> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.methodfi.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Preauth Signals

> Evaluate payment readiness before authorization and retry failed payments at the optimal time.

Evaluate payment readiness before authorization and optimize payment retries. After your customer has connected their credit cards, evaluate each card before attempting a payment. Method returns behavioral signals used to estimate payment readiness and recommends when to retry failed payments.

<Note>
  **Public preview.** Preauth Signals is in public preview. Contact your Method CSM to request access.
</Note>

## Prerequisites

Before using Preauth Signals, complete the [Getting Started](/guides/use-cases/commerce/getting-started) flow:

* Entity created
* Identity verified
* Credit cards connected

## Why Use It?

* **Reduce involuntary churn:** Identify the best time to retry failed payments.
* **Increase authorization rates:** Know a payment's likelihood of success before sending it to the network.

## How It Works

Before attempting a payment, create a Preauth Signals assessment for a connected credit card Account. Method scores the assessment synchronously so you can decide whether to authorize now or schedule the attempt for later.

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart TD
    A["Create Preauth Signals<br/>POST /accounts/{acc_id}/preauth"] --> B{Review assessment}
    B --> C[Authorize now]
    B --> D[Schedule for later]
    style C fill:#00B29D,color:#fff
```

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create Preauth Signals">
    Create a Preauth Signals assessment with `POST /accounts/{acc_id}/preauth`. Provide the ID of a connected credit card Account in the path and a `purchase` object with the transaction amount.

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts/acc_4m9amk4KFiaQX/preauth \
      -X POST \
      -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{
        "purchase": {
          "amount": 9999,
          "mcc": "4511",
          "txn_time": "2026-05-28T14:00:00Z"
        }
      }'
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review the assessment">
    The create request returns the assessment after processing finishes. Review its signals to determine whether to authorize the payment immediately or schedule it for later.

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "id": "preauth_qV7kRaFm4JNxw",
      "account_id": "acc_4m9amk4KFiaQX",
      "status": "completed",
      "verified_ownership": "match",
      "card_standing": "active",
      "success_likelihood": 0.82,
      "optimal_retry_date": "2026-05-28",
      "error": null,
      "metadata": null,
      "created_at": "2026-05-28T14:00:00.000Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-05-28T14:00:00.180Z"
    }
    ```

    | Field | Description |
    | - | - |
    | `success_likelihood` | Estimated likelihood that the payment will authorize. |
    | `optimal_retry_date` | Recommended date to attempt the payment. |

    Use `success_likelihood` to choose the best card for a payment, and `optimal_retry_date` to schedule the transaction. If Method does not have enough recent liability data to calculate a prediction, both fields are `null` and the completed assessment includes `error.sub_type: "PREAUTH_INSUFFICIENT_DATA"`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Retrieve the assessment later">
    Use `GET /accounts/{acc_id}/preauth/{preauth_id}` when you need to retrieve the persisted assessment again.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What's Next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Wallet Intelligence" icon="lightbulb" href="/guides/use-cases/commerce/wallet-intelligence">
    Retrieve wallet-level insights to personalize customer experiences.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Preauth Signals API Reference" icon="signal" href="/reference/preauth/overview">
    Full API documentation for Preauth Signals.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.