SpectrumPayment Solutions
All terms
Payments & Settlement

Authorization Hold

The temporary reduction in a cardholder's available balance created by an authorization, before the charge is captured. Holds expire if not captured, which is why the timing between authorization and fulfillment matters.

Communicating clearly about holds — especially for deposits, pre-orders, or estimates — prevents confused customers from filing disputes.

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Related terms

Payments & Settlement

Authorization

The step where a customer's bank confirms a card is valid and has funds available, placing a hold on the amount. Authorization approves the sale but does not yet move money — that happens at capture and settlement.

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Payments & Settlement

Capture

The step that converts an approved authorization into an actual charge, flagging the transaction to be settled and funded. Capturing only when you can fulfill the order helps avoid disputes over charges that ship late or not at all.

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Payments & Settlement

Void

Canceling a transaction before it settles, releasing the authorization hold without a formal refund. Voiding a same-day error is cleaner than refunding after settlement, because no funds have moved yet.

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