Choosing between authorize, and authorize and capture

The plugin can either take the money immediately or place a hold and collect it later. Which you want depends on how quickly you can fulfil an order.

Authorize and capture

The customer is charged at checkout. Funds move to settlement without any further action from you.

This suits stores selling in-stock physical goods, digital downloads, or anything shipped or delivered promptly. It is the simpler option and the right default for most merchants.

Authorize only

An amount is held on the customer’s card at checkout but not charged. You then capture it, capture part of it, or void the hold entirely from the WooCommerce order screen.

This suits:

• Made-to-order or custom work, where the final amount may change.
• Bookings and reservations, where you take a deposit now and the balance later.
• Stock you cannot guarantee, where you would rather release a hold than issue a refund.

The catch worth knowing

Authorizations expire. The window is set by the card issuer, not by Scotiabank or by us, and it is commonly around seven days. If you capture after the authorization has expired, it fails and you have to ask the customer to pay again.

If your fulfilment cycle is longer than a week, authorize and capture is usually the safer choice, with a refund as the exception path.

Requirements

Capturing and voiding from WooCommerce needs API access enabled on your Scotiabank account, and the Professional plan or higher.