What is a pre-authorization charge?

A pre-authorization charge is a temporary hold placed on your payment method before a charging session begins. It is a part of standard payment processing, used widely to prevent failed credit and debit card charges and interruptions. When you start a charging session with ChargePoint, our payment processors may place a temporary authorization hold on your card to confirm the payment method and ensure necessary funds are available.

Please note that a pre-authorization is not a permanent charge—it appears as “pending” and is released by your bank after the transaction settles for the actual amount used. This is standard across industries like hospitality, rental cars, traditional gas fueling, and EV charging. This hold temporarily affects your balance but will not be posted/charged to your bank account. Only the cost of your charging session will be processed and charged to your account.

ChargePoint does not have access to the funds held during pre-authorization. These are always kept secure by your bank.