After ordering from Postmates, you may discover a temporary authorization hold on your online bank statement.

Usually, it will appear right after you place your order and go away in a few days.

Here is what you need to know about the authorization hold on your bank account.

What Is Postmates Temp Auth?

The Postmates temp auth is a temporary charge that appears on your bank account.

Usually, it will appear as a pending charge.

It can stay on your bank statement for up to 10 business days after your delivery, although it usually goes away faster.

What Does a Postmates Temp Auth Charge Mean?

“Temp auth” stands for temporary authorization.

The charge may show up with slightly different wording depending on your bank.

However, the idea is the same.

You’ll get a temporary hold right after you place your Postmates order.

The hold is temporary, as the service isn’t yet complete.

If the restaurant cancels your order or your delivery driver never brings the food, Postmates will remove the hold without charging you.

It’s common for a delivery or rideshare app to place a temporary authorization on your credit or debit card.

These authorizations ensure customers have sufficient funds to cover their orders (including the delivery fee and extra fees).

Why Does a Postmates Temporary Authorization Happen?

There are a few reasons Postmates would put a payment hold on your credit card.

It could happen even if you did not place an order.

1. New Payment Method Added

When you add a new payment method to your Postmates account, Postmates might charge that payment method to ensure it is valid.

However, it will usually be two small charges of under $2.

Postmates may ask you to confirm the charge amounts in the app to verify your card.

Once you verify it, you will be able to use that payment method in the future without a problem.

2. Payment Method Changed

Similarly, when changing your payment method for an order, Postmates might place a second temporary authorization hold on your new payment method.

The temporary authorization might show up on both cards, but Postmates will only charge one of them, removing the hold on the other.

3. Order Placed

When you make a purchase on Postmates, it will place a pending hold on your card.

Usually, the hold will reflect the purchase price.

For example, if your food costs $20 with free delivery, the authorization will be for $20.

Sometimes, though, the temporary hold will be a higher amount than the cost of your order.

While your order might cost $30, Postmates might put a hold for $50.

That is to ensure that Postmates can access additional funds for tips, added items, and other order changes.

Will a Postmates Temp Auth Charge Go Away?

Yes.

The Postmates temporary authorization charge will show up in the pending line of your bank statement for a few days.

Then, it will go away, and you will see the actual charge in your confirmed transactions.

If you cancel the order or get a refund for whatever reason, the temporary authorization charge will go away, and you won’t see any charge in your confirmed transactions.

Usually, it takes 3-10 business days for the temporary charge to go away.

Depending on your bank, it could even take longer than that.

While most users will see the charge disappear within days, don’t stress unless it’s been there for over two or three weeks.

Why Does Postmates Charge Twice?

Sometimes, you may see the same charge repeated on your bank statement.

At first glance, it may seem like Postmates charged you twice for the same order.

However, if you take a closer look, you’ll see that one of the charges is in the list of confirmed transactions while the other charge is in the pending section.

That doesn’t mean Postmates charged you two times.

Sometimes, pending charges can take longer to process than actual charges.

So, your bank might have confirmed the actual charge, but it may not yet have fully processed and removed the temporary charge.

So, if you check back in a few days, you will likely only see the actual charge remaining.

Who to Contact About a Postmates Temp Auth Charge

Usually, a pending charge doesn’t indicate an issue.

However, there are times when you might want to contact Postmates about a temporary hold.

For example, if you ordered something that cost $25 but had a pending hold for $125 (which can happen in rare cases), you won’t be able to access that extra $100 until the charge disappears.

In that case, you’ll want to contact Postmates to see if they can help.

If you believe any pending charges are fraudulent, take action right away.

For example, if you don’t use Postmates or UberEats but see a Postmates temp auth charge on your card, someone might have hacked your debit card.

In that case, you’ll want to contact both Postmates and your bank.

Your bank might still be able to block the charge before its confirmation.

How to Contact Postmates Customer Service

There are a few ways to contact Postmates support.

Note that Uber now owns Postmates, despite Postmates operating as a standalone app.

1. Through the App

Follow these steps to request help from the app:

1. Click on “Account” in the bottom-right corner.
2. Scroll down and tap on “Help.”
3. Click on “Help With an Order.”
4. Select your order.
5. Select an issue, such as “Clarify my order total” or “I have an unknown charge.”

If you believe the temporary authorization is due to someone hacking your account, follow these steps:

1. Click on “Account.”
2. Tap on “Help.”
3. Click on “Account and Payments.”
4. Select “Account Settings.”
5. Tap on “I Think My Account Has Been Hacked.”
6. Enter your phone number and write a message with the details of the temporary authorization charge.

You can also visit the Postmates help page.

Click on “Help With an Order” or “Account and Payments” and follow the same steps as above.

2. Phone Number

While Postmates doesn’t have an official phone number for customer support, some people have had success by calling Postmates’ main phone number (888-815-7726).

Unfortunately, I got a busy signal when calling, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

Learn more about the Postmates phone number and how it works.

3. Twitter

Postmates has a Twitter support page: @Postmates_Help.

Contact the official page only, as there may be scam accounts posing as Postmates to get your details.

You can send Postmates a DM or publicly tweet at them.

Since Uber owns Postmates, you can also try the official Uber support page.

It’s @Uber_Support, and it handles both Uber and Uber Eats support requests.

The Postmates app is a front for Uber Eats; the restaurants are the same, and Uber Eats drivers deliver the food.

Therefore, Uber should be able to help you with your order.

There is a separate @UberEats account, but it is a promotional account that does not provide customer support.

You can also try messaging Postmates on its Facebook page.

Click on “Message” to send a message via Facebook Messenger.

According to its profile, it usually responds within an hour.

I suggest trying out all methods if you need a quick response.

Tweeting at Postmates or Uber publicly usually pushes them a little to resolve an issue, as it becomes a matter of maintaining good publicity.

Final Thoughts

Seeing a temporary charge from Postmates might be worrying, but it’s usually nothing to be concerned about.

If you’re a Postmates user and recently placed an order or added a new payment method, there’s nothing strange about a temporary hold.

So have patience – it will go away in a few days.