Payment authorization and capture
When payment is captured, your customer is charged. By default, credit card payments and some additional methods of payment are captured automatically, but if it suits your business better, then you can change your store setting to capture payments manually.
In thecredit card payment process, payments are authorized and then they must be captured within anauthorization period. Capturing a payment sends credit card information to the customer’s bank for processing.
Additional payment methodsare processed differently than credit cards, but many providers support manual, as well as automatic, payment capture. If your store is set up to capture payments manually, but you add an additional payment provider that doesn't support manual payments, then payments will be captured automatically, not manually, on orders processed by that provider.
If you use Shopify Payments, another credit card payment provider, or providers for additional payment methods, then you need to decide how to capture payment from your customers. Payments can be captured in the following ways:
- Automatically at checkout: payment is captured at the time of sale or, in the case of additional payment methods, when the provider completes payment processing. Automatic payment capture at checkout is the default setting. This option saves you time when processing orders and is used by most merchants.
- Automatically when order is fulfilled: the payment status isAuthorizedat checkout and is automatically captured when the entire order is fulfilled before the payment authorization period expires. If you need to capture payment before the authorization expires or at an earlier time, then you cancapture the payment manually.
- Manually: when an order's payment status isAuthorized, you need tocapture paymentbefore you are paid for the order. Credit card payments must be captured within the authorization period. Capturing payment manually adds a delay and an extra step to your order processing workflow. You might set up manual payment for the following reasons:
- Reviewing thefraud analysisof an order before deciding to capture the transaction or cancel the order.
- Complying with an accounting standard that requires capturing payment upon fulfillment.
- Complying with a local regulation that prescribes online merchants must offer at least one payment method that allows your customer to pay for the order upon delivery.
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What is a credit card authorization period?
All credit card payment providers have an authorization period to allow a charge to be made to a customer's credit card. Theauthorization processfirst checks that the credit card is valid, and then that the card has enough funds on it for the transaction.
The authorization period will end after a certain amount of time. The length of the authorization period depends on your credit card payment provider. You need to capture a payment within the authorization period to collect money for your order.
Shopify Payments provides an authorization period of 7 days.
Extended authorization periods
Merchants that use the Shopify Plus plan have extended authorization periods when certain credit cards are used at checkout.
Extended authorization periods differ, depending on the issuing bank of a credit card. Some cards might not support extended authorization periods, so you should monitor yourOrderspage for expiring authorizations.
Starting October 21, 2020, if you manually capture a payment after the standard seven day period, then a 1.75% charge will apply to the transaction in addition tostandard credit card fees.
| Card type | Authorization period |
|---|---|
| Visa | Up to 30 days |
| Mastercard | Up to 30 days |
| Discover | Up to 10 days |
| JCB | Up to 10 days |
| American Express | Up to 30 days |
| Diners Club | 7 days |
| China Union Pay | 7 days |
If you have a payment that wasn't captured within seven days and you don't want to incur this fee, then cancel the order andcreate a new one. The authorization expiry date is displayed on theOrderspage.
Set up automatic payment capture at checkout
Automatic payment capture at checkout is activated by default for new stores. If you are capturing payment manually but want to change the setting for your store, then you can activate automatic payment capture.
When automatic payment capture at checkout is activated, customers that pay with credit cards are automatically charged at the time of sale, and customers that pay with some additional payment methods are charged when the provider completes processing.
Steps:
Set up automatic payment capture at fulfillment
When automatic payment capture at fulfillment is activated, the payment for the order isAuthorizedat checkout. Payment is captured automatically when the entire order is fulfilled within theauthorization period. Automatic capture at fulfillment only applies to orders placed after the feature is activated. Any orders that are already in progress won't have automatic capture at fulfillment. If you need to capture payment before the authorization expires or at an earlier time, then you cancapture the payment manually.
Steps:
Set up manual payment capture
When manual payment capture is activated, customers that pay for orders in your online store with credit cards and some additional payment methods aren't automatically charged at the time of sale. To get paid, you need tocapture payment manuallywithin the authorization period.
Activate manual payment capture if it suits your business better than automatic payment capture.