Have you ever checked your credit card statement and found that your available funds were much lower than your statement showed? It’s most likely you have pending credit card transactions.
You may see pending transactions from any kind of merchant. For example, if you go online shopping at your favourite clothing store on the weekend, those purchases won’t process until at least the next business day. And many credit card issuers take several days to post any kind of payment to your balance.
You’ll also sometimes find a pending transaction that is more than what you actually spent. That’s because certain merchants — hotels and gas stations for example — will hold a certain amount of money as security until the payment is posted to your account.
In any case, pending transactions are very common. But it’s worth understanding what they mean and when they are likely to appear on your statement so that you aren’t caught off guard and can budget your credit card spending appropriately.