Hello wizarts
The amount will only be debited by the card issuer and transferred to the merchant if they have generated a booking code (clearing or settlement code). However, if your card issuer has generated only an authorisation code, see my first answer:
Nicole_B Please note that some card issuers will pre-authorise each time a payment is attempted, even if the purchase has been cancelled. This pre-authorisation will appear in your online account as a charge. However, the amount is only reserved by the card issuer and is not actually transferred to the companies. How long the pre-authorisation remains on your account varies and depends on the card issuer’s procedure. Most card issuers release the reserved amount within a few working days if the purchase is cancelled.
Authorisation code (reservation)
Merchants such as SBB send automatically an authorisation cancellation (void) via a payment service provider to the acquirer if the purchase process cannot be completed. The subsequent process between the acquirer, the credit card network and the issuer is beyond the merchants’ control.
What should happen in an ideal process:
- Acquirer sends the void to Visa / Mastercard.
- Visa / Mastercard forwards the void to the card issuer.
- Your bank recognises the cancellation and approves the reservation immediately.
What the process often looks like in reality:
Even the merchant has cancelled the authorisation, it depends on the payment network (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) and your bank when this reservation will be cancelled. Reasons for the delay:
- Technical delays: Communication between acquirer, payment network (Visa / Mastercard) and your bank is not always in real time.
- Lack of automatic approval: Not all banks recognise that the authorisation has been cancelled. Many wait for the authorisation to expire automatically (usually 5-14 days). The maximum period of validity of an authorisation is 30 days. If your bank decides for the maximum period of validity of 30 days in its internal practice, this procedure must be complained to your bank or a change of bank with another internal process must be considered. Merchants have no influence on these internal processes.
Conclusion on the authorisation code:
Your money is not gone, but ‘reserved’ by your bank. Although the merchant cancelled immediately, the approval of your bank or payment service provider sometimes takes several days – depending on their internal processes.
- Here is a visual representation of how the interaction of the various players generally works when making online payments (regardless of whether the merchant is SBB, Coop, Migros, Galaxus, Zalando, etc.).
Booking code (clearing or settlement code)
- If the card issuer has generated a booking code (clearing or settlement code), the amount has been debited and sent to the merchant.
- If you still see an amount of a cancelled purchase on your monthly statement, you can claim this amount from your invoice issuer (bank). Contact details can usually be found on your monthly statement.
Kind regards,
Nicole
