What Is Pre-Authorisation and How Does It Work?
No-show protection that releases in minutes, not business days.
The real test of a deposit system is not collecting the money. It is what happens when plans change and you need to give it back. With deposits, you charge immediately and if the customer cancels you must manually process a refund. They wait 5-10 business days. If you took it via bank transfer, you are transferring money from your own account. Pre-authorisation gives you the same protection without any of that.
How Petboost helps
Pre-authorisation: same protection, releases in minutes not days.
Learn About No-Show Protection72 hours before: card verified, funds reserved (not charged)
Invalid card or insufficient funds: you AND customer notified immediately
Customer cancels: hold releases automatically (no refund needed)
Released funds return to the card in 30 minutes to 24 hours, not 5-10 business days
No-show: capture the held amount as compensation
Service completes: hold converts to payment
80%+ reduction in no-shows reported by businesses
Combine with a longer cancellation period for high-value or boarding bookings