Capture
The step that turns an authorization into an actual charge to be settled.
Capture tells the processor to collect the funds that authorization put on hold. Many businesses authorize at checkout and capture at fulfilment (shipping the goods). Uncaptured authorizations expire after a few days and release the hold.
How it works
Check your dashboard's default before anything else. Several platforms capture automatically at checkout unless you switch that off, so a shop that believes it captures at dispatch may in fact be charging customers at the basket. The other version of the same problem is capturing after the authorization has expired. Plenty of processors will still submit it, but the issuer no longer guarantees the funds, the transaction can downgrade into a more expensive interchange category, and you carry more chargeback risk.
Mechanically, capture is a second message to your processor quoting the original authorization code. It marks that transaction for your next batch. Money still has not moved at that point, because settlement is what moves it. Most processors let you capture less than you authorized, which is how out-of-stock lines and split shipments get handled, and some allow several partial captures against a single authorization.
Timing is the real decision capture forces on you. Card network rules expect physical goods to be billed when they are dispatched rather than when the order is placed, and capturing days early means a later cancellation has to be refunded rather than voided, which usually costs you the processing fee. Capturing at dispatch is the safer habit, but it starts the payout clock later. A business shipping on a five-day lead time waits five extra days for its money.
Worked example
A customer orders $240 of goods and one $60 item turns out to be out of stock. Capture $180 against the original authorization and the remaining $60 of the hold falls away. At a flat 2.9% + $0.30 that is $5.52 in fees. Capture the full $240 and refund the $60 afterwards and you would have paid $7.26, and most flat-rate processors keep that money, so the partial capture is worth $1.74.
Frequently asked questions
- How long do I have to capture a transaction?
- About seven days from authorization is the common answer, though the exact window depends on the card network and the card type as well as your processor. After that the hold lapses, and the right move is to re-authorize the card rather than push a late capture through. Businesses with long fulfilment times, made-to-order furniture for instance, often run a small authorization to confirm the card is live and charge in full at dispatch.
- Can I capture less than the amount I authorized?
- Partial capture is supported by nearly every modern processor and it is the correct way to handle a short shipment. You capture what you actually shipped, the balance of the hold is released, and percentage fees apply only to what you collected. Capturing more than once against a single authorization is the part that varies by provider, so confirm it before you build split shipments into your workflow.
- Is the money in my account once a transaction is captured?
- No. Capture only queues the transaction for your next batch, and the funds then clear through the card networks and reach your bank on your processor's payout schedule, commonly one to two business days later. A sale captured on Friday afternoon usually batches that evening and can land the following Tuesday. That is why capture dates and deposit dates so rarely line up on a statement.