Authorization Hold - Confusion in Online Banking

Confusion in Online Banking

When viewing an online banking website, authorization holds often appear in the "pending transactions" section of the balance sheet. As stated above, authorization holds only last for a fixed maximum period of time. So, if an individual made the $30 purchase listed above, and their bank only kept that authorization hold in place for 1 business day, then the individual would see the funds as a pending transaction for that first day. If the merchant failed to present the item for payment within that first day, the authorization hold would "fall off" and the funds would appear to be available again. If the merchant then presented the item for payment 2 days later, the $30 transaction would "reappear" and actually be debited from the account at that time. This can lead to an overdraft fee if the customer relies solely on the online (or ATM) balance and does not consider transactions for which the authorization hold has fallen off.

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