> ## 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 the card, then retrieve the result to decide whether to authorize now or retry later.

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart TD
    A["Create Preauth Signals<br/>POST /preauth"] --> B["Retrieve Preauth Signals<br/>GET /preauth/{preauth_id}"]
    B --> C[Authorize now]
    B --> D[Retry later]
    style C fill:#00B29D,color:#fff
```

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create Preauth Signals">
    Create a Preauth Signals assessment with `POST /preauth`. Provide either an authenticated Method `account_id` or a `card` object to identify the payment method. You can also include `purchase` context, such as the transaction amount or merchant category code (MCC), to improve the assessment.

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

  <Step title="Retrieve Preauth Signals">
    Retrieve the completed assessment with `GET /preauth/{preauth_id}` to determine whether to authorize the payment immediately or retry later.

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl https://production.methodfi.com/preauth/preauth_qV7kRaFm4JNxw \
      -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc"
    ```

    ```json theme={null}
    {
      "id": "preauth_qV7kRaFm4JNxw",
      "account_id": "acc_4m9amk4KFiaQX",
      "status": "completed",
      "verified_ownership": "match",
      "card_standing": "open",
      "success_likelihood": 0.87,
      "optimal_retry_date": "2026-06-02",
      "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 retry date if the payment does not authorize. |

    Use `success_likelihood` to choose the best card for a payment, and `optimal_retry_date` to schedule retries for failed payments.
  </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>