Credit card transactions are very common, and this can be traced to the fact that the money used is often borrowed from the card issuer or Credit Card Company. As a credit cardholder or a merchant, there are several essential questions you need to ask regarding how these card transactions are processed and posted.
Credit card transactions post anytime, be it on weekends or weekdays. Approval systems are often working round the clock globally. However, the transactions aren’t processed on weekends or bank holidays.
If you are a merchant or plan to delve into the business world someday, you must poke your nose into stuff regarding credit card transaction. No doubt, knowing how card transactions work, even if it isn’t in details, can be very helpful. Having such information will save you from a lot of trouble and headaches. As a cardholder, being privy to this information will help you better understand the process.
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Do Credit Card Transaction Post on Weekends?
In 2019, a whopping 185.5 billion purchase transactions were initiated globally using credit card network giants Visa. This somewhat overwhelming stat is proof of how prevalent card transactions are. And due to the overwhelming number of transactions that take place daily globally, financial institutions are often forced to work harder and implement measures to handle the task of processing and posting this plenteous amount of transactions.
After hard work comes the need to rest, right? Of course, and that is why we have weekends, a time when we relax and a time when banks process the necessary paper works. You don’t expect banks to remain open 24/7, do you? I doubt.
That aside, before we delve into the major topic of this article, let’s take a sneak peek into what credit card posting is.
What Is Credit Card Posting?
Credit card posting or completion happens when a transaction has been processed and recorded with a post date. In other words, credited card posting is when a transaction has undergone all the necessary checks and approval and has been marked as complete. A credit card refund, payment, and chargeback can post; that is, being approved and completed.
It is no secret, neither should it surprise you that banks don’t operate on weekends. Put differently; you shouldn’t be stunned that financial institution don’t process payments on weekends or bank holidays. With that said, it is safe to admit that weekends is the recess period for the folks behind the processing and posting of either credit or debit card transactions.
Because banks don’t process payments on weekends, you may choose to believe that credit card transitions don’t post on weekends.
Now. Let make clear the air. You see, while it is a fact that banks don’t process payments on weekends, credit card transactions are an exception. In other words, card transactions post on weekends or weekdays, it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is. If, by your calculations, you expect a payment to post on a Saturday, it would surely post that Saturday unless some issues arise.
Aside from a normal transaction, a payment reversal or a refund can also post on weekends. In fact, you may be glad to know that approval systems work 24/7. This equally means that payments get posted around the clock globally.
However, payment made to merchants are only processed on bank days, that is, on Mondays to Fridays. So, if you are a merchant, you shouldn’t think of receiving payments on weekends as all the payments from Friday through Sunday are processed together, and they appear in your account on the same day.
If payment is made on the weekend, which is a non-business day, it will be processed the next business day. As soon a cardholder set up and approve the payment, your bank will extract the money from your account and place it in a batch pending when it will be processed.
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How Long Do Credit Card Transactions Take to Post?
Credit card transactions don’t happen as some of us believe they do. The transaction cycle is shredded in mystery which some of us are privy to, while some aren’t. As a merchant, you need to be conversant with the fundamentals of these transactions. On the other hand, credit card holders are also required to have basic knowledge of how these transactions occur. Having such knowledge will help you understand how long such transactions take to post.
Credit card transactions don’t get approved and completed immediately, as most of us think. Generally, it takes 24-48 hours for the transaction to post into an account. In the event that it takes longer, don’t hesitate to contact the merchant or your card issuer.
When you swipe your credit card to carry out a purchase, the money doesn’t immediately leave your card issuer’s account and gets deposited in the merchant’s account. Instead, the funds linked with the transaction will be placed on a temporary hold. The hold, which will appear as pending, will affect your available credit. It will decrease your available credit to display the amount of the transaction. The money associated with the transaction will remain pending till the transaction post.
It takes 24-48 hours for a card transaction to post. Or, put differently, it takes about two days for the money you paid to purchase a product to get into the merchant’s account. It takes that long to post because of the process involved in approving or completing the transaction.
You see, there are several players involved in the processing of all such transactions, be it refunds, purchases, payments, or chargebacks. These players include an issuing bank, acquiring bank, and network processor like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc. Each player’s activities vary, and they are the main reasons why a transaction takes a few days to post. Nevertheless, if a transaction fails to post after two or three days, contact the merchant or your card issuer.
