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An approved authorization is a reservation of funds, not a collected payment. Until you capture it, the money has not moved to you, and if you do nothing the authorization can expire or be released. Every authorized payment you are holding needs one of two explicit decisions: capture it when the obligation is ready, or cancel or reverse it when collection should not happen. Then you confirm the processor’s final result rather than assuming it.
This guide covers how to find uncaptured payments, how to decide between capture and cancellation, and how to check the outcome. It uses Stripe PaymentIntents and Adyen manual capture as the main examples. Timing rules differ by processor, payment method, card network and merchant setup, so treat every duration below as scoped to its source.
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Authorization is a hold, not a payment
An authorization asks the card issuer or payment method to confirm that funds are available and to set them aside. Capture is the later request that actually collects some or all of that amount. A payment can therefore look successful in a checkout flow while no money has been collected. Adyen’s payments lifecycle documentation describes this as a status in which funds are reserved and an authorization can expire if it is never captured or cancelled.
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How long an authorization lasts: there is no universal deadline
Merchants often ask how long a hold lasts, and the honest answer is that it depends on the processor, the payment method, the card network and the type of transaction. The figures below are not interchangeable.
| Source | Context the figure applies to | Stated period |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe, PaymentIntent capture API reference (accessed 2026) | PaymentIntents left in requires_capture and not captured |
Cancelled after a configured period, seven days by default |
| Adyen, authorisation holds documentation (accessed 2026), Visa examples | Authorizations on Adyen-issued cards in common cases | Seven days in common cases; 31 days for listed cruise, lodging or vehicle-rental cases; three days for certain US commuter transport |
| Adyen, authorisation holds documentation (accessed 2026), Mastercard examples | Mastercard pre-authorizations and final or default authorizations | Pre-authorizations 30 days; final or default authorizations seven days |
| Adyen, payments lifecycle documentation (accessed 2026) | General statement about card authorization validity | Usually 28 days, with specific scheme periods noted separately |
The Adyen figures describe distinct contexts. The 28-day statement in the lifecycle guide and the seven-day default in the issuing examples are not conflicting rules; they describe different scopes. Check the transaction-level rules your provider gives for your own payment type before setting an internal deadline.
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An expiry date also does not guarantee immunity from a later debit. Adyen’s authorisation holds documentation notes that an issuer may still process a capture request after the hold has expired. A stale authorization is therefore a reconciliation risk: it can be captured later, or be left in a state your books do not reflect.
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Step 1: Find every outstanding authorization
- Query your own payment records for any payment in an authorized, awaiting-capture or
requires_capturestate. Your database should be the system of record for what you are holding. - Check the processor view. In the Stripe Dashboard, open the Payments page and filter for
uncaptured, as Stripe’s support documentation describes. In Adyen, review the payments awaiting capture in your account or reporting for manual-capture payments. - Reconcile the two lists. Investigate any payment that appears in one place but not the other, including authorizations you believe were cancelled and payments whose capture your system never recorded.
- Record the age of each authorization from its authorization timestamp, and mark which ones are close to the processor’s cancellation or expiry period for that payment type.
Step 2: Confirm the underlying obligation is ready
Capture should follow the event that justifies the charge. Before you capture, confirm the shipment has left, the service has been completed, the final amount is known, and any authorization adjustment has been made. Adyen’s point-of-sale guidance says to complete any needed authorization adjustment before capture, because capturing first can lock in an amount you later need to change.
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Adyen’s lifecycle documentation makes the same operational point more directly: wait for the payment to be captured before delivering goods or services. Attribute that recommendation to Adyen’s documentation.
Step 3: Capture the amount due
Stripe PaymentIntents
A PaymentIntent in requires_capture can be captured through the PaymentIntent capture call. The amount cannot exceed the original authorized amount. If you omit it, Stripe captures the full capturable amount. Where your integration supports partial capture or multiple captures, the relevant parameter in the capture request controls that behaviour, so check the API reference for your API version before relying on it.
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Adyen manual capture
With manual capture, the authorization does not collect funds on its own. You send a separate capture request after authorization. Adyen’s capture documentation covers manual, delayed automatic and automatic capture as distinct modes, so confirm which mode your payment method uses before assuming a payment is waiting for you.
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Capture can be asynchronous. A request that the processor accepts is not the same as a successful collection. Adyen’s capture documentation describes CAPTURE and CAPTURE_FAILED notifications, and a request can be accepted, passed onward and still be rejected later.
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- Subscribe to processor webhooks or notifications for capture outcomes before you go live.
- Treat a payment as collected only when the final status or the success event confirms it.
- Record failure reasons in your system and route them to a person or a retry rule.
- Do not mark an order as paid, or release goods, on the strength of an accepted request alone.
Step 5: Cancel when collection should not happen
If the payment should not be collected, cancel or reverse the uncaptured authorization in the processor. This is not a refund. Cancellation or reversal before capture releases the reserved funds without moving money. A refund is the separate action you take after a capture has settled.
- Stripe: cancel the PaymentIntent while it is in
requires_capture. Stripe documents that this releases the remaining capturable amount. - Adyen: cancel the authorization through the cancellation request. Adyen describes the outcome as asynchronous, so watch for the cancellation webhook before treating the hold as released.
Cancel promptly. Every day an unwanted hold remains is a day the customer’s available balance may be reduced and a day an erroneous capture remains possible.
Step 6: Handle expired or failed authorizations
If an authorization has expired or a capture has failed, check the processor’s exact error code and policy before acting. Do not assume the old authorization can still be captured. In most cases the right move is a new payment request, made with the customer’s agreement where required, and a note in your records explaining why the original hold was not used.
If the processor reports that a capture was attempted after expiry, do not dismiss it as noise. Reconcile it against the order, decide whether the goods or service were delivered, and contact the customer and the processor through your normal dispute and support channels.
Quick Recap
Decision guide: capture, cancel or investigate
| Situation | Action | Confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Goods shipped or service completed; final amount known | Capture the amount due, not more than the authorized amount | Capture success status or webhook |
| Order cancelled before fulfilment | Cancel or reverse the uncaptured authorization | Cancellation or release event |
| Final amount lower than authorized | Capture the lower amount, or adjust first where the processor requires it | Captured amount on the payment record |
| Authorization expired | Do not capture; check the error and request a new payment if appropriate | New payment result |
| Capture accepted but no final event | Hold the order in pending state and investigate | CAPTURE or equivalent final event |
| Capture failed | Record the reason, retry only if the processor policy allows, or cancel | CAPTURE_FAILED reason or final status |
Checklist to prevent stale authorizations
- Each authorized payment has a named owner and a scheduled decision date.
- Your fulfilment process triggers capture or cancellation, not a manual memory.
- Capture and cancellation webhooks are configured and tested in the processor’s test mode before launch.
- A daily or weekly report lists payments in an uncaptured state, grouped by age.
- Your payment-state database and the processor’s status are reconciled on a fixed schedule.
- Refund handling is separate from authorization handling in your code and your support scripts.
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