You may place a customer’s funds on Hold without actually transferring the funds. This is useful for merchants that may need to ship a product that is currently on back order. You can hold the funds, and once the order is ready for shipping, you may capture them. If the product is unable to be shipped, you can simply void the held transaction, releasing the held funds back to the customer for their use (while saving you the credit card processing fees).
An authorization or charge gives a merchant a 6 digit authorization / approval code. This code guarantees to the merchant that the funds will be available for a certain frame; thus the customer cannot make other purchases that deplete the merchant’s ability to collect on those funds allocated to the merchant.
The process of holding funds is the same as charging a card, but you must set the Action to Authorize (instead of Charge).
- Go to www.PayJunction.com.
- Click Login.
- Once you have logged in, click the big Process button on the left hand side of the page:
- Determine if you will be swiping the card or manually keying it in and if you will be using a smart terminal (you can only swipe the card if the customer is physically present and you have a USB Swiper or Smart terminal). Click Card or Smart Terminal accordingly.
- FOR REGULAR CARD TRANSACTIONS:
- Fill out the form following the on-screen instructions; you must fill out any field that has a star or a security shield next to it. If you like, the form can be customized to more specifically fit your business needs.
- Either Swipe the card or Manually enter the Card Number, Expiration Date.
- FOR SMART TERMINAL TRANSACTIONS:
- If you are using a Smart Terminal fill out the appropriate fields.
- Click Request Payment.
- Let the customer swipe their card.
- Set the Action to Authorize (“authorize” means the funds will be placed on hold).
- Enter the Amount of the transaction, the First Name, Address, Zip, along with any other required fields.
- Scroll to the bottom and click Process.
- You might receive an error if the card is declined, or if you did not fill out the form correctly. Correct any errors or obtain a different credit card from you customer if the transaction was declined. Click Process after resolving any errors on the form.
- Upon a successful transaction, you will see a hold in your recent transaction on the right side of the page with a blue dot.
PayJunction will automatically void any credit card & ACH transaction that has been on hold for over 6 days.
- Your transaction will not settle (and your funds will not be transferred) until you change the status to Capture.
- Funds may be held for 2 to 3 days for debit cards, and 1 to 7 days for credit cards; this time frame is entirely dependent on the customer’s credit card issuing bank.
- You may try and settle debit cards after the 3 day debit window (and 7 day credit window), but you run the risk of the transaction being rejected at settlement time (as your guarantee may have expired).
- ACH transactions may be placed on hold for up to 6 days, but please note that there is no guarantee of available funds with ACH transactions no matter how long an ACH transaction is on hold.
- PayJunction is not responsible for expired authorizations and approval codes.