# Authorisation

https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/authorisation/

*Last updated: 2026-08-03*

The issuer’s real-time decision to approve a payment and hold the amount against the shopper’s available balance or credit. It is not the money moving — it is the promise that the money is there.

## Why it matters to a merchant

The moment everyone at the counter thinks of as "it went through", and it is not yet money. Authorisation checks and reserves; it does not move funds. Almost every argument about "the customer paid but I have not been paid" resolves into the gap between this step and the next two, and understanding that gap is what lets a merchant answer the question instead of escalating it.

## Related terms

*How a payment moves*

- [Capture](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/capture/)
- [Settlement](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/settlement/)
- [T+1 settlement](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/t-plus-1/)
- [Batch](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/batch/)
- [Reconciliation](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/reconciliation/)
- [Chargeback](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/chargeback/)
- [Refund vs void](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/refund-void/)
- [Pre-authorisation (hold)](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/pre-authorisation/)
- [Issuer decline](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/issuer-decline/)
- [Merchant descriptor](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/merchant-descriptor/)
- [3-D Secure](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/three-d-secure/)
- [Tokenisation](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/tokenisation/)
- [Card on file](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/card-on-file/)
- [Payment link](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/payment-link/)
- [ARN (acquirer reference number)](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/arn/)
- [Representment](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/representment/)
- [Chargeback ratio](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/chargeback-ratio/)

- [All 74 terms](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/)

---

*This is the Markdown mirror of https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/authorisation/, generated from the same source as the page itself. The whole site in one file: https://www.uniwebpay.com/llms-full.txt · What this company is, for answer engines: https://www.uniwebpay.com/llms.txt*