Capture is the second half of the authorize-and-capture payment model. After a merchant obtains a pre-authorization — confirming that the cardholder has sufficient funds and placing a hold on the transaction amount — the capture step signals to the acquiring bank that the merchant is ready to collect those funds. Once captured, the transaction enters the settlement queue and the held amount is transferred from the cardholder’s issuing bank to the merchant’s account through the normal clearing and settlement cycle. Without capture, an authorisation will eventually expire and the held funds will be released back to the cardholder.
Most payment gateways and processors support both manual and automatic capture. With automatic capture, the authorisation and capture occur in a single step — the payment is finalised immediately at the point of sale. Manual capture separates these steps, giving the merchant explicit control over when funds are collected. This is critical for business models where fulfilment is deferred: an online retailer might authorise payment when the order is placed but only capture when the warehouse confirms the item has shipped. Similarly, service-based businesses may authorise a deposit at booking and capture the remaining balance upon completion.
Capture also supports partial amounts. If a customer orders three items but only two are available for shipment, the merchant can capture the amount corresponding to the shipped items and void or reduce the remaining authorisation. This flexibility reduces customer friction and avoids the need for post-settlement refunds. However, not all PSPs handle partial captures identically — some require the remaining authorised amount to be explicitly voided, while others release it automatically after a timeout period.
Shuttle Global normalises capture behaviour across its network of 40+ PSPs, so platforms using Embedded Payments or Payment Links can issue captures through a single API call without worrying about processor-specific nuances. For Voice Checkout scenarios — such as a contact centre agent confirming a telephone order — Shuttle allows the capture to be triggered programmatically once the order is verified, keeping the payment flow seamless for both the agent and the customer. By abstracting the differences in how each PSP handles full captures, partial captures, and authorisation expiry, Shuttle ensures that platforms can build consistent payment workflows regardless of the underlying processor.