What is an authorization hold?

An authorization hold is a temporary hold placed on one or multiple transactions on your Acorns debit card. Sometimes authorization holds may be called “pre-authorization” or simply “pre-auth.”

Authorization holds appear as pending transactions in your Acorns Checking account, but they aren't official charges. Merchants might use authorization holds because the final amount of a transaction isn't known yet.

Here are som examples of types of merchants that may place a hold:

• hotels
• gas stations
• vehicle rentals

rideshare services 

These types of transactions usually fall off your balance when the merchant has the final purchase amount and pulls the money from your Acorns Checking account. 

Typically, you'll see these transactions disappear after a few business days. If the transaction doesn’t fall off or you were charged twice, please fill out a Checking Dispute form and a member of our team will help you out!