This article explains what RMS shows you when a pre-authorisation is not successful, what it means for the reservation, and what to do next.

A pre-authorisation can be declined for many reasons, and most of them have nothing to do with RMS. When a pre-authorisation fails, RMS displays a message box containing the response it received from your Payment Gateway or the guest's card issuer.

The sections below explain how to read that message, what has happened to the reservation (booking), and what to do next.

Please Note! RMS is highly configurable. Some Terminology, User Access & Permissions, Images, Labels, and Functions used in these articles may differ from your setup. CLICK HERE to find out more.

What the Error Message Means

Every pre-authorisation error follows the same pattern. RMS names the action it was attempting and the Payment Gateway it was using, then repeats the reason it was given, word for word.

The wording after the final colon comes from the Payment Gateway or the guest's bank, not from RMS. Where the message includes a number, such as 05 or 51, that is a standard refusal code. You can look the code up in the RMS Pay error codes reference to see what the bank is reporting and what the guest should do about it.

Tip! Note down the exact wording of the message before selecting Ok. It is the fastest way for the RMS Support team to identify the cause if you need to raise a ticket.

Quick Checks

Work through these first. They resolve most failed pre-authorisations.

1. Check the guest has arrived. A pre-authorisation can only be created from the arrival date onwards.
2. Check the card is a credit card. EFTPOS cards cannot be pre-authorised, and debit cards are not recommended.
3. Ask the guest to confirm the card has enough available funds to cover the pre-authorisation amount, and has not expired.
4. Try a different method. If the terminal declined the card, try the online form or send a Pay by Link instead.
5. Ask the guest for a different card if the same message appears again.

Important! Do not keep retrying the same card. Repeated attempts against a card that is declining can cause the card issuer to flag the activity as suspicious and block the card altogether.

What Happens When a Pre-Authorisation Has Failed

When a pre-authorisation is not successful, nothing is created and nothing is held:

• No CC Pre-Auth Token is added to the reservation.
• No funds are held on the guest's card.
• There is nothing to release, because no hold was ever placed.

The reservation is left without a pre-authorisation, so the funds you expected to secure are not secured. If the pre-authorisation was covering incidentals or a bond, arrange an alternative before the guest arrives.

What to Tell the Guest

Guests often see a pending amount in their banking app after a pre-authorisation has been declined, and understandably assume they have been charged. This is the most common question properties receive after a failed pre-authorisation.

What you can tell the guest:

• The attempt was declined, so no money has been taken.
• Some banks display declined attempts as pending for a short period. This is how the bank chooses to show the attempt, and it does not mean a payment was processed.
• Only their bank can confirm why the entry is showing and when it will disappear. RMS and the property cannot remove it.

Please Note! The reason for the decline is provided by the guest's bank. Banks do not share the specific reason with the property beyond the code shown in the message, so the guest will need to contact their bank directly if they want more detail.

Common Causes and Fixes

The card was declined by the guest's bank

This is the most common cause. The message will usually read Error: Refused, often with a code such as 05 (Do not honor) or 51 (Insufficient funds). The bank has chosen not to approve the amount requested.

Fix:

1. Look up the code in the RMS Pay error codes reference to see what the bank is reporting.
2. Ask the guest for a different card, or ask them to contact their bank.
3. Where the pre-authorisation amount is high, consider whether a lower amount would be approved. The amount requested is set by your pre-authorisation calculation.

The card is an EFTPOS or debit card

EFTPOS cards cannot be pre-authorised. Debit cards co-branded with Visa or Mastercard can be, but they are not recommended, because a pre-authorisation holds real money in the guest's bank account rather than drawing on a credit limit. That money is unavailable to the guest for the length of the hold, which can be several weeks.

Fix:

1. Ask the guest for a credit card.
2. If only a debit card is available, tell the guest how much will be held and roughly how long for, so they can plan around it.

The card type is not enabled for the property

If a particular card brand fails consistently while others work, that brand may not be enabled on the property's merchant account. American Express is the most common example.

Fix:

1. Take payment with a different card brand so the guest is not held up.
2. Raise a ticket with the RMS Support team, quoting the exact error message and the card brand affected. Enabling a card brand is a configuration change made outside RMS.

The reservation has not arrived yet

A pre-authorisation can only be created from the arrival date onwards, provided the property's accounting date also falls within the reservation dates.

This is deliberate. Card issuers release pre-authorisations on their own timeframe, commonly 3 to 5 business days and sometimes up to 30, and that timeframe is outside the property's control. If a hold were placed days before arrival, it could expire before you had the chance to apply it.

Fix:

1. Wait until the arrival date to create the pre-authorisation.
2. Where funds need to be secured earlier, take a payment towards the account instead and refund it at departure if it is not needed.

Your Payment Gateway does not support pre-authorisation

Not every Payment Gateway supports pre-authorisation, and some support creating a hold but not applying it. Each gateway's Help Centre article contains a Functions table showing exactly what it supports.

Fix:

1. Open your gateway's article from Payment Gateways in RMS.
2. Check the Pre-Auth Token - Reservation and Consume Pre-Auth Token rows in the Functions table.

Please Note! Releasing a pre-authorisation manually is only available with RMS Pay. On other Payment Gateways the hold remains until the card issuer releases it.

Reducing Failed Pre-Authorisations

A few habits cut down how often a pre-authorisation is declined:

• Ask for a credit card rather than a debit or EFTPOS card at check-in.
• Tell the guest the amount that will be held before you process it, so they can confirm the card will cover it.
• Check that every card brand you accept is enabled on your merchant account, so a whole brand does not fail repeatedly.
• Review your pre-authorisation calculation if declines are common. A lower hold is more likely to be approved.

Checking a Pre-Authorisation Later

A declined pre-authorisation does not appear on the RMS Pay Settlement Report, because no funds were settled. To confirm whether an attempt was authorised or refused, use the RMS Pay Transaction & Payout Overview report, which shows the status of each transaction including refused attempts.

Still Not Working?

If pre-authorisations are failing repeatedly, or every card is being declined rather than a single guest's card, raise a ticket with the RMS Support team. Include:

• The property name and reservation number.
• The exact error message, copied word for word.
• The date and time of the attempt.
• Whether the attempt was made using the terminal, the online form, or a saved card token.
• Whether the issue affects one card, one card brand, or all cards.

Related Articles

• Pre-Authorisation
• Release Pre-Authorisation
• RMS Pay error codes reference
• Set the RMS Pay pre-authorisation calculation