Q: My order was not approved. Why is the transaction "pending"?
A: The amount you're seeing is an Authorization Hold -- not an actual charge.
Orders that could not be approved never make it into our accounting system. That means you can rest assured that we could not possibly be holding your funds.
Your bank or credit card issuer fully controls the process that removes "pending holds" from customer accounts. They implement an automated system that removes the hold from your account in a time frame that varies, by bank.
You should definitely reach out to them directly with any questions about their process -- they should be happy to assist you.
What is an authorization hold?
As part of the order processing flow, eCommerce companies perform a test against the payment method to confirm that it is valid.
The test is actually an "Authorization Attempt" that allows your bank to reserve funds to ensure that the transaction can be funded, allowing the order to process. Authorization holds are temporary and only remain in effect until they expire, the card issuer removes the hold, or the authorization is settled (i.e. the purchase is completed.)
Once an item has been "shipped", the authorization hold is removed and the adjustment to your payment method is made.
Consider this: Depending on the number of transactions in motion, there may be multiple authorizations and/or charges on your account. There may also be any combination of the following:
- An authorization hold in the amount of the estimated order total
- Posted charge(s) for shipped item(s)
- New authorization holds for remaining items that haven’t shipped
Long story short...
Best bet is to follow up with your bank and ask them to remove any pending holds.