# Authorisation

## Overview

**Authorisation** is the process by which the card issuer verifies the cardholder’s payment details and, if there are no reasons to decline (e.g. insufficient funds), reserves the amount for a set period.

## Authorise Only

An authorised payment can usually be handled in one of two ways:

- **Voided**: the hold is cancelled and the funds are released back to the cardholder.
- **Captured**: the funds are submitted for clearing and claimed from the cardholder’s account.


The example shown below demonstrates a Payment Session creation request that will automatically capture funds once the payment is authorised. This is the default behaviour.


```json Automatic Capture - Payload Example
{
  "amount": 54550,
  "currency": "GBP",
  "customerEmail": "test@mail.com",
  "captureFlow": "Automatic"  // Or omit this field entirely as Automatic is the default
}
```

However, for certain business models, it may be preferable, or necessary, to delay capture.

When a payment is authorised but not yet captured, the funds remain in the cardholder’s account. This offers greater flexibility to address scenarios such as fraud, stock issues, or order cancellations.

To create an authorise-only Payment Session, set `captureFlow` to `Manual` via the [paymentSessionCreate](/documentation/api/reference/openapi#operation/paymentSessionCreate) endpoint as shown below:


```json Manual Capture - Payload Example
{
  "amount": 54550,
  "currency": "GBP",
  "customerEmail": "test@mail.com",
  "captureFlow": "Manual"
}
```

### Authorisation Validity

The **duration** for which funds remain reserved depends on the card scheme involved. The following table shows how this varies per scheme:

| Card Scheme | Authorisation validity |
|  --- | --- |
| Visa | 7 days / 5 days for Merchant-initiated transactions |
| Mastercard | 7 Days |
| American Express | 7 Days |


If the payment is not captured within this timeframe, **the authorisation will expire**, and the reserved funds will be released back to the cardholder.

### Next Steps

- To **process** an authorise-only payment, you can follow the steps outlined in the [Initial Setup](/documentation/get_started/process_payments) guide. Authorising payments does not require any particular SDK configuration.
- To **capture** an authorised payment, you can follow the steps outlined in the [Capture](/documentation/get_started/manage_payments/capture) guide.
- To **void** an authorised payment, you can follow the steps outlined in the [Void](/documentation/get_started/manage_payments/void) guide.