Pending Charge After Renting a Power Bank? What the Hold Is
Rented a powerbank and see a pending charge? It is a reservation hold, not the price. Why it can look like two charges and when it drops off your card.
That pending amount on your card is a reservation, a temporary hold, not the price of your powerbank rental. When you return the powerbank, only the actual fee is charged and the rest of the hold is released. The released part can take up to 5 days to disappear from your banking app, depending on your bank. If it is still there after that, your bank is the one to call.
What a power bank rental hold actually is
When you take a powerbank out of a station, nobody knows yet what the rental will cost. You might hand it back in ten minutes or keep it all evening. So instead of charging you, the station asks your bank to set aside an amount, called the reservation, and settles the real fee when you return it.
This is the same thing a petrol pump or a hotel does. The card processor Stripe describes it in its documentation on holds: "hotels often authorize a payment in full before a guest arrives, then capture the money when the guest checks out." The Swedish card issuer Eurocard explains fuel the same way on its reserved amount page: a larger amount is reserved when you fill up, "Men ditt kort kommer endast att debiteras för det faktiska köpbeloppet", meaning your card is only charged the actual purchase amount.
In the EU the rules for this are written into law. Article 75 of the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) says your bank "may block funds on the payer's payment account only if the payer has given consent to the exact amount of the funds to be blocked", and must release them "without undue delay after receipt of the information about the exact amount of the payment transaction". It matches what you see at a Brick station: the rental terms, reservation included, are shown on the screen or in the app before you confirm, not afterwards.
What happens on your card, step by step
| Moment | What your banking app shows | What has actually happened |
|---|---|---|
| You start the rental | A pending amount: the reservation | Money set aside, nothing charged |
| You are using the powerbank | The same pending amount | The fee builds per time increment, up to the daily cap |
| You return it | Often the old hold and the real fee side by side for a while | The actual fee is charged and the rest of the hold is released |
| Up to 5 days later | The leftover hold disappears | Your bank has cleared the released amount |
A worked example: say the reservation at a station is €10 and your rental comes to €3. When you return the powerbank, €3 is charged and the other €7 is released. You paid €3. And if you change your mind, Brick charges nothing for a powerbank returned within 3 minutes, so the whole hold goes back.
The fee itself works per time increment, 30 or 60 minutes depending on the market, up to a daily cap. We went through the pricing in detail in how much a power bank rental costs.
Why it can look like you were charged twice
Often, what looks like a double charge is a hold and a charge showing at the same time. Right after you return the powerbank, your bank may list the original reservation and the final fee as two separate lines until the hold clears. Stripe's documentation says it plainly: "Card statements from some issuers and interfaces from payment methods don't always distinguish between authorizations and captured (settled) payments, which can sometimes confuse customers." Look at which line is marked pending. That is the one that will disappear.
There is one case where you really will see two charges. If your rental cost more than the reservation, for example because you kept the powerbank long enough to reach the daily cap and the hold was set lower, the full fee is still collected. Usually that happens in a single charge. Occasionally it arrives as the reserved amount plus a second, smaller charge for the difference. Added together, they are one fee.
Why the reservation is different at different stations
Prices on the Brick network are set market by market, and so is the reservation amount. It can also differ at the same station depending on how you start the rental: the app or web checkout can carry one reservation amount and tapping your card on the card reader another. Whichever route you use, the amount is on the screen before you confirm. Our guide to tap-to-rent at the card reader shows what that screen looks like in practice.
A hold also cannot sit on your card forever. Card networks give every authorization an expiry window. Stripe lists 2 days for in-person Mastercard, American Express and Discover payments, and about 5 days for Visa. If an authorization runs out before it is turned into a charge, "the funds are released".
How long a power bank rental hold takes to drop off
Brick releases the unused part of the hold the moment the powerbank is returned. What you see after that is your bank catching up, and it can take up to 5 days depending on the bank's own policy. That matches what banks say about holds in general. Chase's guide to credit card holds says they "can last from a few days to a week, and can be influenced by how quickly a merchant processes the transaction and your card issuer's policies".
While the hold is there, it reduces what you can spend. On a credit card it comes off your available credit, and on a debit card it comes off your available balance. For a small reservation that rarely matters, but it is worth knowing if your balance is tight on a night out.
What to do if the hold has not disappeared
- Check the rental closed. The final fee shows on your receipt once the return registers. At the card reader you can enter an email address and the receipt is sent when the rental completes.
- Give it 5 days from the return. Eurocard, for example, says a card purchase is normally posted within 2 to 3 working days ("Köpet bokförs normalt inom 2-3 arbetsdagar").
- After 5 days, contact your bank. Brick has already released the hold on its side, so the bank is the only party that can clear it from your account.
- If the fee itself looks wrong, contact Brick. Support is reachable through the app, the website or email, as described in Brick's customer support, and Brick's stated position is a full refund on any legitimate billing issue.
FAQ
Is the pending charge the price of my power bank rental?
No. It is a reservation, a temporary hold on your card. The actual fee is charged when you return the powerbank and the rest of the hold is released.
How long does a power bank rental hold last?
Brick releases the unused part the moment you return the powerbank. It can take up to 5 days to disappear from your banking app, depending on your bank.
Why does it look like I was charged twice?
For a short time after the return, your bank may show the original hold and the final fee as two lines. The pending line is the hold and will disappear. Only if the rental cost more than the reservation can the fee arrive as two real charges that add up to one fee.
Is there a deposit to rent a powerbank from Brick?
Not on a standard pay-as-you-go rental. Brick places a reservation hold instead of charging a deposit up front, and the hold is settled into the real fee when you return the powerbank.
What if I return the powerbank straight away?
Return it within 3 minutes and Brick charges nothing, so the full hold is released.
Who do I contact if the hold does not disappear?
Wait 5 days from the return, then contact your bank, since Brick has already released the hold on its side. If the fee itself looks wrong, contact Brick support through the app, the website or email.
The short version
The number on the screen before you confirm is the ceiling. The number on your receipt is the price. Everything between them is your bank tidying up, and it should be done within 5 days. If you want to see how the rest of a rental works, start with how to rent a powerbank. And if you run a venue and want stations your guests can use this way, see how partnering with Brick works.
