Authorization Hold

An authorization hold reserves money on a customer's card without actually taking it. The issuer sets the amount aside — reducing the card's available credit — but no funds move until the merchant captures the payment or the hold expires.

How it works

A card payment has two steps. First, authorization confirms the card is valid and the funds are available, placing a hold. Then capture actually collects the money. Between those steps, the amount sits as a hold: the customer may see a pending charge on their statement, but the merchant hasn't been paid and can't spend the funds.

If the merchant never captures, the hold is released and the issuer removes it — typically within a few business days, though the exact timing is set by the issuing bank, not the merchant.

Where it's used

Authorization holds are common when the final amount isn't known at purchase time:

• Hotels and car rentals placing a hold for incidentals.
• Gas stations holding an estimate before the pump total is known.
• Marketplaces verifying a card before fulfilling an order.

Holds vs. charges

A hold is not a completed charge. Only a captured payment settles into your balance. Uncaptured holds are why a customer's statement can show a pending amount that later vanishes — the funds were reserved and then released, never collected. In Stripe, this maps to a PaymentIntent authorized with capture_method: manual and captured later.