Why does Cap1 take so long to post?

[Anonymous]

I made a purchase three days ago and it still shows "pending," why? I want to make a payment for this purchase but its not showing up as cleared yet. Also, a debit card payment takes 3 days to post? Does that mean my monthly auto pay that I set up will take 3 days to post as well?

[HeavenOhio]

I've found that the length of time in pending has much more to do with the merchant than it does with the lender.

[Adkins]

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@HeavenOhiowrote:

I've found that the length of time in pending has much more to do with the merchant than it does with the lender.

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^THIS. 

[Anonymous]

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@HeavenOhiowrote:

I've found that the length of time in pending has much more to do with the merchant than it does with the lender.

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X2. When you swipe your card at a merchant, an authorization is made which leads to the pending charge.  The charge remains pending until the merchant submits them for payment.  Depending on the merchant, this may occur daily, every few days, or weekly, or whatever.

[DeeBee78]

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@Anonymouswrote:
I made a purchase three days ago and it still shows "pending," why? I want to make a payment for this purchase but its not showing up as cleared yet. Also, a debit card payment takes 3 days to post? Does that mean my monthly auto pay that I set up will take 3 days to post as well?

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Most merchants don't process charges on weekends either. Usually a Thursday or Friday night dinner won't be settled until the Monday or Tuesday after - doesn't matter which card I use. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies!

[UpperNwGuy]

As a general rule, charges take two business day to post, so charges made on Friday post the following Tuesday.  Sometimes charges made on Thursday don't post until Tuesday.  The difference is how rapidly the merchant processes your charge.  The bank is rarely responsible for the delay.  Think of it as when you write someone a check, and the payee puts the check on their dresser and doesn't deposit it promptly.  The fact that the check hasn't cleared is not the fault of the bank.