Double or pending charges on bank or credit card accounts

Identify why double or pending charges may appear on your bank or credit card account when using QuickBooks Payments.

Overview

Double or pending charges often result from the standard banking process rather than an actual duplicate charge. When you pay merchants, card processors validate funds before clearing the payment. This validation process can temporarily display transactions as double or pending.

Note: If you use a credit card to pay, there are fees, requirements, and terms to consider.

Payment processing stages

Understanding the payment lifecycle helps explain why charges may appear as pending or duplicate.

Authorization hold

This is the bank's process of holding funds until the merchant clears the transaction or the hold "falls off." This step verifies the account is correct and the payment method is valid. Once the hold is released, the balance becomes available again.

• Debit cards: Holds can "fall off" 1 to 5 days after the transaction date, depending on the bank's policy.
• Credit cards: Holds can take as long as 30 days, depending on the issuing bank and credit limit availability.

Settlement

Settlement occurs when merchants finalize or clear transactions and send them in a batch to the bank at the end of the day. Banks reserve the customer’s funds without sending them to merchants yet.

The actual balance is not reduced until the merchants submit the batch of transactions and the bank transfers the funds.

Funding

Banks transfer the available funds, which show as pending until they clear. Depending on the bank, funds may take up to 3 business days to appear in the merchant's account.

• Find out when QuickBooks Payments deposits customer payments.