The following covers several different scenarios your guest might report to you about a confusing charge amount they see, and how to best address them.
Incremental Authorization Issue: Guest sees "delta amount" as a separate charge
The "delta" is the difference between the original authorized amount and the new, higher total.
Example: Preauth for $10, final bill $100, guest sees pending charge for $90
What's happening: Some card issuers display the incremental authorization amount (the difference) as a separate pending charge rather than updating the original hold. What your guest is seeing is how their bank displays incremental authorizations. The $90 represents the difference between the initial $10 hold and the final $100 total. This will consolidate into a single $100 charge once the transaction settles (typically 3-5 business days). Your guest will only be charged $100 total, not $10 + $90.
Incremental Authorization Issue: Amounts don't match at all
The guest's account activity charge doesn't match what they were charged.
Example: Check was $21.16, guest claims $210 charge
What's happening:
Likely a different transaction
Possible transcription/communication error
May not be your business's transaction
If you've confirmed that none of these are the cause, please reach out to Customer Support.
Incremental Authorization Issue: Multiple holds that sum to more than final amount
The guest had multiple holds that ended up totaling more than the actual final amount.
Example: Check total $50, guest sees pending charges for $15 + $50 = $65 total
What's happening: Your guest's bank is displaying both the initial authorization hold ($15) and the final authorization ($50) as separate pending charges. The extra $15 hold should drop off within 3-5 business days when the transaction settles. The guest will only be charged $50 total. This is how certain banks display incremental authorizations.
If this is happening frequently with your business and creating guest issues, please reach out to Customer Support to discuss possible alternative options.
Incremental Authorization Issue: Transaction did not use incremental authorization
The guest's transaction did not actually use incremental authorization, seemingly.
Example: Entry mode shows standard auth, not incremental preauthorization
What's happening: This is not actually an incremental authorization issue, and rather one of the following:
Standard authorization with tip adjustment
Guest confusion about a separate transaction
If you've confirmed that it's not one of the above, and instead a different technical issue, please reach out to Customer Support.