Equipment rental deposits and card holds

An authorization is a deadline, not a savings account

Stripe's hold documentation, read November 9, 2026, says authorizing a payment holds the amount so you can capture it later. You have to capture before the authorization expires. If it expires first, the funds are released and the payment status changes to canceled. A partial capture releases the rest, and for most payments you can capture only once.

The card-not-present table on that page lists a 7-day customer-initiated window for Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Visa's merchant-initiated window is printed as 5 days, and the footnote says the exact window is 4 days and 18 hours. The same page says an online card authorization is usually valid for 7 days. It also says some card statements do not distinguish an authorization from a captured charge, which can confuse the cardholder. Stripe and the card network decide whether a payment is customer-initiated or merchant-initiated from signals of cardholder participation, not from a single API flag.

When Slotward authorizes, and when it charges

Slotward uses a card authorization only when the return date plus a one-day settlement window is under 6 days away. You can release that hold, capture it, or capture part of it. The partial capture is how a damaged case becomes "keep some, release the rest," and the reason is stored for the renter to read.

If the return plus that one day is 6 days or more away, the security deposit is charged at booking and refunded, in full or in part, when you close the rental. The 6-day line is inside the usual 7-day online window and longer than Visa's 4-day-and-18-hour merchant-initiated window, so it is not a claim that every card will still be holding funds on day 6. A later return is charged because an authorization can expire before you are ready to capture it.

Checkout moves the security deposit only. The day rate is shown so the renter can see it. Collecting the day rate is between you and the renter. Cancel before the pickup date and the deposit is released. Cancel on the pickup date or later and you can keep it. If you cancel the rental, the deposit is refunded or the hold is released, including on or after the pickup date.

Security deposit: [amount]. Day rate: [amount], collected separately from this checkout. Cancel before the pickup date and the deposit is released. Cancel on the pickup date or later and the shop may keep the deposit. If the item comes back damaged or short, the shop may keep all or part of the deposit and will write the reason. If the shop cancels, the deposit is refunded or the card hold is released. When the return date plus one day is under 6 days away at booking, the deposit is a card authorization. Otherwise it is charged now and refunded when the rental is closed. A card statement may show an authorization and a charge the same way.

The federal fee rule does not list equipment rental

16 CFR Part 464 defines a covered good or service as live-event tickets, or short-term lodging such as a hotel, motel, inn, short-term rental, or vacation rental. The Federal Register notice says the rule is effective May 12, 2025. It requires a clear total price for those covered goods, and it prohibits misrepresenting a fee, including whether the fee is refundable. Equipment rental is not in the definition. This page does not treat the rule as an equipment-rental law. A shop that also offers short-term lodging should read the rule. Nothing here is a compliance opinion.

Questions

Sources

Stripe, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the Federal Register page were read on November 9, 2026. The journal articles are cited by their publication. Pages change. Recheck a live source before you rely on it.

• Stripe documentation: place a hold on a payment method
• 16 CFR Part 464, Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees
• Federal Register, Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (January 10, 2025)