Capture
Also known as: Card capture
Capture is the step where a merchant confirms an approved card payment and submits it for clearing, so the money can move. Authorisation reserves the amount. Capture is what makes it collectable.
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Example
An online shop authorises €80 when the customer orders. It ships three days later and captures €80. If one item is out of stock, it captures only €50.
Approval is not a sale. Capture is the moment a merchant says: this one is real, collect it.
In a shop, you rarely see capture. The terminal takes the payment and the day's payments are sent on without anyone pressing a button.
Online, the two steps are often separate. The shop authorises when the customer pays. It captures when it ships, checks in the guest or finishes the job. That gap protects the merchant from collecting money for something it cannot deliver.
After capture, the transaction enters clearing. The scheme rules describe clearing as the processing service that validates and values the financial records exchanged between members. The result is the list of amounts that will be netted in settlement.
A late capture is the classic mistake. The Visa rules set validity timeframes for an approval response. If a capture arrives after the approval has expired, the issuer may treat it as a payment with no valid authorisation, and that is a classic reason for a dispute.
So is capturing more than was approved. A tip, a delivery fee, an extra night: anything above the approved amount may need its own approval.
And once a payment is captured, there is no going back to the approval. A customer who changes their mind needs a refund.
Rule of thumb: authorise when you promise. Capture when you deliver.