An EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer) authorization hold is a temporary reduction of available funds in a bank account, typically caused by a debit card transaction where the final amount is not immediately known, such as at a gas station, hotel, or car rental agency. It serves as a pre-authorization to ensure the account has sufficient funds to cover the final purchase.
The term “electronic fund transfer” or “EFT” means any transfer of funds that is initiated through an electronic terminal, telephone, computer, or magnetic tape for the purpose of ordering, instructing, or authorizing a financial institution to debit or credit a consumer's account. 12 CFR 1005.3(b)(1).
When figuring out how to remove a hold on a bank account, you can often contact your bank and find out what caused the hold. If it was a pre-authorization hold placed by a merchant on a debit card transaction, you might be able to contact them directly and have them remove it.
Authorization hold (also card authorization, preauthorization, or preauth) is a service offered by credit and debit card providers whereby the provider puts a hold of the amount approved by the cardholder, reducing the balance of available funds until the merchant clears the transaction (also called settlement), after ...
If you need to move larger amounts of money, however, your options are either an EFT or Mobile Cheque Deposit, but a hold period applies to both.
When we process an instruction after the cut-off times, on public holidays, and when there is more than 1 public holiday back-to-back, it can take up to 3 business days for us to process a transaction and for you to receive the money into your account.
Common reasons for placing a hold on a check or deposit include but are not limited to: Accounts with frequent overdrafts. New customer. High-dollar deposits that exceed the total available balance in the account.
Yes, authorization holds get "refunded" by being released, meaning the held funds become available again, either automatically when the transaction settles (becomes a final charge) or when the hold is canceled/expires, which usually happens within a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on your bank and the merchant. If you see a separate, actual charge and a hold, that's usually a processing delay, and the hold should drop off; contact your bank if it doesn't disappear within 10 business days.
An authorized transaction is a debit or credit card payment that has been approved by the cardholder's bank. While almost instantaneous, the process involves multiple entities. A card can be declined for many reasons, such as if insufficient funds or credit are available or if it has expired.
A preauthorization charge on a credit or debit card typically lasts for about five to seven days, but this duration can vary depending on the card issuer's policies and the type of transaction. Some banks may keep the hold for up to 14 days.
Call and write your bank or credit union
Tell your bank that you have “revoked authorization” for the company to take automatic payments from your account. You can use this sample letter . Some banks and credit unions may offer you an online form.
Contact Your Bank
You can ask your bank to provide an explanation for the hold or sometimes even to release the hold. Keep in mind, however, that it can be difficult to get a bank to remove a hold. And since all banks have them, you can't switch banks to avoid them either.
Deposit holds typically range from 2-7 business days, depending on the reason for the hold. For deposits made on weekends, funds are considered deposited on Monday (the first business day), so the hold will go into effect the next business day (Tuesday).
Once the payment is already processed, it can't be cancelled or reversed. Keep track of EFT payments: It is essential to keep track of all the EFT payments you make, including the payment amount, date, and recipient.
What are the risks of EFT?
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is an umbrella term that refers to a number of different transfer methods: Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments processed through the ACH network and not through traditional card networks. Not all EFT payments are processed through the ACH network, but all ACH payments are EFTs.
Banks may deny a refund if they determine that: You authorized the transaction, even if it later turned out to be fraudulent. You waited too long to report the fraud. There's insufficient evidence to prove the transaction was unauthorized.
Last updated: 14/1/2026. A pre-authorisation hold 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.
Contact the Merchant
To cancel an entire series of pre-authorized payments, you have to talk to the merchant.
You can remove a hold on a debit card by contacting your bank directly and asking them to release or verify the pending transaction. In many cases, the hold clears automatically once the merchant finalizes or cancels the charge, but calling your bank can speed up the process.
In many cases, a hold will resolve itself after the standard waiting period of two to five business days. In other instances, you may have to contact your financial institution to pre-approve what they might believe to be a suspicious purchase or ask them to lift a hold you believe was placed in error.
Here are some ways to help minimize holds:
A check hold is the period during which banks can legally withhold funds from a deposited check before crediting a customer's account. The Federal Reserve mandates that most checks should be held for no more than a "reasonable" period, typically two to six business days.
Hold release times vary widely from immediate to over a month, depending on the type of hold (authorization, administrative, check deposit) and the financial institution's policies, but generally, a merchant hold releases in 1-10 days after a transaction (gas/hotels can be longer), while check deposit holds might last longer (up to 7 business days or more).
A $2000 check usually clears within 1 to 2 business days, with federal law requiring the first $275 (as of July 2025) to be available by the next business day, and the rest typically following on the second business day, though government/certified checks clear faster and new accounts or repeated overdrafts can cause delays.