Introduction

This article explains the maximum timeframes for capturing payment authorizations within the Cybersource platform and provides best practice guidance to help you minimize interchange costs, avoid declined or expired authorizations, and maintain compliance with your Merchant Service Provider (MSP), acquirer, or processor requirements. It also outlines the most common reasons captures may fail after a successful authorization and how to recover them.

Interchange is the default transfer price between issuing and acquiring banks, applied on each transaction. It is bi-directional, flowing from acquirers to issuers on payment transactions and reversed on credits, chargebacks, and ATM (Automated Teller Machine) transactions. The amount of the interchange fee is determined by card associations through a pricing mechanism set in response to market forces. The size of the interchange fee often varies based on transaction type and the order data passed in by the merchant.

Capturing payment authorizations promptly helps ensure compliance with card network rules, reduces the risk of declines, and can lower interchange costs. While the Cybersource platform supports extended timeframes for capturing authorizations, the best practice is to capture within seven days of the original authorization date. This aligns with typical issuer and acquirer expectations and helps avoid potential fees or penalties.

Applicability: This article applies to merchants using the Cybersource platform for payment processing. Capture timeframes described here reflect system-level limits. Your MSP, acquirer, or processor may enforce stricter limits. Always confirm their requirements before relying on the system's maximum timeframes. This article does not apply to non-Cybersource integrations or other Visa payment platforms.

Best Practice Recommendation

• Capture authorizations within 7 days of the original authorization date whenever possible.
• Delaying capture beyond 7 days may increase interchange fees and the risk of declined or expired authorizations.
• Consult your MSP, acquirer, or processor for their specific authorization capture rules.

Capture Methods and Time Limits

Authorization Capture Time Limits by Method

Common Error

If a capture request is submitted after the system time limit, the following error may occur:

102: "The request data was either invalid or missing: auth_request_id"

Why Captures Fail After a Successful Authorization

An authorization confirms that funds are available and reserved at the time of the request, but it does not guarantee that a later capture will succeed. Several conditions can cause a capture to fail even after the authorization was originally approved. Review the scenarios below to identify the likely cause and determine how to recover.

Authorization Has Expired

• What happens: Authorizations have a limited validity window defined by the issuer, card brand, and your MSP or acquirer. Once expired, the reserved funds are released back to the cardholder and the capture cannot be completed.
• How to recover: Submit a new authorization for the original amount before attempting another capture. Confirm the cardholder still intends to complete the purchase before reauthorizing.

Invalid or Missing Fields (Including Level II and Level III Data)

• What happens: Captures may fail if required fields are missing, malformed, or fail validation. This is especially common for Level II and Level III transactions, which require additional data such as line item details, tax amounts, customer reference numbers, or commodity codes. Incorrect formatting or omitted required values will cause the capture request to be rejected.
• How to recover: Review the error response and validate all submitted fields. Confirm that Level II and Level III data meets the formatting and content requirements for your processor and card brand. Resubmit the capture once the data has been corrected.

Card Status Has Changed

• What happens: The card may have been reported lost, stolen, closed, blocked, or replaced after the original authorization. Issuers can decline the capture or any reauthorization attempt based on the updated card status.
• How to recover: Contact the cardholder to obtain a valid alternate payment method, then submit a new authorization and capture using the updated card details.

Currency Mismatch

• What happens: The capture currency must match the currency used on the original authorization. If the capture is submitted in a different currency, the request will fail.
• How to recover: Resubmit the capture using the same currency code as the original authorization. If a different currency is required, void the original authorization and submit a new authorization in the correct currency before capturing.

Duplicate Settlement

• What happens: If the same authorization has already been captured or settled, a subsequent capture against the same authorization will be rejected as a duplicate. This often happens when an automated process and a manual capture both run against the same transaction.
• How to recover: Search for the original transaction in the Business Center to confirm its current status. If the authorization has already been settled, no further action is needed. If a new charge is required, submit a fresh authorization rather than attempting to capture again.

Insufficient Funds at Capture Time

• What happens: Cardholder available balance can change between the authorization and capture. If the funds reserved by the original authorization are no longer available, or the authorization hold has been released, the capture may fail due to insufficient funds.
• How to recover: Capture as close to the authorization date as possible (ideally within 7 days). If the capture fails for insufficient funds, request a new payment from the cardholder, submit a fresh authorization, and capture promptly.

Recovery Best Practices

• Review the response code and error message to identify the specific failure reason.
• Verify the original transaction status in the Business Center before retrying.
• Correct the underlying issue (data, currency, card details) before resubmitting.
• Reauthorize when the original authorization is no longer valid rather than retrying the same capture.
• Capture within 7 days to reduce exposure to most of these failure scenarios.

Key Takeaways

• Always aim to capture within 7 days for optimal compliance and cost efficiency.
• System limits allow up to 60 days for API/batch captures and 180 days for Business Center captures, but your MSP or acquirer may have shorter limits.
• A successful authorization does not guarantee a successful capture; expirations, invalid data, card status changes, currency mismatches, duplicate settlements, and insufficient funds can all cause capture failures.
• Confirm your MSP or acquirer's policies to avoid declines, penalties, or non-compliance issues.

Potential Client Questions

• What is the maximum time I have to capture an authorization in Cybersource?
  • The maximum time depends on the capture method used. API and batch capture methods allow up to 60 days from the original authorization date. The Business Center allows up to 180 days. However, your MSP, acquirer, or processor may enforce shorter limits, so always confirm with them directly.
• What happens if I try to capture an authorization after the system time limit?
  • If you attempt to capture after the system's allowed timeframe, you will receive an error. For API and batch captures, this is typically Reason Code 102: "The request data was either invalid or missing: auth_request_id."
• Why is it recommended to capture within 7 days if the system allows up to 60 or 180 days?
  • Capturing within 7 days aligns with typical issuer and acquirer expectations and helps reduce the risk of declined or expired authorizations. Delaying beyond 7 days may also result in higher interchange fees, even if the system technically allows a longer window.
• What is interchange and why does it matter for capture timing?
  • Interchange is the default transfer price between issuing and acquiring banks applied on each transaction. The size of the interchange fee can vary based on transaction type and order data. Capturing promptly can help ensure you qualify for lower interchange rates and avoid additional costs.
• Does my MSP or acquirer have to follow the same time limits as Cybersource?
  • No. Your MSP, acquirer, or processor may enforce stricter capture timeframes than the Cybersource system allows. Always confirm their specific requirements to avoid non-compliance, penalties, or declined captures.
• Can I capture an authorization through the Business Center if I missed the API capture window?
  • Yes, the Business Center supports capture up to 180 days from the original authorization date, which is longer than the 60-day API/batch limit. However, your MSP or acquirer may not honor captures beyond their own defined limits, so confirm with them before relying on this option.
• Why did my capture fail even though the authorization was approved?
  • An approved authorization only confirms funds were available and reserved at that moment. Captures can still fail due to expired authorizations, invalid or missing fields (especially for Level II and Level III data), changes in card status (lost, stolen, closed, or replaced), currency mismatches, duplicate settlement attempts, or insufficient funds at the time of capture. Review the response code to identify the specific cause.
• How do I recover from a failed capture?
  • Start by reviewing the error response to determine the cause. Verify the original transaction status in the Business Center, correct any invalid data, and reauthorize when the original authorization is no longer valid. For card-related issues, request an updated payment method from the cardholder. Avoid retrying the same capture without addressing the underlying issue.
• What should I do if the cardholder's card has changed since the original authorization?
  • If the card has been reported lost, stolen, closed, blocked, or replaced, the capture or any reauthorization will likely be declined. Contact the cardholder to obtain a valid alternate payment method, then submit a new authorization and capture using the updated details.
• Can I capture in a different currency than the original authorization?
  • No. The capture must use the same currency code as the original authorization. If a different currency is required, void the original authorization and submit a new authorization in the correct currency before capturing.