Study Guide

Table Of Contents
PayPal Certified Developer Program Study Guide March 2008 93
Transactions
Refunds
8
Authorization & Capture Best Practices
The following sections describe the best practices to follow in using Authorization & Capture,
to ensure the best buying experience for customers and get the most benefit from
Authorization & Capture.
Capturing Funds on Basic Authorizations
PayPal recommends that a merchant capture funds within the honor period of three days,
because PayPal will honor the funds for a three-day period after the basic authorization. If the
merchant tries to capture funds after the three-day period and the authorization fails, the
request to capture funds may be denied.
After day 4 of the authorization period, a merchant can initiate a reauthorization, which starts a
new three-day honor period; however, the reauthorization does not extend the original
authorization period past 29 days.
The merchant should capture funds within 24 hours after shipping the customers order.
Customer Approval for Basic Authorizations
A customer-initiated authorization allows the merchant to capture funds from the customers
account of up to 115% of the originally authorized amount (not to exceed an increase of $75
USD) and up to $10,000 USD (the limit for a single purchase through PayPal).
IMPORTANT: If the merchant wants to update any details of the purchase that change the
original authorization amount, PayPal requires that the merchant obtain
consent from the customer at the time of purchase or at the time of capture.
Voiding Basic Authorizations
The merchant should void an authorization if the authorization or reauthorization will not be
used. Voiding the authorization unlocks the temporary hold placed on the customers funding
sources.
For More Information
For more information on all capabilities of Authorization & Capture, including order
authorization, see the PayPal documentation available through the Integration Center.
Refunds
A merchant can refund the full amount or a partial amount of a transaction with the
RefundTransaction API.