Authorize now and capture later in Shopify
By default, credit card payments are captured automatically at checkout: the customer is charged at the time of sale. If you would rather review an order before the money moves, for example when fraud is a worry, you can capture payments manually instead. The payment is authorized at checkout, which holds the funds, and you capture it when you are ready, inside the authorization period.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 5 minutes read
The worked example
| Order | $187.50, authorization at checkout |
| Authorization period, Shopify Payments | 7 days |
| Captured | Day 3, full amount |
| Late capture charge | 1.75% if captured after day 7 |
| Late charge on $187.50 | $3.28 |
| Setting | Settings > Payments > Payment capture method > Manually |
Download the record: payment-capture-log.csv (123 bytes).
A capture log for the orders in this tutorial, with the day each payment was captured and any late capture charge. The late charge column sums to $3.28.
1Open Payments settings
From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.
2Find the payment capture method
In the payment capture section, look at how payments are currently captured. Automatically at checkout is the default setting, which charges the customer at the time of sale.
3Switch to manual capture
Change the payment capture method to Manually. When manual payment capture is activated, customers that pay for orders in your online store with credit cards and some additional payment methods are not automatically charged at the time of sale. To get paid, you need to capture payment manually within the authorization period.
4Turn on the expiry warning
To have a message about the expiration of payment authorization sent to your Shopify account email address, select Send a warning 1 day before an authorization expires. Shopify Payments provides an authorization period of 7 days, so the warning gives you one day to act.
5Capture the payment from the order
Open the order, whose payment status reads Authorized, and capture the payment. You can manually capture the full amount for the order, or a partial payment. In this tutorial the $187.50 order is captured in full on day 3, inside the 7-day window, so no extra charge applies.
6Watch the clock on late captures
When you manually capture a payment after the standard 7-day period, a 1.75% charge applies to the transaction in addition to standard credit card fees. On a $187.50 order that is $3.28, which is a cost you can avoid by capturing on time.
The arithmetic
The late capture charge is a percentage of the order total, on top of the usual card fees:
| Order | Captured | Late charge | Customer charged |
|---|---|---|---|
| $187.50, captured day 3 | Inside 7 days | $0.00 | $187.50 |
| $187.50, captured day 9 | After 7 days | $3.28 | $187.50 |
| $240.00, captured day 9 | After 7 days | $4.20 | $240.00 |
The late charge is 1.75% of the order total: $187.50 × 1.75% is $3.28125, which rounds to $3.28, and $240.00 × 1.75% is $4.20 exactly. The charge is yours, not the customer's: the customer is still charged the order total of $187.50 or $240.00.
Held at the counter
Authorized is not paid. When a payment is captured, your customer is charged. Until you capture it, the order sits at Authorized and the money has not reached you. Do not ship a manual-capture order as if it were paid.
Manual capture adds a step to every order. Capturing payment manually adds a delay and an extra step to your order processing workflow. If you turn it on for fraud review, build the daily capture check into your routine, or orders will sit with payment not yet captured.
Other providers have their own windows. Shopify Payments provides an authorization period of 7 days. For other payment providers the authorization period varies, so check your provider's period before you set a capture routine around 7 days.
Sources
- Payment authorization and capture — Shopify's help pages: the capture methods, the 7-day authorization period for Shopify Payments, the 1.75% charge after day 7, and the expiry warning setting.