When to use this article?
- Channel: In-person payments (PAX, Tap, Tap-to-pay)
- Payment method: Cards (debit and credit)
- The transaction status in your Mollie Dashboard is marked as Failed, Cancelled, or Expired.
- A customer explicitly states they see a deduction, a charge, or a line item for that specific transaction on their banking app, credit card statement, or online account.
It can be confusing and alarming when a customer contacts you claiming they were charged for a transaction that is marked as failed, cancelled, or expired in your system.
The short answer is: your customer has not actually been charged. What they are seeing is a temporary hold on their funds, which will automatically disappear.
This article explains why this happens so you can easily guide customers through it.
Why this happens: The two-step payment process
When a customer uses their debit or credit card to make a payment on your terminal, the payment system splits the transaction into two distinct phases: Authentication and Authorization.
- Authentication ("Is it really you?"): the customer passes the authentication physically. Tapping their card, inserting it and typing their PIN, or using Apple Pay/Google Pay proves to the terminal that they are the rightful owner of that card.
- Authorization ("Do you have the funds?"): Once identity is proven, the request moves to the customer's bank (the issuer) to check account status and see if they are allowed to complete the purchase.
The stuck hold
The moment a customer successfully passes the authentication stage, their bank might temporarily set that money aside so they do not spend it elsewhere.
If the transaction subsequently fails, expires, or is cancelled during the authorization stage (due to insufficient funds, a sudden fraud risk trigger, or a technical glitch), your system will correctly show the transaction as failed. However, the customer's banking system may take a little time to catch up and release that temporary hold.
Key facts for your customers
- The transaction is pending, not finalized: If the customer looks at the transaction details in their banking environment, the transaction should almost always say "Pending" rather than "Posted" or "Cleared".
- The money never left: This money has not actually been sent to your business.
- You cannot issue a refund: Because the transaction was never authorized, your system never received the money. You cannot refund a transaction that was never completed.
- Wait a few days: The pending hold should automatically be released or refunded to their account. This usually takes 1 to 5 business days, depending entirely on your bank's policies.
- Contact your bank: If the hold does not disappear after a week, your customer should contact their card issuer directly.