On this page, we'll work through some examples to show how a card's available balance changes as events occur.

In each example, we will assume we have a new card with an available balance of 1000 USD.

Regular Authorizations

Suppose the card makes a purchase of 200 USD:

There are three possibilities:

1. The authorization settles for the same as the authorized amount (e.g. 200 USD)
2. The authorization settles for less than the authorized amount (e.g. 150 USD instead of 200 USD)
3. The authorization settles for more than the authorized amount (e.g. 250 instead of

Regardless, the available balance is adjusted based on the settled amount:

Notice that if the authorization settles for the authorized amount, the available balance is unchanged by the settlement.

Multi-Settlement Authorizations

When an authorization occurs which has multiple settlements, each settlement will impact the available balance. Let's take a look at 1000 USD authorization with three settlements:

Notice that the final settlement causes the card's available balance to become negative, meaning it is overdrawn.

Voided Authorizations

In the event where an authorization is voided, the available balance is immediately updated by the voided amount:

Refunds

When a refund occurs, the refunded amount is not added back to the available balance until the refund clears (settles):

When a virtual card is refunded, the refunded amount will be included in your daily total activity calculation (funds are "returned" to you as part of the accounting process).

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Refunds and Lodged Cards

Refunds to lodged cards are only added back to the available balance if the limit window is set to LIFETIME

Limit Window Effects

Lodged cards can have DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, or LIFETIME limit windows. A card's available balance is reset at the beginning of each limit window. For more details see Limit Windows

For example, let's say our card with 1000 USD available balance has a DAILY window, then its available balance would reset each day: