Authorize, Capture, Void & Partial Captures

Manual capture lets you authorize at checkout and capture later — when goods ship, when the final amount is known (hotels, ride-hailing, groceries with substitutions) or after fraud review. Captures can be partial (capture less than authorized; the rest is released), and uncaptured authorizations should be voided/cancelled to release the customer's funds promptly. Authorizations expire (commonly ~7 days for online card payments; varies by network and PSP), so schedule captures and handle expiry by re-authorizing.

Capture strategies

intent = stripe.PaymentIntent.create(amount=12000, currency="usd", capture_method="manual",
                                     payment_method=pm_id, confirm=True, idempotency_key=f"auth:{order.id}")

# When the shipment leaves the warehouse (final amount known after substitutions):
stripe.PaymentIntent.capture(intent.id, amount_to_capture=10850, idempotency_key=f"capture:{order.id}")

# Order cancelled before shipping:
stripe.PaymentIntent.cancel(intent.id, idempotency_key=f"void:{order.id}")

// Nightly: capture or alert on authorizations approaching expiry.
for (const p of await payments.uncapturedOlderThan({ days: 5 })) {
  if (await orders.isShippable(p.orderId)) await captureNow(p);
  else await alerts.raise("auth-expiring", { orderId: p.orderId });
}

Common pitfalls

• Forgetting to void (customer's funds held for days).
• Captures after authorization expiry failing silently.
• Capturing more than authorized.

Key points

• Manual capture for physical/variable orders
• Partial capture and voids
• Track authorization expiry

Further reading: Stripe: Place a hold on a payment method