FREE NOW will automatically release a pre-authorisation on our side within 30 minutes. However, it may take up to a week for the funds to be available for you to spend again.
This will depend on who you bank with:
Bank or Card Provider |
Estimated Time taken for funds to become available (based on experience - this is not a guarantee) |
Monzo |
< 1 hour |
Barclays |
< 1 hour |
RBS |
< 1 day |
NatWest |
< 1 day |
Lloyds |
< 1 day |
HSBC |
3 - 5 days |
If you complete the trip the pre-authorisation will be released, and the final fare amount will appear as a charge on your bank statement.
If the trip is canceled, then the pre-authorisation will be released back into your available funds.
Pre-authorisation transactions are a temporary hold within your account and may be seen as a 'pending' transaction on your online banking.
Once the pending transaction is released back into your available funds, the transaction will simply disappear. It does not come back in as a recorded refund as it never officially left your account. You can of course speak to your bank directly and they will verify this for you.
If it has been longer than 5-7 days and the funds are still not available in your account, we recommend that you contact your bank directly.
Please note that FREE NOW Passenger Care cannot make your released pre-authorisation funds available sooner. Pre-authorisations are released automatically and at this point, we have no control over when the funds are available. Please contact your bank directly if you have any concerns.