A pending transaction is a request by a merchant to authorize your purchase. This ensures your account is active and has sufficient funds. 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. A common example of this scenario is canceled and/or voided transactions. When this happens, your available balance is restored and your list of transactions will not include that specific transaction.
For details about how pending transactions may impact overdraft services, visit the Overdraft Services section of account disclosures.
How long does it take a pending transaction to post to my account?
It may take up to 5 days for a pending transaction to post. This is an example of how a pending debit card transaction works:
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Say you have an available balance of $1000, and you make a purchase for $500. The purchase amount is immediately deducted from your available balance and reflects as a pending transaction section of your online account (the amount you can spend).
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Once the final purchase amount is received from the merchant, the $500 is paid to the merchant’s bank.
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The purchase will reflect as posted generally within 5 days of the transaction occurring, and can be located under the transactions section of your online account.
Why is the pending amount different from what I paid?
While pending, the amount of the authorization may change. These are just a few times you may notice a discrepancy between a transaction that's pending versus what's posted.
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Restaurants: you may be charged for the base amount before your tip amount is added to this total
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Gas stations: a pay-at-the-pump service center charging a small authorization
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Travel: a hotel or car rental agency authorizing an estimated amount for incidentals
Keep track of your pending and posted amounts, so you can get in touch if something doesn't look right. If a pending transaction posts to your account incorrectly, you can contact the merchant to ask for clarification or a correction, or dispute the transaction.
