How does capture work?
After the issuer approves an authorization, the funds are held but not yet taken. A capture request, sent through the PSP and acquirer, confirms the final amount and puts the payment into clearing, after which it is settled to the merchant. If the authorization is not captured before it expires, Stripe’s documentation says the funds are released and the payment is cancelled. Not every method separates the two steps: Stripe lists cards and several buy now pay later methods as supporting a later capture, while many bank-based methods take the payment in one step.
Why does capture timing matter in e-commerce?
Capturing when the order is ready to ship gives the store a cheap way out when an order cannot be fulfilled. Stripe recommends separate authorization and capture to merchants with many early refunds, because cancelling an uncaptured payment or capturing a smaller amount costs less than a refund. As an illustrative example: a store with 5,000 orders a month cancels 3% before dispatch. With capture at shipping, those 150 orders are released instead of refunded, and those customers never see a charge followed by a credit.
What are the risks?
Authorizations expire, so orders that wait too long for stock need a new authorization, which can be declined. Split shipments need care, because many payments allow only one capture. And a capture that fails or is sent twice creates a reconciliation problem, so every capture should carry the original payment’s reference.
Where does Omno use it?
Capture rules depend on the payment method and the connected PSP. Omno reports each transaction’s status changes by webhook, Get Transaction Info confirms the current status, and the routing-decision log shows which provider authorized the payment, which is where capture and cancellation requests have to go.