things you can do with one.
Start it
Reserve an amount on the customer's card.
Increase it
Reserve more if the final bill is likely to be higher.
Complete it
Take the final payment, for the same amount or less.
Cancel it
Release the reserved money back to the customer.
Good to know: a reservation is not a guarantee of payment. It confirms the card is valid and the money was available at that moment.
Why it gets confusing
Three different clocks are running.
Most confusion comes from three separate timers that rarely agree. Only one of them decides how long you can safely take the payment.
- 1
The customer's bank hold
When the reserved money stops showing on the customer's account. Many UK banks release it after around 5 to 7 days.
Not your deadline
- 2
The card scheme deadline
Set by Visa and Mastercard. How long you can take the payment and stay protected.
Your real deadline
- 3
Daily processing
Completed payments are normally sent to your payment provider automatically overnight.
Keep your terminal online
If a customer says the money has dropped off their account, you may still be within your deadline. If it is still showing, you may already be past it. Always go by the card scheme deadline.
Deadlines
How long you have to take the payment.
The clock starts on the day you start the pre-authorisation, not the day you complete it.
| Card type | Customer in front of you | Card details by phone | Does increasing it give more time? |
|---|---|---|---|
| VisaCredit and debit | 5 days | 10 days | No. The deadline stays fixed from day one. |
| MastercardCredit and debit | 30 days | 30 days | Yes. Each increase gives a fresh 30 days. |
| MaestroDebit | 7 days | 7 days | No. |
Worked example: £8,000 on a Visa card, in your shop
- Mon 2 Nov£8,000 reserved
- Tue 3 Nov
- Wed 4 Nov
- Thu 5 NovIncreased to £9,500
- Fri 6 NovComplete by here
- Sat 7 NovDeadline
Increasing the amount on Thursday does not move a Visa deadline. Hotels, car hire and cruise lines get longer Visa deadlines, but these do not apply to most businesses.
Phone and remote payments
Taking a pre-authorisation over the phone.
You can take card details by phone and key them into your terminal, but your payment provider has to switch this on for your account first. Phone payments give you longer on Visa (10 days rather than 5), and they also carry more risk: if the customer later says they did not agree, it is down to you to prove they did.
- Keep a clear record of what the customer agreed to, and the amount.
- Take the card details yourself and never write them down.
- For large deposits and staged payments, a secure payment link is often safer than reading card numbers over the phone.
If it goes wrong
What if you miss the deadline?
Your terminal may still let you complete it, and the payment may even go through. But you lose your protection.
Money reclaimed
The customer's bank can take it back later through a dispute, and you are likely to lose.
Extra fees
Charges can apply to late or out-of-date payments.
Payment refused
The customer's bank may simply decline it.
The safe fix: past the deadline, start a brand-new payment with the customer rather than completing the old one.
Keep this handy
Golden rules.
- Check the card type at the start: Visa means 5 days in person, 10 by phone.
- Write the deadline on the receipt or in your diary.
- Complete at least one day before the deadline.
- Increase the amount before completing if the bill has gone up.
- Cancel straight away if the sale is not going ahead.
- Keep your terminal switched on and connected overnight.
- Keep a record of what the customer agreed for phone payments.
- Past the deadline? Take a new payment, do not complete the old one.
Jargon buster
Payments terms in plain English.
- Pre-authorisation
- Reserving money on a card now to take later.
- Completion / capture
- Taking the final payment from a pre-authorisation.
- Increment / top-up
- Reserving extra money on the same pre-authorisation.
- Reversal / cancel
- Releasing the reserved money back to the customer.
- Card scheme
- Visa or Mastercard, who set the rules for card payments.
- Acquirer
- The company that processes your card payments and pays you.
- Issuer
- The customer's bank, which issued their card.
- Chargeback
- When the customer's bank reclaims a payment from you after a dispute.
- Card not present
- A payment where the card details are given by phone or post.
This guide is general information based on Visa and Mastercard rules as at October 2026. Your payment provider's terms and your terminal's set-up may differ, so check with them before relying on a timescale. Not sure how yours is set up? Ask me.