Credit Card Captures and Transaction Cut-Off Time
This page offers general guidance regarding best practices for ensuring accurate credit card capture and settlement reporting.
Transaction Cut-Off Time
The transaction cut-off time is used to determine how a transaction will be grouped in a batch of transactions. The transaction cut-off time can be configured for the FasCard system, Authorize.Net, and the merchant processor. To ensure proper batch reconciliation, Authorize.Net recommends that all three systems (FasCard, Authorize.Net, and the merchant processor platform) utilize the same cut-off time. Additionally, Card Concepts Inc. recommends configuring the FasCard system and Authorize.Net with the same time zone information.
Default Transaction Cut-Off Times
Setting the transaction cut-off time does not guarantee that a transaction will be funded by the processor or acquiring back at the designated time, as the transaction cut-off time only signifies that the transaction will be added to the settlement batch. Any transactions entered or authorized after the configured cut-off time will not be sent to the processor for settlement until the following day.
The FasCard system transaction cut-off time defaults to 11:59:59pm when the FasCard account is created. This can be modified using the FasCard Admin Site - Server Management page.
The Authorize.Net transaction cut-off time defaults to 3:00pm PST. More information on modifying this cut-off time can be found here: https://www.authorize.net/support/CNP/helpfiles/Account/Settings/Business_Settings/Transaction_Cut-Off_Time.htm.
Example of Cut-Off Time Functionality
The FasCard system uses an idle time function intended to bundle transactions and prevent excessive credit transaction fees. This idle time function may change the effective capture time and cause the official capture to occur in the transaction batch for the following day if the idle time overlaps the transaction cut-off time.
A system configured with a cut-off time of 1pm would behave in the following manner:
Transactions occurring before 1pm on Monday would be reported as occurring on Monday up to 1pm.
Transactions occurring after 1pm on Monday would be reported as occurring on Tuesday up to 1pm.
Reporting and Reconciliation
The FasCard Credit Card Captures report cannot be reconciled to the Authorize.Net Transaction Details by Settlement Date report. The 'Submit Date' in the Authorize.Net report corresponds to the initial credit card swipe on a FasCard reader and does not reflect the true transaction time within the FasCard system. Combined with the idle time function described previously, the transaction times and dates on these reports may vary widely.
The FasCard system and Authorize.Net system offer reports detailing credit card capture information. The FasCard Credit Card Captures report will show capture information, grouping captures according to a selected transaction cut-off time. For more information using the Credit Card Captures report, see the FasCard Reports page. More information on Authorize.Net's reporting features can be found on the Authorize.Net Report Documentation page.