Community Chat

[Tinkrbl44]

I have been meaning to post this question for the longest time ....... and hope this explanation is clear.

If a credit card purchase is made on the weekend the amount will immediately deduct from the card's available credit.

However, if a credit or payment is made on that credit card it might take as many as 5 days to credit that amount back to the account?

A while back, I asked a CS person that question and she said something to the effect that a real human has to "verify" that the credit is authentic, so it's never done on weekends.   Not her exact words, but that was the gist of it. 

After we hung up  and I thought about it, it seemed even more unlikely. 

Is it possible that every credit card company employs humans that have to personally check every single payment or credit first?     It seems mathematically impossible .... so what's the actual explanation why account credits take so long to post?

I'm sure someone here has the real answer .... and TIA!  

[Yahooey]

@Tinkrbl44 

i have no idea but here are my thoughts

if my credit line is $5,000 and i bought a $5.00 item

simple math & no REAL money has been used so they deduct the $5.00 from $5,000

if u pay a credit card - real money is moved from ur bank acct to pay off the credit card

making sure u have the money to really pay it - so i guess banks talking electronically and i dont think a real person is monitoring every transaction - 

i'm probably wrong

[Desert Lily]

If I were you, I'd check my bank accounts online. You can probably transfer funds online to pay the credit card account & have it credited the same day or the next day. It might depend where you bank; each major bank might be different.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@Desert Lily wrote:

If I were you, I'd check my bank accounts online. You can probably transfer funds online to pay the credit card account & have it credited the same day or the next day. It might depend where you bank; each major bank might be different.

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@Desert Lily 

Payments usually credit the next day.

I was thinking more like if I return something to Macy's .... the credit can 3 to 4 business days to show up.

Weekends don't seem to count, for some reason.   In the meantime, it's "pending" or not even showing at all.  

[Desert Lily]

@Tinkrbl44  Return credits do take longer.

[jannabelle1]

I had 42 years experience in banking, including contact with our credit card area. A couple of thoughts: it doesn't matter when a purchase is made (weekend or weekday), the processor will authorize whether funds are available to make a purchase. This authorization takes place in a matter of seconds. If funds are available, the transaction will be approved. If funds are not available, the merchant needs to know that immediately so that the purchaser doesn't walk out with an item he can't pay for.

It may be how your bank processes payments made to a person's credit card account. I know that my bank credits my bank card account with that night's processing and it will normally show up the following morning as a payment made. If a person makes a payment to their credit card with a check drawn on a different bank than the bank who issued the credit card, then yes, it might take several days to receive credit for the payment. Your credit card company wants to make sure there are sufficient funds in the checking account to cover the check before giving you credit for the payment. And no, a "real human" does not have to verify that a payment will clear. It's all done electronically.

Hope that helps.

[granddi]

The longer it takes to give you credit the longer the bank (credit card) uses our money.

[embgm]

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@granddi wrote:

The longer it takes to give you credit the longer the bank (credit card) uses our money.

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.                             BINGO! 

[Tinkrbl44]

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@Desert Lily wrote:

@Tinkrbl44  Return credits do take longer.

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@Desert Lily 

I know, but IMO there is no legitimate reason why it should.

If I go to Macy's and buy something for $25, it dings the credit card used immediately.

If I return that same item to Macy's the following day .... "someone" is holding up my money for 3 to 5 business days.   

[gidgetgh]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@Desert Lily wrote:

@Tinkrbl44  Return credits do take longer.

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@Desert Lily 

I know, but IMO there is no legitimate reason why it should.

If I go to Macy's and buy something for $25, it dings the credit card used immediately.

If I return that same item to Macy's the following day .... "someone" is holding up my money for 3 to 5 business days.   

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@Tinkrbl44 - that "ding" is a temporary hold on those funds, not a final posting to your available credit.  It immediately deducts it from your available credit line, but the true transaction, behind the scenes, takes a few days to post.

@jannabelle1 - is correct in her explanation, not that she needs my affirmation.