I'm seeing a small amount in my pending transactions from a retailer I have just made a payment to. What is this transaction?

Some retailers earmark small amounts to check that your card is active and valid. This is known as a pre-authorised transaction.

Sometimes this happens even if you have not made a payment and have just registered a card for use with a service. For example, if you have set up a regular payment or added it to an digital wallet for a future payment.

The pre-authorised amount will display as a pending transaction for a few days or until it is reversed by the retailer.