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After a payment is authorized, you decide what happens next. You can capture the funds, extend the authorization, void it, or let it expire. After capture, you can refund. This page covers each operation: when you can use it, and what the customer and your balance see at each step. This page covers online payments. In-person payments have their own terminal operations, documented separately.

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How payment status works

Every payment has a single status. The status shows the last completed operation. Operations still in progress don’t change it. A payment stays authorized while a capture is running and moves to captured only when the capture succeeds. failed, expired, and voided are final. A payment in a final state takes no more operations.

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When each operation is available

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Capture a payment

Capture claims the funds an authorization reserved. This is the step that charges the customer and starts money moving toward your account.

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Choose a capture mode

You set the capture mode when you create the payment:
  • Immediate. The payment is authorized and captured in one step. Use this when you deliver the goods or service at the moment of purchase.
  • Manual. The payment stops at authorized, and you capture when you’re ready. Use this when you don’t know at checkout when you’ll fulfill.

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Capture all of it or part of it

When you capture, you can claim:
  • The full authorized amount. The payment moves to captured.
  • Part of the amount. The payment moves to partially_captured. The rest stays reserved.
  • A final capture. Mark a capture as final when no more captures are coming. The remaining reserved amount is released.
You can capture a partially_captured payment again. Once the captured total reaches the authorized amount, the payment moves to captured.

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Void a payment

Void cancels an authorization before capture. This is your action, not the customer’s. A customer leaving checkout doesn’t void anything, and a void doesn’t mean the customer changed their mind. You’re telling the issuer to release a hold you asked for and never claimed. The reserved funds are released and the customer is never charged. The payment moves to voided, which is final. You can save a reason with the void for your own records. Use void when an order is cancelled before you fulfill it. No money moved, so there’s nothing to refund. The hold on the customer’s card is removed. Depending on their bank, the reserved amount can take a few business days to drop off their account view. Void and refund are different:

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Refund a payment

Refund returns captured funds to the customer. You can refund once a payment is captured. You can refund all of it or part of it, and you can refund again until the full captured amount is back with the customer. You can never refund more than you captured. A full refund moves the payment to refunded. A partial refund leaves it in captured, with less left to refund. The refund goes back to the customer through the card networks. On your side, the refunded amount comes out of your next settlement rather than as a separate transfer. A fully refunded payment takes no more captures.

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Handle authorization expiry

Every authorization has a time limit. If you don’t capture, extend, or void before it runs out, the authorization expires on its own. The payment moves to expired and the reserved funds go back to the customer. An expired payment is final. To charge the customer after expiry, create a new payment. To avoid expiring by accident:
  • Capture as soon as you’re ready to fulfill.
  • Void promptly when an order is cancelled, instead of letting the hold run out.
  • Extend the authorization when fulfillment is delayed.