How long can you have a pending charge?
Asked by: Jerald Lynch V | Last update: January 13, 2026Score: 5/5 (33 votes)
A charge can be pending on your account for up to five days. There are several factors that affect how long a pending charge will appear on your credit card. These include when you made the transaction and how long it takes the merchant to process it. Card pre-authorizations may also show on your account for longer.
How long can a charge stay pending?
Pending charges on credit cards are temporary holds to ensure payment for potential damages or incidental expenses. Pending charges typically take up to three days to clear with the merchant, but can take longer. Issues with pending charges should be resolved with the merchant, not the card issuer.
What's the longest a transaction can be pending?
The duration varies. It can range from a few hours to several days or more, depending on factors such as the merchant's processing time, weekends, holidays, and the policies of your bank or credit card issuer.
What is the maximum time for a pending transaction?
A pending transaction is a recent authorised card transaction that is waiting to be processed by the merchant and can take up to 28 days but normally takes 2/3 days to clear onto your balance. Once a pending transaction has cleared, it will appear below in your list of cleared transactions.
How long does a company have to take a pending payment?
Pending transactions are payments that would normally go into or out of your account within 7 days. When you use a debit card to pay for something, it reduces the available balance in your current account.
Can I Travel To The United States With A Pending Charge?
How long can a company hold a pending transaction?
Generally, pending transactions clear within one to five business days, but the exact timing depends on the type of transaction, the payment network, and the bank or credit card issuer.
How long does a merchant have to take a payment?
Generally speaking, credit card issuers don't have a time limit for charging a customer's credit card. The issuing banks, however, will often impose a limit on merchants for charging. These limits can range anywhere from three to 30 days.
How long does a pending payment take to expire?
How long will a transaction remain in pending? Generally it takes about 3 to 5 business days to process a transaction, although it can take up to 10 business days or longer.
Can a pending charge be cancelled?
Yes. To cancel a pending credit card transaction before it's complete, start by calling the merchant directly. Ask the merchant or retailer to reverse the charge, cancel the sale or release the hold for the confirmed amount. The sooner you contact the merchant, the more likely the pending transaction can be canceled.
What happens if a pending transaction never goes through?
What happens if a pending transaction doesn't go through? Your bank may remove a pending transaction from your account summary if it hasn't cleared after a certain time. In this case, it'll no longer appear in your list of pending payments and shouldn't affect your available balance.
Why is my payment stuck in pending?
When a payment is marked as “pending” it means that the payment process still needs to be completed. In most cases, this simply means that you need to wait for this to happen. In some cases, however, the merchant may need to take action.
Can you dispute a pending charge?
Only posted transactions can be disputed (pending charges are temporary and may change). If you have any immediate concerns about a pending charge, contact the merchant directly. The merchant's contact information is typically found on your receipt or billing statement.
How long should something be pending?
How long do pending transactions take? Generally, it takes up to five business days for transactions to post. But in some cases, it can take up to 14 days. However, that time frame can depend on the payment network, bank or credit card issuer—and the type of transaction.
How long can you be held on pending charges?
Most states allow prosecutors up to 72 hours after an arrest to file charges, although some states, like California, allow only 48 hours. If the prosecutor fails to bring charges within this time limit, the court has to release you.
Can a pending charge be declined?
A pending credit card purchase might be declined if another merchant has placed a hold on your credit card. A pending purchase made with your bank account or credit card could be declined if your account doesn't have enough funds or the merchant won't accept payment from your bank.
Why is a pending transaction taking so long?
Usually, your credit card issuer will verify that you have sufficient funds, and then clear the transaction within 48 hours. Merchant holds: Merchants like hotels and gas stations use authorization holds to verify the card and reserve funds for potential additional charges, causing transactions to show as pending.
How do I reverse a pending charge?
So, the seller who issued the charge can call off the pending transaction by submitting a stop payment request to your card issuer. Another reason to contact the merchant is that you can only take back a pending transaction once it has been posted. It's best to do this as soon as possible—within one or two days.
How long until a pending charge falls off?
A charge can be pending on your account for up to five days. There are several factors that affect how long a pending charge will appear on your credit card. These include when you made the transaction and how long it takes the merchant to process it. Card pre-authorizations may also show on your account for longer.
Can a pending charge disappear?
Pending transactions affect your available balance and can remain on your account for up to 5 days. When the final purchase is received from the merchant, the transaction moves from pending to posted. Sometimes, a pending transaction will never post.
Do pending transactions ever go away?
If the merchant agrees to cancel the charge, the pending transaction should eventually disappear from your account without posting. However, if the transaction posts before the cancellation is processed, you may need to file a dispute with your bank or credit card company to reverse the charge.
Can a pending payment be stopped?
You can stop a pending debit card transaction by contacting the merchant and canceling the purchase. Or you can try contacting your bank if you don't recognize the transaction, you suspect fraud is involved, or the merchant is unresponsive.
Does "pending" mean paid?
Essentially, pending transactions mean the money has been committed to a specific purchase, but it's still moving between accounts. Your account balance may or may not reflect the money spent in a pending transaction. You are still able to use your card normally while these payments process.
How long can a payment be pending?
A pending transaction is a recent card transaction that has not yet been fully processed by the merchant. If the merchant doesn't take the funds from your account, in most cases it will drop back into the account after 7 days.
What can I do if a merchant refuses to refund?
What happens if a retailer refuses a refund? The customer can file a dispute with the issuing bank if they have a legitimate reason to claim a refund and a retailer refuses to issue it.
What happens if a merchant does not take a pending transaction?
If the money isn't collected within a certain time, the transaction status will change to 'Reverted' and the money will be returned to your account. If a merchant cancels the payment, the transaction will remain pending for a few days. Then the money will be returned to your account once processed.