preauth.io

What It Is

Preauth is a pre-authorization management platform for guarantees/deposits aimed at Latin American businesses. Its core focus is not simply payment acquiring, but helping merchants “reserve funds on a customer’s bank card first, then either charge or release them depending on the business outcome.” The site states that it operates in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Argentina, with more than USD 20M in total guaranteed amounts processed.

Core Capabilities

The platform is built around an operations-focused dashboard. Businesses can create guarantees from the back office or via payment links, and once the customer authorizes the transaction, the funds are reserved. After that, the business can update the amount or validity period, enable automatic renewal, make a partial or full charge, or release the guarantee when there is no loss. Each charge and release records the date, amount, and context, which is useful for finance reconciliation and operational tracking. Target users include car rental companies, corporate fleets, mall pop-ups/event spaces, equipment and asset rental providers, and other high-frequency deposit scenarios.

Payments, Integrations, and Compliance

Preauth says it uses the merchant’s existing payment processor, keeping fund flows on their original path while adding a clearer operational layer for managing guarantees. The site mentions Mercado Pago, Izipay, dLocal, Stripe, and Kushki as part of its ecosystem. It can be used directly through the dashboard without technical integration, and an API is available but not required to get started. On the security side, it discloses ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2 Type II, 2FA, Veracode vulnerability management, database encryption, SSL/TLS, end-to-end messaging, GDPR/CCPA alignment, and a 99.95% SLA. However, the site does not disclose specific payment licenses or regulatory authorities.

Pricing and Limitations

The website does not disclose rates, transaction fees, subscription fees, or settlement timelines, so the real cost is difficult to assess. In terms of risk control, Preauth mainly emphasizes fund reservation, operational audit trails, and data security. Details on fraud detection, chargeback management, risk scoring, and similar capabilities are not visible.

Who It’s For and Access from China

Preauth is better suited to companies operating in Latin America that need to standardize deposit workflows and do not want to build their own pre-authorization system, especially multi-location rental businesses and operations teams. The site provides no information about access from China, so this remains unknown. If serving China or the broader Asia-Pacific market, businesses should first compare the pre-authorization capabilities of Stripe, Adyen, dLocal, Kushki, Mercado Pago, or local payment gateways.