Authorization & Capture

Authorization and capture is a two-step process for completing credit card payments. The first step is authorization which makes sure the Customer has sufficient funds for the charge, but doesn't actually charge the card. The status of the transaction at this point is Authorized. The second step is to Capture some or all of the Authorized amount to finalize the sale. After a Capture, the transaction status moves from Authorized to Settled.

One example of when this might be used is if there is an eCommerce order where the merchant does not have the merchandise available to ship immediately, but will in a short amount of time, such as a pre-order. In this case, authorization is initiated at the time of the transaction. Once the goods are available to ship, the capture request is issued, and the credit card is charged.