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Incremental authorization allows merchants to increase the authorized amount after the initial payment authorization — ideal for use cases like:
  • Hotel bookings
  • Car rentals
  • Any service where the final charge may vary
This prevents payment disruptions and avoids re-authentication from the customer.

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✅ Why Use Incremental Authorization?

BenefitDescription
Flexible PaymentsAdd charges in real-time (e.g., mini-bar charges, longer stay).
Improved UXAvoid re-directing customers or asking for re-authentication.
Simplified SettlementAll incremental amounts are combined with the original authorization into a single settlement.

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⚠️ Prerequisites

  • Your business must operate outside Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) regions.
  • Supported only for card payments and specific networks/connectors.
  • Check connector-specific documentation to confirm support.

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🛠️ How to Use Incremental Authorization

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🧩 Step 1: Enable during payment creation

Use the request_incremental_authorization flag in the /payments create request. 
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.test.switch.vaultera.co/payments \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'api-key: <api-key>' \
  --data '{
    "amount": 6540,
    "authentication_type": "three_ds",
    "currency": "USD",
    "request_incremental_authorization": true
}'

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🔍 Step 2: Check if allowed

In the payment creation response, look for the field: 
"incremental_authorization_allowed": true
This indicates whether the selected connector supports incremental authorization for that transaction.

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➕ Step 3: Make an incremental authorization request

Once allowed, you can add more funds using this endpoint: 
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.test.switch.vaultera.co/payments/{payment_id}/incremental_authorization \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'api-key: <api-key>' \
  --data '{
    "amount": 6540,
    "reason": "Extended stay"
}'
Replace {payment_id} with your actual payment ID and provide a meaningful reason.

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📌 Notes

  • Each incremental authorization must follow the initial authorization.
  • The cumulative amount across authorizations cannot exceed network or connector limits.
  • All charges will be captured together during final capture.