In the case of debit cards, authorization holds can fall off the account, thus rendering the balance available again, anywhere from one to eight business days after the transaction date, depending on the bank's policy.
Transactions may be withdrawn but in most cases, especially with smaller banks, will not show up as a deposit on your statement but will instead be directly added to your available balance automatically due to it only being a “temporary charge”.
The major consequence for the user is that they cannot access that part of their account until the authorization hold expires without being finalized or is settled and the banking system transfers the funds.
The actual balance will not be reduced until the merchant submits the batch of transactions, and the banking system transfers the funds.
At this step, the funds are "held" and deducted from the customer's credit limit (or available bank balance, in the case of a debit card), but are not yet transferred to the merchant.
The actual charge is not put through until the merchant submits their batch of transactions and the banking system transfers the funds.
On occasion, negligence or computer error may make a merchant attempt to authorize a card twice, creating a double hold on the cardholder's bank account.
Though the merchant will settle the transaction only once, the hold will temporarily lower the customer's available balance, potentially causing declines or, for a debit card, even overdrafts.
is litigation in the State of Florida that alleges that some gas stations do not adequately inform their customers that a certain fixed dollar amount (usually between $75 and $100) will be requested as a pre-authorization in connection with a customer's purchase of self-service gasoline at the pump using a debit card and that this practice violates various Florida consumer protection and civil laws.
[citation needed] Other businesses that may settle transactions for different amounts than those originally authorized include hotels and car rental agencies.
Some hotels and car rental agencies do not accept Visa or MasterCard-branded debit cards, as the authorization holds can expire before the transaction is settled.