My client needs a system where people can “authorize funds” on their credit card, and be charged once we have the actual weight of their cheese.
So for Cheese, instead of only being able to select 1 item, the options would be: =/-300g, +/-1Kg, ½ wheel (+/-2.7Kg) or whole wheel (+/-5.5Kg). Then, we would receive the “order” once the cheese has been selected. We would come back with the weight and their card would be charged for the actual weight
Is this possible?
There’s legal limits on the amount of time that a credit card can sit authorized but not charged,I believe on Shopify Payments that’s 7 days and other payment processors are around that time too. I could only suggest that you capture the payments instead since the only way to extend the auth window is to change the laws.
Casey, thanks for the response. I am very new to e commerce and I’m not familiar with “capturing” the payment. Could you please explain (in idiot speak lol) it to me?
Payments have two steps. An authorization (I am going to give this money to you) and capture (I am receiving the money you are giving me). Google is the better teacher for the longer explanation but that’s about as simple as it gets!
Or I guess if you’re an old like me you can think of it as the difference between writing a cheque (which authorizes the money) and cashing the cheque (which captures the money).
LOL, what a great explanation! Thanks for your explanation.
BTW, I have a funny feeling I’m older than you!
Using shopify payments, is it possible to e.g. pre-authorise $100, but only capture $95?
Not sure if you’re still looking for a way to do this, we have a few farms using our app (Downpay) to do weight based transactions where the amount at checkout might change. Basically a customer can leave a deposit for the product, then once the order has been finalized and prepared with all the correct weights, it can be edited and the right amount can then be collected directly from the card on file. If you want to chat about it, dm me anytime!