Overview
In the world of payments, a transaction happens in two stages:
Authorization: The bank confirms the customer has the money and "holds" it.
Capture: The merchant claims that "held" money to start the settlement process.
Capture Delay is the setting that determines how long Adyen waits after an authorization before automatically triggering the capture.
1. Online Capture Delay
For E-commerce transactions, the capture delay is often used to give merchants time to ensure stock is available before actually taking the customer's money.
Immediate Capture: The capture is triggered as soon as the payment is authorized. This is the default for most digital goods.
Manual Capture: The merchant must manually trigger the capture (usually through their website backend or the Valpay portal) once the item has shipped.
Scheduled Delay: A set number of days (e.g., 3 days) after authorization before Adyen automatically captures the funds.
Pro-Tip: If you do not capture an online payment within the bank's "Authorization Adjustment" window (usually 7 days), the hold on the customer's funds will expire, and the payment will fail.
2. POS (Point of Sale) Capture Delay
Capture for in-person payments works differently because the customer and the goods are physically present at the same time.
Default Behavior: Most POS terminals are set to Immediate Capture. Since the customer walks away with the product, the funds are captured instantly.
Terminal Batching: In some configurations, POS transactions are captured at the end of the day during a "Maintenance Window" or "Batch Close."
Why it matters: POS capture timing affects your daily settlement reports. If a transaction is authorized at 11:59 PM but captured at 12:01 AM, it will appear in the following day’s payout report.
Capture Delay Comparison
Feature | Online Capture | POS Capture |
Default Setting | Often Manual or Delayed | Almost always Immediate |
Main Use Case | Waiting for shipping/fulfillment | Instant checkout at a register |
Risk of Expiry | High (if not captured in 7 days) | Very Low |
Reversal | You "Cancel" the auth | You "Refund" the capture |
Why should you care about Capture Delay?
Customer Experience: Customers see a "Pending" charge on their app. If the capture is delayed, that pending charge stays there longer.
Refunds: It is much easier (and cheaper) to cancel an authorization that hasn't been captured yet than it is to refund a payment that has already been captured.
Cash Flow: Your payout clock only starts ticking after the capture happens.
How to check your settings
If you are unsure of your current capture delay settings, ask your Account Manager or email support@valpay.com.