Why a customer sees two charges after payment

Sometimes customers contact sellers complaining that their card was charged twice for the same purchase. In fact, no double charge occurs.

How the payment process works

Each card payment goes through two stages:

1. Authorization (pending)
   The bank temporarily blocks the amount on the customer’s card. In the banking app or statement this appears as a separate transaction. The funds are not yet charged, only reserved.
2. Capture (final charge)
   After the transaction is confirmed, the funds are charged.

Some banks display these two stages as separate transactions, so it may look like two charges. In reality, the money is taken only once.

Why this happens

The way transactions are displayed depends on the card-issuing bank and the type of card.

In some banks the authorization disappears immediately after the charge, while in others it may remain for several days or even weeks. Later it disappears from the statement or merges with the second entry.

What to tell the customer

1. Check in your Allpay dashboard that the payment really went through only once.
2. Explain to the customer that the first entry is a temporary authorization and the second is the actual charge. If the authorization temporarily reduced the balance, the funds will be returned.
3. If the customer still has doubts, recommend that they contact their bank to verify the status of the transactions.