When you make a purchase with your credit card, the transaction typically won't appear on your account statement right away. Instead, it will usually show up at the top of your online transaction history as a pending transaction. Pending transactions are temporary and a normal part of making purchases with a credit card. These charges will eventually resolve on your statement once they have been fully processed by the merchant and your credit card issuer.
Here’s what you need to know about how long pending transactions on a credit card take, how they are processed and what to do if you encounter a problem.
While a charge is listed as pending, it’s not yet added to your account balance. However, the amount is subtracted — at least temporarily — from your credit limit, the amount of credit you have available on the card.
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A pending transaction is a purchase or pre-authorization that has been approved by your credit card company but still needs to be processed by the merchant. Essentially, it means that the merchant has checked in with your credit card issuer to confirmthat you have enough available credit on your account to be charged.
Though the pending amount may be deducted from your available credit limit, this is not a final charge, so pending transactions don’t accrue interest, and they aren’t included in your credit card’s current balance until they are finalized.
» MORE: Statement balance versus current balance: what’s the difference?
How long do pending credit card transactions take to clear?
The short answer here is, it depends. The vast majority of credit card transactions are finalized within five days. However, there are two parties involved in any pending transaction — the merchant and the credit card issuer. Processing time on each side of that transaction will impact the total time that the pending transaction on a credit card takes to clear.
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Since pending transactions are not finalized purchases, any charges listed as pending on your statement closing date won’t be included in your statement balance. Instead, those charges will roll over to your next statement once they are finalized.
On the issuer side of the transaction, each credit card company has its own timeline for how long pending transactions take to finalize on your account. Here’s a quick look at the typical timelines given by each major credit card issuer:
Capital One: Up to 3 days after approval by merchant.
Chase: 3 days after approval by merchant.
Citi: 3-5 business days.
Discover: Up to 5 calendar days.
Wells Fargo: 2-3 days.
Note that issuers can only speak to the side of the transaction that they control, so there are infrequent instances where a delay in approval on the merchant side of the transaction could extend this timeline.
» LEARN:How long should I keep credit card statements?
What’s the difference between a pending transaction and a hold?
Although most pending transactions are resolved within five business days, credit card holds are an exception. Sometimes called pre-authorizations, credit card holds allow merchants to reserve a certain amount of funds on your credit card in advance of a large purchase. These holds are often used by hotels, rental car companies and other merchants that need to make sure funds are available before providing a large product or service to a customer.
Unlike typical pending transactions, credit card holds can last for a longer period of time, depending on the merchant and the type of purchase. For example, if you rent a car for seven days, the rental car company may place a hold on your card for the entire length of your rental, plus an additional day or two.
How to resolve an issue with a pending transaction
If you suspect a problem with a pending transaction on your credit card, your first course of action should be to contact the merchant directly. They may be able to cancel or refund the transaction, or answer any questions you may have about the charge.
If the merchant is unresponsive or doesn’t resolve the issue to your satisfaction, you may then file a dispute with your credit card issuer. However, keep in mind that you have 60 days to dispute any transaction on your credit card, so don’t panic if you’re not able to fully resolve the issue while the transaction is still pending.
» MORE: How to cancel a pending credit card transaction
Pending charges are often confusing to consumers because of the processing delays. Some pending transactions take up to 10 days to approve, but most pending charges are processed within five day. It depends on the merchant and credit card companies involved.
Pending transactions are payments that would normally go into or out of your account within 7 days. When you use a debit card to pay for something, it reduces the available balance in your current account.
How long will a transaction remain in pending? Generally it takes about 3 to 5 business days to process a transaction, although it can take up to 10 business days or longer. While a transaction is pending, the amount is deducted from your available funds, not your account balance.
A pending transaction is a purchase or pre-authorization that has been approved by your credit card company but still needs to be processed by the merchant. Essentially, it means that the merchant has checked in with your credit card issuer to confirm that you have enough available credit on your account to be charged.
Pending transactions take time because they go through an authorization process to confirm available funds and involve communication between the merchant, credit card issuer, and payment processors.
Banks typically take a few business days to resolve pending transactions and post them to the account. Pending transactions affect the account balance as the purchase amount is deducted immediately, and incoming credits are added with an anticipated release date.
Pending transactions don't always affect your balance right away. Sometimes they change in amount. Sometimes they even disappear altogether. When you make a purchase, sometimes it'll show up as pending for a few minutes, hours, or even days.
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.
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.
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 pending transaction is a transaction that has been authorized but not yet posted to your account. This means the money you've spent is no longer available to you, but is not yet reflected in your current balance. Most transactions can take up to 5 days to post. I don't recognize one of my “pending transactions”.
They batch payments together and send them for processing all at the same time. This can happen as quickly as twice a day, or as rarely as twice a week. There's another reason for the delay: fraud detection. After the initial verification at checkout, the card issuers can take a day or two to investigate purchases.
Most transactions post at the end of each business day but posting order and times can vary. Business days for banks are generally Monday - Friday from 9am to 5pm, excluding federal holidays. Transactions received outside of these hours, including on weekends, are usually posted on the next business day.
There's no need to worry. It's simply a recent payment that you've made with a debit card or a credit card. You may have bought something in a shop or online. Either way, the word 'pending' shows that the payment is still being processed by the retailer and is waiting to leave your account.
Usually, a pending charge will show on your account until the transaction is processed and the funds are transferred to the merchant. This could typically take up to three days but may stretch longer depending on the merchant and the type of transaction.
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.
How long does a credit card refund take? A credit card refund can take between five and 14 business days to appear on your card statement or balance. This is because the transaction goes through a credit card processing service and must be completed before your issuer can credit your account for the purchase.
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