Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirtel
I've never worked in that area, but obviously our local banks and cards must have different rules, because our merchants have always charged at the time of placing the order, never later. If they don't have something in stock and they don't know it beforehand, they'll just refund that part of the payment. Perhaps it's another "small country" peculiarity, I can imagine how bothersome it would be with millions of customers.
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Continuing
My grocery provider in the UK, Ocado, puts a hold on the amount computed at time of order. After delivery they take payment, taking into account what was actually delivered and whether anything was returned/rejected. This process means that they check with the bank at time of order and this check seems to suffice for when they actually take payment.
Of course, if you are using a debit card then a hold is almost indistiguishable from a payment.