Skip to main content

Late Authorization: Understanding and Managing Payment Delays

Introduction​

In the fast-paced world of online transactions, timely and accurate payment processing is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. Sometimes, there can be delays in receiving transaction statuses from the host, which affects the ability to confirm the final status of a transaction. These delays can negatively impact both your customers' experience and your business operations.

Challenges Faced​

1. Customer Experience Degradation​

When a transaction status is not promptly confirmed, your customers may remain stuck on the payment page, unsure of whether their transaction has been successful. This uncertainty is particularly problematic in time-sensitive situations, such as:

  • Purchasing at airport duty-free shops where customers are pressed for time.
  • Booking online movie tickets where availability may change rapidly.

2. Double Charging Risk​

If a transaction is re-initiated due to the absence of a timely response and the original transaction also completes successfully, customers might end up being charged twice. This scenario leads to:

  • The need for you to process refunds, adding administrative overhead.
  • Customers waiting to receive their refunds, which can further affect their satisfaction and trust in your services.

3. Inventory and Resource Allocation​

Without timely transaction confirmations:

  • Valuable inventory may be held unnecessarily, preventing sales to other potential buyers.
  • You may face difficulties in confidently managing stock levels, especially for limited or fast-moving items.

Handling Late Auth transactions​

When a customer's payment lacks an immediate bank response, the transaction status is set as "Initiated". If there's no response within the set timeout, the status changes to "Failed" due to late authorization. Plural polls the bank at intervals from the payment creation day.

  1. If the bank sends failure, we update internal status to failed and stop polling.
  2. If the bank sends eventual success, the transaction remains in failed state while we refunded to the customer to ensure transaparancy.
  3. In case their is no respone or only initiated/pending response, we will continue polling until the terminal status is recieved.

By partnering with Plural, you can significantly mitigate the risks associated with late transaction authorizations. This ensures that both your operational efficiency and customer satisfaction remain high, even in scenarios where external payment processing delays occur. Plural's commitment to delivering timely transaction statuses helps you maintain a robust, reliable, and responsive business environment.

Setting up Late Auth​

Plural allows you set up a Late Auth timer based on your business needs. Reach out to pgsupport@pinelabs.com to set up late auth for your business.