Reviewed October 17, 2026. This practical guide replaces an earlier general overview; the original publication date and URL are retained.
An online order held for review should not disappear into a queue indefinitely. Define how long an unresolved case may remain in each operational state, who contacts the customer and which approved action closes it. The review process should protect the business while treating legitimate customers fairly.
Distinguish the payment and order states
Record whether payment is declined, authorized, captured or unknown using the provider’s definitions. Separately record whether goods are reserved, released or canceled. Do not assume that canceling an order automatically reverses a payment authorization or that a pending payment means staff should immediately collect another one.
Set a review service standard
Agree on a first-review target, escalation point and responsible person for unattended cases. Confirm with the provider how its payment time limits interact with the order workflow. This guide does not prescribe a universal authorization duration; the relevant settings and rules must be verified for the actual account and transaction.
Use a minimal customer contact process
Give customers a clear explanation of the pending review and the approved next step. Avoid requesting card photographs or complete credentials by email. Record the contact outcome with the order reference, limiting personal information to what the authorized process requires. Unanswered contact does not establish that the customer intended fraud.
Audit the cases that aged out
Review canceled, released and still-unresolved cases together. Investigate whether staff missed a deadline or a system failed to update another channel. Measure the customer delay and inventory impact as well as confirmed fraud outcomes. A smaller queue can reflect automatic cancellation rather than a better decision process.
Sources and related reading
FTC business security guidance provides context for protecting customer information during review. The payment provider should confirm the account-specific handling of pending transactions. Read FTC Start with Security business guide.
Continue with Card-Not-Present Fraud: Review the Order Before Repeating the Charge and Chargeback Prevention Starts With the Order Record.
Use the AMS New York merchant reading path for the regional operating checklist. Explore related analysis in Eric Kuvykin’s topic guides.
