When starting your trip with a Poppy car, van, or e-scooter, you may notice a temporary hold on your account, known as a pre-authentication (pre-auth) charge. Here’s a quick guide to understanding these reservations.
What Are Pre-Auth Charges?
Pre-auth charges are temporary holds on your bank account, ensuring your payment method is valid. These are not actual deductions, but reservations on your bank account.
How It Works:
Initial Reservation: A pre-auth charge is applied at the start of your trip — €20 for S-tier cars, €50 for M and L-tier cars and vans, and €7 for e-scooters.
End of Trip Calculation:
If the trip costs less than the pre-auth charge, only the trip cost is deducted, and the remaining amount is released.
If the trip costs more, the pre-auth amount is used, and any additional cost is also deducted from your linked payment method.
Timing and Random Checks:
The release of the pre-auth amount back to your account is subject to your bank's processing times, which may sometimes cause delays.
These pre-auth charges are applied randomly as a security measure to verify the bank account's authenticity.
💡 Assurance of Refund:
Any funds held through pre-auth will be released. If you experience delays or have concerns, please reach out to our customer service team through the ‘help’ section in the app, or at ‘[email protected]’