Create a Pre-authorized Payment

This guide walks you through processing a pre-authorization transaction using the Getnet Payment App. Pre-authorization temporarily holds funds on a customer’s credit card for a future capture, commonly used for hotel reservations or car rentals where the final amount may vary.

Before you begin

Before following the steps, you need to:

Getnet Payment App installed on the terminal.
Knowledge of installment plan codes, if applicable.

How it works

All pre-authorization actions use the getnet://payment/v1/pre-auth URI. The operation parameter selects the action:

`operation`	Action	Description
`"0"`	Create	Reserve funds on the card.
`"1"`	Modify	Update an existing pre-authorization.
`"2"`	Remove	Cancel a pre-authorization.
`"3"`	Confirm	Capture the reserved funds.
`"4"`	Retrieve	List pending pre-authorizations.

The create operation returns an authorizationRefCode. This value is the pre-authorization identifier. You send it back as reservation_id to modify, confirm, or remove the pre-authorization. Store it after every create.

Step 1: Create a pre-authorization

To reserve an amount on the customer’s card, send an Intent with operation set to "0".

Request Parameters

Parameter	Description	Required
`operation`	Set to `"0"` to create the pre-authorization.	Yes
`originalAmount`	Value in local currency to perform the transaction.	Yes
`amount`	Value to reserve. The last two digits are the decimal portion (e.g., `"10000"` = $100.00).	No
`installments`	Number of installments for the credit transaction.	No
`plan_id`	Installment plan to be used. See Installment Rules.	No
`interest`	Whether the plan includes interest (`true`) or is interest-free (`false`).	No
`operationMode`	`"0"` for manual (terminal calculates) or `"1"` for calculated (app calculates).	No
`skipReceipt`	Set to `"true"` to bypass the customer receipt screen.	No
`skipConfirmation`	Set to `"true"` to skip the installment detail confirmation screen.	No
`callerId`	Unique identifier to correlate request with response.	No
`allowPrintCurrentTransaction`	Set to `"false"` to receive receipt data as `automationSlip`.	No

The following code block shows how to create a pre-authorization:

private val REQUEST_CODE = 1001

private fun createPreAuth() {
    val intent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse("getnet://payment/v1/pre-auth"))

    intent.putExtra("operation", "0") // 0 = create
    intent.putExtra("amount", "10000") // $100.00
    intent.putExtra("originalAmount", "10000")
    intent.putExtra("installments", "1")
    intent.putExtra("plan_id", "plan_emisor")
    intent.putExtra("operationMode", "0")
    intent.putExtra("skipReceipt", "true")

    startActivityForResult(intent, REQUEST_CODE)
}

Response Parameters

Parameter	Description	Required
`result`	Status of the transaction; `"0"` indicates success.	Yes
`resultDetails`	Additional information when the transaction fails.	No
`amount`	Value processed for the pre-authorization hold.	Yes
`authorizationRefCode`	Pre-authorization identifier. Store it — you send it as `reservation_id` to modify, confirm, or remove the pre-authorization.	No
`inputType`	How the card was read (chip, contactless, or magnetic stripe).	Yes
`authorizationCode`	Transaction authorization code from the issuer.	No
`nsu`	Getnet transaction authorization code for the terminal.	No
`cardLastDigits`	Last 4 digits of the card used.	No
`brand`	Card brand (e.g., Visa, Mastercard).	No
`gmtDateTime`	Timestamp of the transaction in UTC 0 (MMDDhhmmss).	No
`automationSlip`	JSON receipt data when `allowPrintCurrentTransaction` is `"false"`.	No

Example of handling the create response:

override fun onActivityResult(requestCode: Int, resultCode: Int, data: Intent?) {
    super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data)

    if (requestCode == REQUEST_CODE && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
        val extras = data?.extras
        val result = extras?.getString("result")

        if (result == "0") {
            // SUCCESS: store the pre-authorization identifier
            val reservationId = extras?.getString("authorizationRefCode")
            val amount = extras?.getString("amount")

            // Store authorizationRefCode - you send it as reservation_id later
            saveReservationId(reservationId)
        } else {
            val errorDetails = extras?.getString("resultDetails")
            Log.e("PreAuth", "Pre-authorization failed: $errorDetails (Code: $result)")
        }
    }
}

Store the authorizationRefCode from the response. This identifier is required to confirm, modify, or remove the pre-authorization. If it is not provided in subsequent operations, the funds are automatically released after the hold period expires.

Step 2: Confirm a pre-authorization

After the service or product is delivered, confirm the pre-authorization to convert the temporary hold into a finalized payment. This captures the funds and completes the transaction.

Request Parameters

Parameter	Description	Required
`operation`	Set to `"3"` to capture the pre-authorized funds.	Yes
`reservation_id`	The `authorizationRefCode` received in Step 1.	Yes
`amount`	Updated final amount to capture. If omitted, the app uses the original held value.	No

private fun confirmPreAuth(reservationId: String, finalAmount: String? = null) {
    val intent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse("getnet://payment/v1/pre-auth"))

    intent.putExtra("operation", "3") // 3 = confirm
    intent.putExtra("reservation_id", reservationId)

    finalAmount?.let { intent.putExtra("amount", it) }

    startActivityForResult(intent, REQUEST_CODE)
}

Verify success by checking that result equals "0" in onActivityResult.

Modify a pre-authorization

To update the held amount before capture, send operation set to "1" with the reservation_id. See Modify a Payment for the full flow.

Remove a pre-authorization

To cancel a pre-authorization and release the held funds, send operation set to "2" with the reservation_id.

private fun removePreAuth(reservationId: String) {
    val intent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse("getnet://payment/v1/pre-auth"))

    intent.putExtra("operation", "2") // 2 = remove
    intent.putExtra("reservation_id", reservationId)

    startActivityForResult(intent, REQUEST_CODE)
}

Retrieve pending pre-authorizations

To list pending pre-authorizations, send operation set to "4". You can narrow the results with the filter parameters filterReservationId, filterInitialDate, filterFinalDate, filterAuthorizationCode, filterCardLastDigits, and filterAllowedBrands. The response returns a pendingAuthorizations list of up to the 30 most recent pending pre-authorizations. See Deeplink Parameters.

Next steps

Modify a Payment — Update the amount of a pre-authorization.
Deeplink Parameters — Complete pre-authorization request and response fields.
Result Codes and Data Structures — Full list of status codes.