Authorization & Capture

Authorization

When a shopper places an order, the transaction information is sent to the issuing bank for authorization. The issuing bank will decide whether to decline the authorization or accept the authorization.

If the bank declines to authorize the transaction, the shopper will not be able to complete the purchase and will be notified of the decline (see screenshot below). You can view all failed authorizations in the Bolt Merchant Dashboard

If the bank authorizes the transaction, the shopper’s funds will be put on hold until one of the following occurs:

• You capture the funds, (either manually or automatically) confirming your commitment to fulfill the order.
• Bolt’s fraud review process rejects the order.
• You manually void the authorization, canceling the order.
• You let the authorization window expire, automatically canceling the order.

Authorization Window

The Authorization Window is a period of time that a transaction can remain authorized without capture before Bolt automatically voids the authorization and funds are no longer guaranteed by the issuing bank. The Bolt authorization window is 7 days, and authorizations are voided after 7 days if not captured.

Merchants can still attempt to capture payment between 8 - 14 days after the original event, but the authorization may fail. If authorization fails (for example, if the card expires within the 7-day period), the transaction is voided.

Capture

Once a payment is authorized, the shopper’s funds are put on hold until the merchant confirms that the order will be fulfilled. The action of confirming that the order will be fulfilled is called Capture.

Upon capturing an order, funds from the transaction are moved from your unsettled balance to your settled balance and transferred to your bank during the next day’s payout schedule.You will hold a liability on your books until the order is shipped and received by the shopper.

Types of Capture

• Immediate Capture: Captures funds immediately upon order approval. This is recommended for merchants who have inventory immediately available to ship upon purchase.
• Delayed Capture: Captures funds either partially or in full at a later date upon explicit confirmation from the merchant. This confirmation can be manual or can be automated through a shopping cart integration. This is recommended for merchants whose inventory is not immediately available upon purchase, such as those who sell products that require customization. Delayed capture also supports multiple capture functionality, which splits the capture of funds across multiple capture events.