A Guide To Pending Credit Card Charges (2024)

FAQs

How do pending credit card charges work? ›

A pending credit card transaction is a purchase or charge that hasn't been fully processed. This happens when the credit card issuer has confirmed that you have the available balance to pay for the purchase but has not fully processed it yet.

Pending transactions generally take between one and five business days to clear. That time can vary based on the type of transaction, the payment network, and the bank or credit card issuer.

A charge can be pending on your account for up to five days. There are several factors that affect how long a pending charge will appear on your credit card. These include when you made the transaction and how long it takes the merchant to process it. Card pre-authorizations may also show on your account for longer.

When a payment is marked as “pending” it means that the payment process still needs to be completed. In most cases, this simply means that you need to wait for this to happen.

There's no penalty for overpaying your credit card. If the negative balance isn't significant and you use the card regularly, you can just spend the statement credit on purchases. Once you've spent it, you'll be using your regular credit line again. Request a refund.

Either way, the word 'pending' shows that the payment is still being processed by the retailer and is waiting to leave your account. It means your bank has approved the payment, but the retailer needs to finish collecting it. Once that happens, the pending transaction becomes a completed transaction.

A pending purchase made with your bank account or credit card could be declined if your account doesn't have enough funds or the merchant won't accept payment from your bank.

Until it processes, a pending transaction could put a hold on an account balance or credit limit. That doesn't necessarily mean you can't use your credit card or bank account. But it can affect your available balance—or the funds you're able to access.

The pending transaction will no longer show in your account and your available balance will go back. For current accounts, it's a good idea to keep enough money in your account to cover the payment. That's because some can take up to 180 days to go through. So, the money could still be taken at a later date.

A pending transaction is a recent card transaction that has not yet been fully processed by the merchant. If the merchant doesn't take the funds from your account, in most cases it will drop back into the account after 7 days.

What happens if a charge is pending for too long? ›

If a transaction remains pending longer than normal, it may be from a technical issue or a delay from the merchant's end. Likewise, a quick phone call to the company may resolve it.

Generally speaking, credit card issuers don't have a time limit for charging a customer's credit card. The issuing banks, however, will often impose a limit on merchants for charging. These limits can range anywhere from three to 30 days.

Pending transactions are transactions that haven't been fully processed yet. For example, if you make a purchase with a debit card or credit card, it will almost always show as pending immediately when you view your account online or in a mobile banking app.

A pending credit card application just means the credit card issuer couldn't automatically approve you without taking a closer look at the details in your application.

Once a transaction appears as pending on your account, you're unable to stop or cancel the transaction until it's complete. The merchant then sends us their transaction file for settlement, and we send the merchant your transaction payment.

Does 'pending' mean the money has already been taken from your account? A pending transaction means it's authorised and being processed. While the amount charged is taken from your available funds, it won't be reflected in your account balance until processed.

Pending transactions may take some time to clear for several reasons, and the process involves coordination between multiple entities, including the merchant, credit card issuer, and payment processors. Communication between these parties can take time.

Pending Transactions are deducted from your available credit immediately, but are not included in your Account balance. The charge only becomes part of your Account balance once the merchant submits the transaction amount to us.