What Are Authorisations vs. Presentments?

Please view the following guide on the detailed explanation of what an authorisation versus presentment is.

In short, an authorisation is when a certain amount of funds is reserved in your bank account and which is intended to leave your bank account.

The presentment is when the money actually leaves the bank account.

The processing of transactions via the Mastercard network is a “dual-message” system, which means a single transaction is made of 2 separate events:

1. Authorisation, which is approved, holds the value of the transaction pending.
2. Presentment or Reversal; the transaction is completed and funds debited, or released back to the account.

No matter if e-commerce transaction, payment at a POS (card terminal) or cash withdrawal at an ATM , every transaction consists of 2 events.