What Is Pre-Authorization?
In a standard payment flow, the full amount is authorized and captured immediately. With pre-authorization, the payment is authorized for an initial amount, but the actual capture can happen later—after adjusting the final amount if needed.
This gives merchants flexibility to:
Increase or decrease the authorized amount
Capture the exact final amount after service delivery
Reduce fraud and chargebacks
Lower processing costs
Improve the customer experience
How the Pre-Authorization Flow Works
Create an order with a predefined amount.
Initiate the payment using the appropriate API endpoint:
POST /payments/oneoffPOST /payments/citPOST /payments/mit
The payment gateway sends a callback to notify the merchant about the authorization status.
The merchant decides whether to deliver the goods or services.
If necessary, the merchant adjusts the amount based on the actual purchase and captures the payment using:
POST /payments/capture
If the Final Amount Exceeds the Authorized Amount
There are two possible options when the final amount is greater than the authorized amount:
Void and reinitiate:
Void the original payment using
POST /payments/voidStart a new MIT payment with the correct amount using
POST /payments/mit
Split the capture and new payment:
Capture the original pre-authorized amount using
POST /payments/captureCreate a new payment for the additional amount using
POST /payments/mit
Note: Always ensure that the customer is informed and consents to any additional charges.
Supported Payment Types
Pre-authorization can be used with:
One-Off payments
Customer Initiated Transactions (CIT)
Merchant Initiated Transactions (MIT)
More Information
Full request examples and detailed integration instructions are available in the API documentation.