Authorization.

Approval is not payment. An approval tells you the account is open and the funds are available right now. The customer can still dispute the charge later, and if you never capture, the hold eventually drops off. Network rules still expect you to send a reversal (Visa asks for one within 24 hours of knowing the sale will not complete), and letting a hold lapse can cost a fee.

How long does a hold last? Card network rules set the window, and they differ by brand, by transaction type, and by merchant category. For online, customer-initiated purchases, the standard window is about 7 to 10 days depending on the brand and your processor's settings. Visa reset its framework in April 2024, setting 10 days for most card-not-present customer-initiated transactions and 5 days for merchant-initiated ones; Mastercard final authorizations run 7 days. Mastercard pre-authorizations last 30 days. American Express approvals last 7 days, and Discover's are commonly 7 to 10, depending on your processor. Many processors default to 7 days. Extended authorizations of up to 30 days exist for some merchant categories, mainly travel and rental, sometimes for an added fee. If your processor returns the date a hold expires, use it rather than hard-coding a number.