Placing a hold on a cardCharges API
The content of this section refers to a Legacy feature. Use the PaymentIntents API instead.
The Charges API doesn’t support the following features, many of which are required for credit card compliance:
- Merchants in India
- Bank requests for card authentication
- Strong Customer Authentication
Use the Charges API to authorize a payment now, capture funds later.
Stripe supports two-step card payments so you can first authorize a charge, then wait to settle (capture) it later. When a charge is authorized, the card issuer guarantees the funds and the amount held on the customer’s card for up to 7 days, or 2 days for in-person payments using Terminal.
If the charge isn’t captured within this time, the authorization is canceled and funds released.
Authorize a payment
To authorize a payment without capturing it, make a charge request that also includes the capture parameter with a value of false. This instructs Stripe to only authorize the amount on the customer’s card.
Only some payment methods support separate authorization and capture. For example, card payments, Afterpay, and Klarna support separating these steps. With payment methods that don’t support this functionality, like ACH or iDEAL, you can’t capture manually. Refer to the full list of payment methods that support manual capture.
If you need to cancel an authorization, you can release it by refunding the relevant Charge object.
Capture the funds
To settle an authorized charge, make a capture charge request. The total authorized amount is captured by default, and you cannot capture more than this. To capture less than the initial amount (for example, 8 USD of a 10 USD authorization), pass the amount parameter. Partially capturing a charge automatically releases the remaining amount.
Card statements from some issuers do not distinguish between authorizations and captured (settled) charges, which can sometimes lead to confusion for your customers. In addition, authorized charges can only be captured once. If you partially capture a charge, you cannot perform another capture for the difference. Depending on your requirements, you may be better served by saving customer’s card details for later and creating charges as needed.