Why is my card payment still pending?

A card payment may remain pending when it has been authorised but not yet confirmed by the merchant where the purchase was made.

When you make a payment, the merchant requests a pre-authorisation from the banking network. This pre-authorisation reserves the amount in your account, but the final debit only happens once the merchant confirms the transaction.

What happens next

• If the merchant confirms the payment, the final amount is debited from your account.

  • The final amount may be equal, lower, or higher than the initial pre-authorised amount (for example, hotel stays, car rentals, or fuel payments).

• If the merchant cancels the payment, the pre-authorisation is released, and the amount becomes available again in your account.

• If the merchant takes no action, the pre-authorisation automatically expires after 30 days.

  • Once this period ends, the reserved amount is released automatically — there is no need to contact Rauva or take any action.

When you might see a pending payment

• Online purchases or bookings where the merchant has not yet processed the charge.

• Pre-authorisations at hotels, car rentals, petrol stations, or delivery platforms.

• Payments that were declined at checkout but still temporarily appear as pending until the banking network releases the amount.

What should I do?

In most cases, no action is required — the amount will be released automatically when:

• the merchant cancels the pre-authorisation; or

• the 30-day validity period expires.

If a payment remains pending for more than 30 days, please contact our support team so we can verify the status with our banking partner.

In summary

A pending payment does not mean the amount has been charged — it only means it has been reserved until the merchant confirms, cancels, or allows it to expire.
Once that happens, your account balance will automatically update to reflect the correct amount.