Definition and Examples of Credit Card Posting Date
The credit card posting date is the date when the transaction is applied to your account balance. The transaction is processed by the card issuer and recorded on your account. Charges that have been approved by the issuer may immediately appear as “pending,” but they do not reflect in your balance. On the other hand, some credit card issuers may display your balance adjusted based on pending transactions. Regardless, if a transaction does not have a posting date, it is still being processed.
How Does the Credit Card Posting Date Work?
Due to the way credit card transactions are processed, it may take a few days for transactions to appear on your account. When you swipe your card or make a purchase online, the merchant verifies the transaction by checking card validity and fund availability.
Then, as long as you do not cancel the transaction, the merchant requests the credit card issuer to send the funds for the purchase. Unlike credit card authorization, this process does not occur in real-time. Instead, transaction batches are sorted between the merchant, credit card processors, and your credit card issuer, typically at the end of each day.
Finally, after a few days, the credit card issuer finishes processing the transaction and adds it to your account. This is the credit card posting date. It may take a few days for online purchases to appear on your account. Some transactions may not show on your account until the item you purchased has been shipped.
Interest will not accrue on pending transactions that have not yet posted. Pending transactions will also not affect your credit card balance. However, the credit card posting date can impact the amount of interest you pay, especially when the credit card issuer uses your daily balance to calculate finance charges. You may not owe interest on new purchases if you pay off your balance in full before the grace period ends.
Note: For cash advances, interest starts accruing from the credit card posting date.
Balance Transfers
Unlike payments and purchases that show up within a few days, balance transfers may take several weeks to appear on your account. Because of this, it is wise to continue making payments on the pending transaction until the transfer date is completed and posted.
Disputes
If you have concerns about a purchase – for example, if an incorrect amount was charged – you have a small window to dispute the transaction and correct it. Otherwise, you will need to wait for it to post to your account to dispute it with your credit card issuer. The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you 60 days to dispute a charge.
Credit Card Posting Date vs. Payment Posting Date
Despite the similar sound, the credit card posting date and payment posting date are two different things. While “credit card posting date” refers to transactions you make, such as purchases, balance transfers, or cash withdrawals, payment posting date relates to when and how your credit card payments are applied to your account. The policies regarding these dates can be entirely different.
Credit card payments can post on the same day or the next day, depending on the timing of the payment and the policies of your credit card issuer. For example, if the credit card issuer posts payments made before 5 p.m. in the time zone indicated on the statement on the same business day, a payment made at 6 p.m. may not post to your due date until the next day.
Additionally, a credit card issuer may apply your payment to your account before it is posted, but your available balance may not increase even after the payment is posted.
Does
Was this information helpful?
Thank you for your feedback! Please let us know why.
Sources:
The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts in our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we verify facts and maintain the accuracy, reliability, and quality of our content.
Fiserv. “How Credit Card Processing Works.” Accessed Aug. 17, 2021.
Citi. “Card Agreement Guide,” Page 4. Accessed Aug. 16, 2021.
Federal Trade Commission. “Disputing Credit Card Charges.” Accessed Aug. 16, 2021.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “Why Wasn’t My Online Payment Credited To My Account on the Same Day I Made It?” Accessed Aug. 16, 2021.
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-is-credit-card-post-date-5197690
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item.lwrp-empty-list-item{
background: initial !important;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-link .lwrp-list-link-title-text,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-no-posts-message{
}@media screen and (max-width: 480px) {
.lwrp.link-whisper-related-posts{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-title{
}.lwrp .lwrp-description{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container{
flex-direction: column;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container ul.lwrp-list{
margin-top: 0px;
margin-bottom: 0px;
padding-top: 0px;
padding-bottom: 0px;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-double,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-triple{
width: 100%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container{
justify-content: initial;
flex-direction: column;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container .lwrp-list-item{
width: 100%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item:not(.lwrp-no-posts-message-item){
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-link .lwrp-list-link-title-text,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-no-posts-message{
};
}
Leave a Reply