Hey bunqers 🌈,
When you book or buy something, the merchant issues a "pre-authorization" (also called a reserved payment) on your account. This is a temporary hold that guarantees to the merchant there's enough money in your account, and obliges us to reserve that amount for them. The money is reserved, but hasn't left your account yet. If the merchant never claims it, it's released back to you automatically.
Below you'll find what a reserved payment is, how long it can last, how to get one released early, and what to do if the money doesn't come back.
What is a reserved (pre-authorized) payment?
A pre-authorization is when a merchant asks your bank to reserve a certain amount of money on your card, but doesn't actually take the money yet. It's a temporary hold, not a completed charge.
Reserved payments are commonly used by:
Hotels
Car rentals
Gas stations
Delivery apps
Online marketplaces
Subscription verifications
The merchant has up to a certain period to either claim the money (turn the hold into a real charge) or cancel the hold. This period varies by merchant and payment type — some holds last 7 days, others 14 days, with a maximum of 30 days. This timeframe is determined by Mastercard, and neither bunq nor the merchant can change it.
What happens after the merchant reserves the payment?
As soon as the payment is reserved, the money is made available to the merchant they can claim them at any point during the reservation period. The merchant has two options:
Clear (turn the hold into a real charge): The merchant sends a clearing message to claim the reserved amount. Only the merchant can complete this step — bunq cannot clear the reserved amount on its own or make this happen any faster. Once the reserved payment is cleared, the funds have been claimed by the merchant. This usually happens within 7 days, though hotels and car rentals may claim the payment up to 30 days later.
Cancel: The merchant can send a cancellation message, releasing the hold immediately. If they do nothing, the hold automatically expires after the allowed timeframe, and the money is returned to your account.
Can a reserved payment be released before the reservation period expires?
Usually, a reservation expires automatically when the merchant's time to claim it runs out. However, if you need it released sooner, we can help in a few specific situations. This might apply if:
The merchant claims they never received the payment
The merchant has confirmed they will not claim the reserved funds (for example, after you've returned a rental car or checked out of a hotel without any issues)
To do this, we require a proof of release.
Why do we need proof?
Once funds are reserved for a merchant, we can't simply take them back. This is to protect you. If we released the funds and the merchant claimed them later, it could put your account into a negative balance. To release a payment before the reservation period expires, we need explicit proof from the merchant that they won't be claiming the money.
What do you need to provide?
To help us release the funds, you'll need to send us a "proof of release" from the merchant. This document must clearly show:
Date of the initial transaction
Amount of the initial transaction
Explicit confirmation from the merchant that they won't be claiming the funds
This could be an email (make sure the merchant's name and email address are visible) or a void receipt that clearly shows the merchant's name. You can provide this to our support team, and we'll take care of it for you.
What if the amount wasn't claimed by the merchant and hasn't been refunded yet?
In 99.994% of cases, merchants inform us of the final amount within 30 days, and any extra money reserved is released immediately.
If the merchant doesn't collect the amount after the maximum hold period, we'll automatically return the reserved payment to your account, even if the merchant's final amount is still pending.
Sometimes the refund can take longer than expected or might fail. In such cases, you can request a refund to speed up the process:
Open the reserved payment in your app
Tap on the three dots in the top right corner
Select "Request Chargeback"
Follow the steps to submit your request
Our dedicated team will review your case and work to recover your money as quickly as possible.
Why did the reserved payment disappear from my events?
When a merchant doesn’t claim the funds and the hold is released, the event can disappear from your payment list. That’s normal—because it never became a completed charge.
To confirm the funds never left your account, export a bank statement:
Tap your Profile in the top-left corner
Select Accounting
Select Export Statement
Choose the Bank Account and time period, and select your preferred format (PDF, CSV, or MT940)
Tap Export Statement
Where is my refund?
If your card was blocked or cancelled before the merchant sent the refund, the refund won’t reach your bunq account.
This is because Mastercard refunds must be sent to an active card. If the card no longer exists, the merchant’s refund has nowhere to be delivered, so it never reaches us. In these cases, you can contact the merchant and ask them to:
Re-issue the refund directly to your bank account (IBAN transfer) instead of sending it to the old card.
Merchants are able to do this — they simply need to refund through a regular bank transfer instead of a card refund 💡
Important notes
Refunds sent more than 30 days after the original payment cannot be linked to a replaced or cancelled card.
bunq cannot retrieve these refunds because the funds never entered the Mastercard network for your card anymore.
Finn may tell you that refunds can still arrive, and while that’s true for active or replaced cards, it does not apply to cards that were blocked/cancelled before the refund was sent.