PAYMENTS

What is a 'card pre-authorisation' or a 'temporary hold' to my account?

What is a pre-authorisation?

A pre-authorisation is a temporary hold of funds on your bank account or credit card.
This is used to ensure that the payment method is valid, and that there are sufficient funds available to pay for the service requested.

The pre-authorisation is not a charge, but a temporary hold, meaning that the funds held will be released after a short period of time.

Why does Happicabs pre-authorise my payment method?

At Happicabs we use pre-authorisations to ensure that customers have a valid payment method and sufficient funds available when placing an order for a trip.

This helps us to ensure we can pay your Happi driver for the service they provide.
This is a common practice on all ride-hailing apps and taxi companies.

When will my payment method be pre-authorised?

If you are paying using a Credit or Debit Card you will only be pre-authorised at the time you make a booking.

For future bookings, booking that are made x days or more in advance. Pre-authorisation will only be enforced x days before the booking date and time.

Why is my bank statement showing a pre-authorisation and a charge for the same trip?

If you are seeing more than one ‘Happicabs’ entry on your bank statement relating to a recent order, rest assured that you are unlikely to have been double charged. Instead, one of the entries is likely to be a card pre-authorisation.

Why did Happicabs perform a pre-authorisation even though the trip did not take place?

Once you push the “book” button in the app, Happicabs will perform the pre-authorisation. We perform the authorisation before a driver gets allocated to ensure that no driver will be allocated a trip that gets cancelled due to a failed payment.

Unfortunately, this means that Happicabs might have performed an authorisation although no trip was done. Where this is the case Happicabs release the authorisation within 30 minutes.

How much will I be pre-authorised?

The amount pre-authorised depends on the total amount of the fare you’re trying to book.

Journey Value	Pre-authorisation Value
Between £0.00 - £5.00	£8.00
Between £5.01 - £8.00	£10.00
Between £8.00 - £10.00	£12.00
Between £10.01 - £50.00	30%
Between £50.01 - £150.00	25%
£150.01 and over	20%

When will the pre-authorisation be released?

Happicabs will automatically release a pre-authorisation once the journey has been completed or at the point of cancellation. However, it may take up to a week for the funds to be available for you to spend again depending on your bank and their policies.

https://tidalcommerce.com/learn/pre-authorization

Airport pre-authorisation charge example

The total cost of an Airport equivalates to £47.00 including car park. The pre-authorisation amount is set to £, this is the amount that the bank will reserve on your account until the fare is completed or cancelled.

Standard Journey pre-authorisation charge example

The total cost of a journey estimate equivalates to £13.20. The pre-authorisation amount is set to £, this is the amount that the bank will reserve on your account until the fare is completed or cancelled.