Pending and Pre-Authorized Transactions

When you review cardholder transactions, you may notice that some transactions appear as “Pending” (you may also come across the term “Pre-Authorized,” which has the same meaning). This is common for recent transactions that are still being processed. 

In this article, you’ll learn about Pending transactions, how they affect the True Link Visa® Prepaid Card balance, among other important information. 

What is a Pending transaction?

Sometimes, a merchant will complete a purchase immediately after purchase is made. Other times, the merchant will take longer to complete the purchase. In cases where the merchant takes longer to complete or finalize a purchase, the purchase may show as “Pending” on the True Link dashboard until the transaction is finalized. 

This is common at restaurants, gas stations, hotels, and other merchants where the exact amount owed isn’t known at the time the merchant swipes the card.

For example, the restaurant may not finalize a purchase at the time the card is swiped. Instead, they may wait up to several days to update the purchase amount to reflect the total amount, including a tip. Until the charge is finalized, the True Link dashboard may show a “Pending” transaction for the amount of the bill. This number may or may not include the final amount. Once a purchase is completed, the “Pending” language will be removed, and the amount will be updated to reflect the total transaction amount.

Additional information about Pending transactions:

• Funds are removed from the available Card balance as soon as the transaction has been authorized, even if the transaction is listed as pending. The account balance listed in the upper right corner of the dashboard shows the current available balance. This figure is up-to-date and the amount is net of any authorizations to the card or transactions that may be pending. It shows the current balance that is available for the cardholder to use.
• Pending transactions cannot be blocked. If a transaction appears as Pending, the merchant has already received authorization from Visa to complete that transaction. This means that any updates to the Spending Monitor, such as a merchant block rule, will impact future purchases, but will not stop a pending transaction from completing.
• Pending transactions are typically completed within a few days. This timeline varies and depends on how the merchant works with Visa to process transactions. Some merchants, like hotels or car rental companies, may take up to 30 days to complete a Pending transaction.
• Pending amounts may change once the charge is completed. For example, restaurants will update the Pending charge amount to reflect the actual tip amount that was left. If the amount of a Pending charge appears incorrect, it’s best to wait until the charge is completed before contacting the merchant. If a purchase is completed for the incorrect amount, we recommend contacting the merchant directly or contacting True Link to file a dispute.