A man sits on a couch holding a credit card and his statement.

How to Stop a Pending Transaction

5 min read

Last Updated: February 20, 2026

Table of contents

Key Takeaways

A pending transaction hasn’t yet been applied to your credit card account, so it doesn’t accrue interest.
Most transactions are pending for only a few days, so you may have a small window to dispute a purchase before it processes.
If you suspect identity theft or credit card fraud, you may want to take additional precautions.

Sometimes, a credit card purchase doesn’t seem quite right. For example, maybe you get charged twice for a concert ticket you buy online. Or perhaps you notice a purchase on your mobile banking app that you know you didn’t make.

When there’s a problem with a purchase or it seems suspicious, you may want to cancel it while the transaction is still pending, before it’s posted to your account. If the timing is right, you may be able to cancel a pending transaction with the merchant without it ever accruing interest. Note that, while other credit card companies may have different policies, Discover^® doesn’t allow cardmembers to cancel a pending transaction except in cases of fraud or known errors.

What does pending transaction mean?

A pending credit card transaction is a purchase or cash withdrawal that hasn’t yet been applied to your credit card account balance.

After you use your card, it may take a few days for the merchant and card networks to process the transaction. However, if you check your credit card limit on your mobile banking app or online account portal shortly after using your credit card, you might notice that it looks like your balance has gone up, depending on your card issuer.

Credit card issuers often hold a portion of your credit limit for the pending expense, so you don’t overspend because you think you have more available funds. But until a transaction goes through completely, it typically won’t accrue interest or earn rewards.

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Sometimes, businesses like hotels or rental car companies may place temporary holds on your credit card account in case you need to cover damage to the room or vehicle. After you complete your stay or return your car, those pending charges should disappear from your account altogether without affecting your account balance.

How long do pending transactions take to post?

Typically, pending transactions take between three and five business days to post to your account and impact your balance. However, some purchases may take up to 30 days. Many factors may influence the processing time for your transaction, including:

Transaction type. International purchases or large charges may take longer to process than straightforward purchases, like a small dinner at a restaurant.
Credit card company. Certain credit card networks and issuers may have longer transaction processing times than others.
Timing. Charges may only process during business days, so purchases you make over the weekend or on a holiday may take some extra time to post to your account.

Can you cancel a pending transaction?

In some cases, you may be able to cancel a pending transaction before it hits your account if you contact the merchant quickly. Otherwise, you might have to request a refund or dispute the charge after the purchase goes through.

How to cancel a pending transaction

You may be able to cancel a pending transaction in a few different ways, depending on your circumstances.

Contact the merchant as soon as possible

If you want to cancel a charge because something has gone wrong with your purchase, try to contact the merchant as soon as possible. For example, maybe a gift you order online never ships or a restaurant charges you twice for your meal.

In those cases, consider contacting the merchant online or over the phone to cancel your order before it processes. Make sure you have all the relevant information on hand, like your purchase date and amount, as well as your order number.

If the merchant agrees to cancel your order, the charge should come off your account.

Set up a stop payment

Some financial institutions may allow you to set up a stop payment order if a merchant isn’t responsive. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a stop payment order is a form or letter instructing the financial institution not to process payments to the company. To find out whether a stop payment might be an option for you, check with your bank or credit card issuer.

Keep thorough documentation of the process so you have the details in writing in case payments continue to go through.

Dispute a pending transaction if it’s unauthorized

If a pending credit card transaction appears on your account but you know you didn’t buy anything, inform your card issuer right away to dispute the unauthorized transaction. The card issuer may wait until the charge has been processed to conduct an investigation. The issuer should remove the charge from your account if the investigation finds that it’s a fraudulent transaction.

You may want to take additional precautions if you suspect identity theft, like freezing your credit accounts or contacting authorities.

Did you know?

An unauthorized transaction on your credit card account may be alarming, but many card issuers offer protections. For example, we’ll never hold you responsible for unauthorized purchases on your Discover^® Card account.²

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The bottom line

If there’s a problem with a pending credit card transaction, don’t hesitate to contact the merchant. The sooner you act, the greater your likelihood of stopping the transaction before it processes. But if you don’t catch it in time, don’t panic, you may still request a refund or dispute the charge after it clears.

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