Incremental Authorization

Incremental Authorization lets you increase the funds held on a customer's card after an initial Pre-Authorization - without needing to cancel and start over. It's perfect for situations where the final charge isn't known upfront.

Here's how it works:

1. The terminal performs the original Pre-Authorization to hold an initial amount from the cardholders credit card account.
2. If you need more funds, send an Incremental Authorization referencing the original Approved Pre-Authroization.
3. You can send multiple Incremental Authorizations if needed to increase the amount held (no more than 99 incremental authorizations)
4. When the final amount is known, send a single Completion/Capture to charge referencing the original approved Pre-Authorization.

Common Use Cases

Incremental Authorization is can be used in industries where the final bill isn't known at checkout:

• Parking - Session duration isn't known upfront
• EV charging - An initial pre-authorization may not cover the full charge of an EV car. As charing approaches the pre-authorization amount, you can then process an incremental authorization to allow the charging to continue. If the incremental authroization declines, you can stop charging and perform the final capture.
• Vending - Where an original Pre-Authorization is charged, but additional goods are requested.

Integration Options

1 - Hybrid - Terminal & Payment Orchestration REST API

Best for: Merchants with a centralized system that manages charges across multiple terminals or locations

1. Terminal performs the original Pre-Authorization and the equipment integration/POS sends this back to the merchants backend server.
2. Merchants central server/cloud environment records those sends Incremental Authorization(s) directly to the Payment Orchestration REST API
3. Merchants central server sends the final Completion via the REST API

2 - Terminal BYOA Only

Merchants who want full control over authorization amounts and timing at the point of sale and do not have a centralized server

1. Terminal performs the original Pre-Authorization
2. Terminal sends one or more Incremental Authorizations as needed
3. Terminal sends the final Completion for up to the approved amount

3 - Automatic (Payment Orchestration Handles It)

Merchants who want a simpler integration with no additional message types to manage.

1. Terminal performs the original Pre-Authorization
2. Terminal sends the final Completion with the actual amount
3. If the Completion amount exceeds the Pre-Auth, Payment Orchestration automatically generates an Incremental Authorization for the difference.
4. If the Incremental Authroization is approved, the full completion will be processed. If the incremental authorization is declined, the completion will only be processed for the approved amount of prior incremental authoizations - resulting in a loss of funds for the merchant.

Sample Transactions

Please refer to the below sample Payment Orchestration REST API Messages (Option 1)

Incremental Authorization Transaction

{
  "clientTransactionId": "123415678",
  "transactionDate": "20261022122370",
  "tenderType": "CREDIT",
  "paymentChannel": "CREDITCARD",

  "orderInformation": {
    "amount": {
      "currencyCode": "036",
      "transactionAmount": "1000"
    },
    "metadata": [
      { "name": "exampleKey1", "value": "exampleValue1" },
      { "name": "exampleKey2", "value": "exampleValue2" }
    ]
  },
  "paymentInformation": {
    "storedCredentialAgreementType": "INCREMENTAL", 
    "transactionInitiator": "MERCHANT",

  },
  "originalTransaction": {
    "originalTransactionId": "341b4b1b-8164-4d0c-a4d5-77db2e5b33c6"
  },
  "merchant": {
    "id": "M12000000000783"
  }
}

Capture (Completion) Transaction

{
  "clientTransactionId": "123405678",
  "transactionDate": "20261022122340",
  "tenderType": "CREDIT",
  "paymentChannel": "CREDITCARD",
  "agreementId": "INC123",
  "orderInformation": {
    "amount": {
      "currencyCode": "036",
      "transactionAmount": "4500"
    },
    "metadata": [
      { "name": "exampleKey1", "value": "exampleValue1" },
      { "name": "exampleKey2", "value": "exampleValue2" }
    ]
  },
  "originalTransaction": {
    "originalTransactionId": "341b4b1b-8164-4d0c-a4d5-77db2e5b33c6"
  },
  "merchant": {
    "id": "M12000000000783"
  }
}