When using a credit card to make an EA purchase--whether in Origin, in-game, or in an online store or marketplace--our payment systems run an online purchasing standard pre-authorization to make sure your card is valid.
A pre-authorization is a pending charge or hold on a payment account and is not a true charge. Pre-authorizations will usually only show up in your credit card's or banking statement's "pending charges."
- The pre-authorization's void, or "refund," can take up to 7 business days--or longer, depending on your bank--to appear on your credit card or bank statement.
- Once the pre-authorization is completed, the void may appear as a refund on your statements, or the pre-authorization may be deleted from your account entirely.
We try to make sure this pre-authorization is $0.00, though some consumer banks do not allow this In these cases, we'll run pre-authorization with the lowest amount possible--usually between $1 to $3 in local currency.
We only complete your purchase after our pre-authorization is accepted. If there are no further purchasing issues then the charge for your purchase will immediately follow.
- While we only complete purchases following successful pre-authorization charges, a successful pre-authorization does not guarantee your purchase will complete successfully.
- If a pre-authorization fails, is retracted, declined, or expires, it is then voided and refunded back to your credit card, including service fees.
Source: http://help.ea.com/en/article/payment-pre-authorization-fee-on-credit-card-purchases/
