What is an authorisation? Why is FREE NOW placing an authorisation on my PayPal account?
An authorisation allows FREE NOW to reserve funds temporarily on a PayPal account. A successfully performed authorisation provides the payer and the payee with the certainty that a later payment will work without any complications. Additionally, this allows FREE NOW to inform you in advance if your currently selected payment method is not chargeable and needs to be changed.
How long will the authorisation remain on my PayPal account?
No longer than needed! Once you have finished your tour the authorisation will be transformed to an actual charge to your PayPal account. The charge will reflect the actual amount needed to pay for the tour including tip and other surcharges. At the same time, all funds that might have been authorised in excess will be released and be available again on your PayPal account. If no trip has begun we will keep the authorisation running for a couple of minutes in case you request a new trip. However, if no new trip gets started we will void the authorisation so that the reserved funds are fully released.
What happens if the pre-authorisation can’t be performed on my PayPal account?
You will be notified in the app and asked to switch to another payment method. If possible a reason for why the pre-authorisation failed will be shown in the app.
What amount will be pre-authorised?
The pre-authorised amount reflects the fare estimation for the requested trip. If the estimation is reflected by a range the maximum will be the amount to be pre-authorised.
What happens if the pre-authorised amount is higher than the actual fare?
Once your trip has been completed the pre-authorisation will turn into a charge. If the pre-authorised amount is higher than the actual charge all funds pre-authorised in excess will be released immediately to your PayPal account.
What happens if I accidentally request a tour to a destination that is far away?
The pre-authorised amount will reflect the fare estimate, thus a high fare estimate leads to a high amount to be pre-authorised. Funds that were pre-authorised in excess will be released by FREE NOW in less than 30 minutes and will be available on your PayPal account right away.
Do vouchers affect the amount to be pre-authorised?
Yes! Already applied vouchers will also have an impact on the pre-authorised amount and reduce it accordingly.
Will FREE NOW perform a pre-authorisation for each trip request?
No. It is FREE NOW's intention to keep the amount of performed pre-authorisations as low as possible. Please understand that FREE NOW cannot share any details on which trips will be affected by a pre-authorisation.