Why is there already a charge on my account if I'm still waiting on the rental to be approved?

This is an authorization, not a charge. Your card won’t be charged until the rental is completed and the owner lets us know that you’ve picked up the gear. If you cancel before the rental period, or the rental does not go through, the hold is released and this will show on your bank account within 1-2 days. For certain banks it can be up to 5-10 days, so sorry for the inconvenience! In the future you can also "contact" someone without an official request if you're not sure if you will do the rental—that way, you can avoid multiple holds.