Authorization Holds and Capture
Rasika Lakshan ·
Last updated:
This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Who this is for: Merchants who take deposits, ship later or run hotels, rentals and reservations, and shoppers who see a pending charge they want to understand.
In short: An authorization reserves an amount on a customer's card without moving the money; capture is the step that collects it. Stripe says you must capture before the authorization expires, or the funds are released and the payment is canceled. Stripe lists validity windows from 2 days to 7 days for cards depending on the network and whether the card is present. Visa tells merchants not to deposit a card-absent sale until goods have shipped.
Two steps sit behind most card payments: the issuer approves (authorizes) the amount, then the merchant collects (captures) it. Usually they happen together; sometimes they are separated on purpose. This guide uses Stripe’s documentation and Visa’s merchant guidelines, read on 2026-10-16. Rules differ by processor and card network, so ask yours. This is general information, not financial advice.
Authorization and capture
Stripe’s documentation says that when you create a payment, you can place a hold on an eligible payment method to reserve funds that you can capture later, sometimes called manual capture. Authorizing guarantees the amount by holding it on the customer’s payment method. Its example: hotels often authorize a payment in full before a guest arrives, then capture the money when the guest checks out.
Stripe says you need to capture the funds before the authorization expires. If it expires first, the funds are released and the payment status changes to canceled.
How long a hold lasts (Stripe’s table)
| Transaction | Visa | Mastercard | American Express | Discover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card not present, customer-initiated | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days |
| Card not present, merchant-initiated | 5 days | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days |
| Card present (in person) | 5 days | 2 days | 2 days | 2 days |
Stripe notes that the exact Visa window is 4 days and 18 hours, to allow time for clearing processes. It says extended authorizations are available for certain online and Terminal payments, that card networks may restrict $1 authorizations you do not intend to capture, and that other methods differ: PayPal holds the amount for 10 days and Stripe automatically attempts to extend the hold for another 10 days. Klarna requires capture by midnight on the 28th calendar day, Cash App Pay within 7 days. These are Stripe’s rules for its platform; other processors may differ.
Which payment methods can do it
Stripe says only some payment methods support separate authorization and capture. Methods that do include cards, Affirm, Afterpay, Cash App Pay, Klarna and PayPal. ACH and iDEAL do not. For ACH, see ACH payments for small business.
Why it matters for fees and refunds
Stripe’s refund documentation says you can cancel a payment before it is completed at no cost, whereas refunding after it succeeds might incur a fee, and that you can cancel in the Dashboard while a payment is uncaptured. For a business that can authorize first and capture when the order ships, an unshipped order can be canceled instead of refunded. See refunds, voids and chargebacks.
Why it matters for disputes
Visa’s guidelines advise merchants to authorize every mail order, telephone order, internet and recurring transaction regardless of amount, and not to deposit a card-absent transaction until the merchandise has shipped, since customers who see a charge before receiving the goods may dispute it. Visa’s dispute conditions for authorization (11.1 Card Recovery Bulletin, 11.2 Declined Authorization, 11.3 No Authorization/Late Presentment) arise when a merchant did not get a required authorization. See how a Visa card dispute works.
For shoppers
A pending charge on your statement can be a hold that has not yet been captured. If you do not recognize the merchant, use our charge lookup and the steps there.
What we did not verify
We did not verify other processors’ hold windows (Square, PayPal as a processor, Clover), how long a bank keeps a hold visible, or Mastercard’s rules on authorization. The tables above are Stripe’s, as published on 2026-10-16.
Frequently asked questions
What is an authorization hold?
Stripe's docs say authorizing a payment guarantees the amount by holding it on the customer's payment method, so funds are reserved and can be captured later. Hotels often authorize a payment in full before a guest arrives, then capture the money at check-out.
How long does a hold last?
Stripe lists, for card-not-present customer-initiated payments, 7 days for Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, and for card-present payments 5 days for Visa (4 days and 18 hours exactly) and 2 days for the other three networks. Merchant-initiated Visa card-not-present payments are 5 days. Other payment methods differ.
What happens if I do not capture in time?
Stripe says the funds are released and the payment status changes to canceled.
Can I split authorization and capture with ACH?
Stripe lists ACH and iDEAL as payment methods that do not support separate authorization and capture; cards, Affirm, Afterpay, Cash App Pay, Klarna and PayPal do.
Why do customers see pending charges?
A hold shows as a pending charge until it is captured or released. Visa notes that customers who see a charge before receiving goods may dispute it, so it advises not depositing a card-absent transaction until the merchandise has shipped.
Can I cancel instead of refunding?
Stripe says you can cancel a payment before it is completed at no cost, and that a Dashboard cancel works while the payment is uncaptured. See our guide to refunds, voids and chargebacks.
Keep reading
Sources
- Stripe Docs: Place a hold on a payment method (checked 2026-10-16)
- Stripe Docs: Refund and cancel payments (checked 2026-10-16)
- Visa: Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024) (checked 2026-10-16)