Integration Guide

PayPal Payments Standard Integration Guide June 2012 389
10
Using Authorization & Capture
PayPal Authorization & Capture is a settlement solution that provides increased flexibility in
obtaining payments from buyers. During a traditional sale at PayPal, the authorization and
capture action is completed simultaneously. PayPal Authorization & Capture separates the
authorization of payment from the capture of the authorized payment.
Authorization & Capture is for merchants who have a delayed order fulfillment process and
who typically make a $1 USD authorization at checkout. It enables merchants to modify the
original authorization amount due to order changes (such as taxes, shipping, or item
availability) that occur after the buyers place the initial order. This chapter discusses the
authorization and capture process and provides steps to help you authorize, capture,
reauthorize, and void funds.
There are two ways to use Authorization & Capture:
 Capture or void authorizations on the PayPal website (www.paypal.com).
 Use the Authorization & Capture API in programming code.
Basic Authorization Process
Authorization & Capture starts when your buyer authorizes a payment amount during
checkout.
1. For example, you can send your buyer through the Website Payments payment flow,
passing in the paymentaction variable set to authorization or order.
2. After your buyer completes checkout, you can then use the payment’s transaction ID with
Authorization & Capture in the PayPal website (
https://www.paypal.com). You can:
– Capture either a partial amount or the full authorization amount.
– Authorize a higher amount, up to 115% of the originally authorized amount (not to
exceed an increase of $75 USD).
– Void a previous authorization.
Honor Period and Authorization Period
When your buyer approves an authorization, the buyer’s balance can be placed on hold for a
29-day period to ensure the availability of the authorization amount for capture. You can
reauthorize a transaction only once, up to 115% of the originally authorized amount (not to
exceed an increase of $75 USD).
After a successful authorization (or reauthorization), PayPal will honor authorized funds for
three days, but PayPal cannot ensure that 100% of the funds will be available. A day is defined