Definition
A card payment moves through three stages: authorization (the issuer approves and holds funds), capture (the merchant confirms the amount to charge), and settlement (funds are transferred through the network to the acquirer and then deposited to the merchant). Standard settlement is T+1 to T+2 business days; instant settlement delivers funds in minutes.
Settlement reports group hundreds of transactions, refunds, fees, and chargebacks into one deposit, which is why reconciliation, matching each deposit back to individual orders, is a major finance workload.
Example
A retailer’s Friday sales of $18,400 settle Monday as a $17,910 deposit after fees and two refunds. HL Hunt’s ledger matches every line to its order automatically.
How HL Hunt handles it
HL Hunt offers T+1 standard settlement, instant settlement on request, and a real-time ledger that pre-reconciles every deposit down to the order and fee line, exported directly to your accounting system.