A credit card authorization temporarily blocks a specified amount of funds on your customer's card. It’s a great way to secure a deposit for a rental order without immediately charging the card. The authorization can then be captured (charged) or released later.
This approach is especially useful when you want to:
Secure a refundable deposit for rental items.
Avoid multiple transaction charges (e.g., deposit + order total).
Easily release the held funds if the order is returned in good condition.
How it works
A typical flow might look like this:
When the customer picks up the order, you authorize both the order total and the deposit.
When the order is returned in good condition, you:
Release the deposit amount.
Capture only the order amount.
💡Note: Each authorization can only be captured once. If you capture less than the full amount, the remaining funds cannot be captured later.
How long do credit card holds last?
The time limit depends on the type of credit card. Previously, Booqable assumed a 7-day limit for all holds. But now, Booqable checks with Stripe to get the exact expiration time for each card brand.
You don’t need to figure this out, Booqable does it automatically, but it’s important to capture or release the hold before it expires.
Best practice
To avoid losing a hold:
Try to capture the payment or return the deposit within 3–4 days.
For longer rentals, re-authorize the card if needed before the hold expires.
How long do you have? Here's what Stripe says:
Card brand | Holds in Booqable |
Visa | 5 days* |
Mastercard | 7 days |
American Express | 7 days |
Discover | 7 days |
*Visa holds technically last 4 days and 18 hours to allow time for clearing.
1. Authorize a credit card hold
When looking at an order, click Add payment and choose Credit card as a payment method.
Fill in the amount you want to hold and the credit card information.
Set the toggle switch to Authorize.
Click Authorize.
💡Note: Each authorization may be captured only once. If you capture less than the authorization amount, you cannot capture the remainder at a later stage.
2. Release an authorization hold
If you don’t need to charge the customer (e.g. you're returning their full deposit), you can release the authorization manually:
Go to your Stripe dashboard.
Find the payment under Payments.
Refund it, Stripe will release the hold immediately.
Stripe will also release it automatically if you do nothing, but releasing it yourself gives peace of mind to your customer.