Why was I charged twice?

We offer you banking in real-time. This means you’re able to see the processes going on behind your account that you otherwise wouldn’t see. There are two main transaction types that take place during an in-store or online purchase:

• Authorizations. A block or reserved amount made by a retailer or merchant. This includes anything from your morning cup of coffee to hotel or car rental bookings (including security deposits).
• Presentments. The actual amount that is deducted from your account. Again, that cup of coffee is finally cleared from your account or you can get your security deposit back once that hotel room or car is returned safe and sound.

Once an authorization has been confirmed, we can’t cancel or reverse it. At that point, a few things can happen to your authorization: it turns into a presentment, it's rejected, or it expires (and automatically returns to your account after 12 days at the latest. Car rental deposits may need up to 30 days to return to your account). Keep in mind:

• Sometimes you’ll see both the authorization and the presentment if they become disconnected or due to technical issues at the payment terminal. Eventually the authorization will expire. If it doesn’t, we can help get your money back.
• Verification authorizations (usually very small amounts) are used to check whether your card is active. This money will return to your account.
• The amount of an authorization can differ from the final presentment for a variety of reasons.