The global loss caused by payment fraud peaked at $32.29 billion in 2020. Current technological development has made it easier than ever for payment fraud to take place. To release merchants from this nightmare, the Atom8 team has come up with 2 new app features: to capture or void payment before the money is transferred.
To understand how it works, let’s first look at the payment process.
When the customer places an order and enters their card information, the authorization process starts. The issuing bank will guarantee that the user’s account has a sufficient sum of funds to cover the price of that order. If it is, the money will be withdrawn from their account and transferred to the vendor. Once the merchant receives the money, the payment is completed. Otherwise, it might be rejected or marked as pending.
What is a capture payment?
In short, capture payment is the act of authorizing the fund before it is actually approved and withdrawn from the customer’s account. Once being captured, this amount of money will be reserved for payment and cannot be spent anywhere else. It often takes from 7 to 30 days for a capture request to be processed.
What is a void payment?
Meanwhile, void payment refers to a fund being canceled by the merchant before authorizing. Unlike a refund request where the vendor has to return the money, with void payment, no fund has actually been withdrawn from the user’s account. The request for payment is simply disapproved. Until the void request is processed, which might take 2 to 3 days, the payment status will be set as pending.
A void payment can be called by both the customer and the vendor. In a brick-and-mortar store, the cashier can void any payment that was incorrectly charged, rescan the item and resend the receipt. Likewise, some eCommerce stores allow a certain window of time to cancel the payment. Once the purchase is canceled, the merchant will void a payment and no money will be charged to the user’s account.
How to use capture and void payment in BigCommerce?
In Bigcommerce, you can only void transactions made through authorized-only compatible payment gateways. The authorize-only function allows for authorizing the fund without actually withdrawing it from the customer’s account until the merchant approves it. Benefits of authorize-only include:
- Preventing fraudulent orders
- Reducing the processing cost
- Increasing customer satisfaction
- Preventing cardholders from disputing or issuing a chargeback until the fund is captured by the vendor
Check out the BigCommerce available gateway list to make sure yours support this function.
Fortunately, you can always capture and void payment while running on other tasks with Atom8 Automation. This helps centralize your store operation without you switching between multiple platforms all at once. For example, you suspect a customer whose email includes @fre.com to commit fraud. Then set up a workflow to void any future payment from this account. Then you’re free from the risk.
Final note
No matter how good you are at inventory management, customer support, and marketing, a flaw in payment will devastate your business. Therefore, a capture and void payment are highly essential to protect your store from potential fraud. Install Atom8 today and enjoy streamlining all the operations in one app.
