Any merchant processors want to answer this question:

JOhnH

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Why is it that when I charge an item, the charge shows up on my credit card account within seconds.

But when a merchant processes a credit to my account, it take days to show up?

I don't necessarily believe that stealing the float is the reason, but I just don't know.
 
For the same reason the merchant is still on the hook for fraudulent charges even when they have taken every reasonable precaution to ensure a legitimate transaction occurred. (CVC, address match, proof of delivery). CC companies, both the banks and the processors, have set up a system where they get handsomely rewarded for taking virtually no risks.
 
Oops.
It was pointed to me by someone that obviously has a much better memory than I do that I posted an almost identical question months ago.
The person was kind enough to point out my mental disability via PM rather than try to embarrass me right here, where I deserved it.
 
Man I wish I could answer your question well.

it’s what I do for a living, I own a small office that does merchant services. We independently sell the services the big guys create.

it drives us batty! Especially when a waitress or clerks fat fingers in a transaction way larger than it should be and they don’t discover it before running the batch. I’ve had to talk to many a people assuring them funds are Enroute and that I and the local biz has done all I/they can…

from what I can piece together is the card brands just slow roll em… The processors, we use 3 different ones, process it that night, the money is taken from my merchant that next deposit… So I assume the big big guys figure slow roll em and that’s interest baby while it’s in their possession. Figure times millions of refunds worldwide going on all the time. So the card brands themselves or the end processors simply slow roll em…

again I don’t know that for fact as no one has ever explained that even to me in detail. I’m in the biz but at my level even owning an office we’re peons in the system as a whole. The big “end-processors” and card brands are pretty tight and excellent at making a penny every possible way!

so not a real answer but some up close speculation…
 
Purchases are a 2-step process: authorization which is immediate so that the issuer can hold the funds and then the actual charge which can happen days later.
Refunds are not instant: It is an offline process.
 
We had a thread in this exact subject recently. Do a search.
 
We had a thread in this exact subject recently. Do a search.
I acknowledged that a couple of posts ago, and I thanked you for pointing it out to me,
but, with all of your knowledge of previous threads, can you count up the number of threads that have asked the same question, over and over and over?
Granted, usually by different originators. :oops:
 
ok. not sure why you took it that way. Just letting you know that recent info was already out there.
 
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