Increase the authorised amount on a pre-authorised card payment after the initial hold — without asking your customer for a new payment. Incremental Authorisation is now available for merchants whose final charge amounts aren't known at the time of booking.

## Charge what you actually use, settled as one payment

Industries like hotels, car rentals, and cruises routinely face the same problem: a customer's total charge isn't known until service ends. The traditional workaround — pre-authorising a large buffer and hoping it covers everything — is both inaccurate and poor UX. Requesting an extra card payment mid-service is even worse.

Incremental Authorisation solves this. You start with a reasonable initial hold, then increase it in real time as charges accumulate, all within a single pre-authorised payment. The customer sees one authorisation on their card statement, and you capture the exact final amount when service is complete.

### How it works

Incremental Authorisation builds on [pre-authorisation](/docs/guides/merchant/operations/capture-and-settlement/advanced-authorisation/introduction). Once a customer's card is in `authorised` state, you can call the new [Increment authorisation endpoint](/docs/api/merchant#increment-authorisation) to raise the total:

```http
POST /orders/{order_id}/increment-authorisation
```

```json
{
  "amount": 12500,
  "reference": "CHG-67890",
  "line_items": [
    { "name": "Minibar", "type": "service", "quantity": { "value": 1 }, "unit_price_amount": 1500, "total_amount": 1500 },
    { "name": "Room service", "type": "service", "quantity": { "value": 1 }, "unit_price_amount": 1000, "total_amount": 1000 }
  ]
}
```

The `amount` value is the **new total** to authorise (not the delta). The order enters `processing` state while the card network processes the increment, then returns to `authorised` with the updated amount — or stays at the current amount if the issuer declines.

### What's included

| Capability | Detail |
|------------|--------|
| **Increment limit** | Up to 5× the initial authorised amount |
| **Increment count** | Up to 10 increments per order |
| **Clearing windows** | Mastercard: each increment extends the window by 30 days; Visa: window does not extend |
| **Line items** | Optional itemised breakdown per increment, useful for receipts and audit trails |
| **Decline handling** | If an increment is declined, the previous authorised amount remains valid |
| **Webhook events** | `ORDER_INCREMENTAL_AUTHORISATION_AUTHORISED`, `ORDER_INCREMENTAL_AUTHORISATION_DECLINED`, `ORDER_INCREMENTAL_AUTHORISATION_FAILED` |
| **Supported payment methods** | Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay (Revolut Pay A2A and Pay by Bank are not supported) |

### Use cases

| Industry | Scenario |
|----------|----------|
| **Hotels & lodging** | Authorise a room deposit at check-in; increment for minibar, room service, and incidentals; capture total at checkout |
| **Car & vehicle rental** | Hold a deposit at pickup; increment for fuel charges or damage assessment; capture at return |
| **Cruise lines** | Authorise voyage deposit; increment for onboard purchases and excursions; settle when voyage ends |
| **Equipment rental** | Hold estimated cost; increment for extension fees or additional equipment; capture actual usage |
| **Service providers** | Reserve funds for estimated work; increment for additional materials or labour; capture on completion |

## Get started

- Follow the [Incremental authorisation guide](/docs/guides/merchant/operations/capture-and-settlement/advanced-authorisation/incremental-authorisation) for a complete walkthrough from order creation to capture
- Read the [Introduction to advanced authorisation](/docs/guides/merchant/operations/capture-and-settlement/advanced-authorisation/introduction) for an overview of pre-authorisation and incremental authorisation together
- See the [Increment authorisation API reference](/docs/api/merchant#increment-authorisation) for full request and response schemas