Overview

Required plan

This feature or setting is available to all customers on any Recurly subscription plan.

Prerequisites

Integration with Recurly's API or select client libraries.
Recurly's Authorization and Capture feature is compatible with several credit card gateways, including Braintree, Stripe, Adyen, Authorize.net, and CardConnect. Additional gateways will be integrated based on merchant demand.

Limitations

No support for "partial captures" or "multiple captures."
Cannot capture more than the authorized amount.
Recurly does not automatically authorize cards before recurring subscription renewals.
Delayed capture is not customizable.
Some features, like Auth and Capture, are not fully supported with 3rd party integrations such as Xero or Quickbooks Online.

Definition

Recurly's "Authorization and Capture" feature allows merchants to initially authorize a subscriber's credit card to ensure its validity and fund availability. Subsequently, merchants can capture the funds at a later, more suitable time.

Key benefits

Enhanced payment security: Authorize credit cards to ensure legitimacy and fund sufficiency before capturing.
Flexible transaction management: Capture funds when it's most convenient, optimizing cash flow and customer relations.
Efficient error handling: Quickly identify and rectify payment issues, reducing transaction failures.

Key details

Authorization and capture

Recurly’s "Authorization and Capture" functionality enables merchants to first validate a subscriber's credit card for legitimacy and fund availability. Once verified, merchants can capture the due amount at their convenience.

Definitions

Authorize: A preliminary check with the subscriber's bank to validate the credit card's legitimacy and ensure sufficient funds. This places a hold on the funds but doesn't transfer them.
Capture: Post-authorization, this step collects the funds from the subscriber's account, completing the transaction.
Cancel: If funds aren't captured, this step releases the hold on the subscriber's account.

1 Initiating authorization

Step 1: Access Recurly's API or select client libraries.
Step 2: Submit a POST request to v2/purchases/authorize.
Step 3: Ensure the transaction details are correctly entered.

2 Capturing the authorized amount

Step 1: To capture an authorized transaction, use the /capture endpoint.
Step 2: Include the transaction UUID from the original authorization: v2/purchases/transaction-uuid-<AUTHORIZED-TXN-UUID-HERE>/capture.

3 Canceling the authorization

Step 1: If you decide not to capture the funds, use the /cancel endpoint.
Step 2: Include the transaction UUID from the original authorization: v2/purchases/transaction-uuid-<AUTHORIZED-TXN-UUID-HERE>/cancel.

Benefits of authorizing first

By authorizing before capturing, merchants can:

Ensure product availability before capturing funds for physical goods.
Conduct manual fraud reviews prior to fund capture and order fulfillment.
Authorize at the start of a free trial and capture funds at the subscription's start.

Authorization and capture API management

Initiating authorization

Step 1: Begin by accessing Recurly's API directly or through available client libraries to ensure a smooth integration process.

Step 2: Execute a POST request targeting the authorization endpoint at v2/purchases/authorize. This is the initial step to secure an authorization for the transaction.

Step 3: Carefully input the transaction details, ensuring accuracy to avoid errors. The correct information is crucial for a successful authorization.

Capturing the authorized amount

Step 1: For capturing an already authorized transaction, navigate to the /capture endpoint. This action will finalize the transaction by processing the previously authorized amount.

Step 2: It's essential to include the transaction's unique identifier (UUID) obtained during the initial authorization. This UUID is the key to linking the capture request to its corresponding authorization.

Canceling the authorization

Step 1: Should there be a change of plans or a decision against proceeding with the transaction capture, the authorization can be canceled by utilizing the /cancel endpoint.

Step 2:Similar to capturing, canceling the authorization requires the transaction's UUID. The endpoint format for this operation is v2/purchases/transaction-uuid-/cancel, replacing with the actual UUID. This ensures that the specific transaction authorization you intend to cancel is accurately identified and processed accordingly.