Also called: Partial approval, Partial authorisation
What Partial Authorization is
A partial authorization approves less than the amount you requested when the card has insufficient available funds or credit for the full purchase. You can accept the approved amount and ask the customer to pay the balance with another card or payment method.
Visa’s Partial Authorization Service applies to prepaid and debit cards when the available balance is below the purchase amount. The merchant’s payment device must support partial authorization and split tender. The issuer returns the approved amount and, for Visa, response code 10.
A partial approval covers only the amount returned by the issuer. Collect the balance separately or reverse the authorization.
How it works at checkout
Your payment system requests authorization for the purchase total and indicates that it supports partial authorization. If the issuer approves only part, you subtract that amount from the total, tell the customer what remains, and collect the balance separately. For example, on Visa’s documented $95.50 purchase, an approval of $75.30 leaves $20.20 to collect.
The feature does not guarantee a partial approval. The issuer and card type determine whether one is available, and some transactions still receive a decline. Configure your checkout to offer another payment method or cancel the sale, rather than treating a partial approval as payment of the full amount.
What it means for your business
Partial authorization gives you another way to complete a sale when the customer’s card cannot cover the total. That matters at a retail counter or online checkout, where collecting the remaining balance can preserve the purchase instead of losing it to an insufficient-funds decline.
The Visa service document does not state a separate service fee or a standard statement descriptor. The cost benefit is the chance to complete the sale, not a lower processing rate. Incorrect authorized-amount data on impacted debit transactions can affect interchange qualification and lead to a Transaction Integrity Fee; the document does not specify the fee amount.
Where handling goes wrong
Capture no more than the amount the issuer approved. If the customer does not pay the remainder and you cancel the sale, reverse the authorization so the approved funds are released. For returns, Visa merchandise credit applies only to the amount partially approved; handle the other payment under your return policy.
Restaurants need to account for the tip separately. For a partially approved full-service restaurant transaction, Visa requires a receipt for the approved amount without a tip line and a second receipt for the balance with a tip line. Clear only the approved amount, because Visa provides no tip tolerance on that partial approval.
What you can actually change
- Confirm device support. Make sure your terminal, checkout, and payment setup support both partial authorization and split tender before enabling the feature.
- Show the balance. Tell the customer the approved amount and the exact remainder before taking another payment method.
- Reverse incomplete sales. If the customer does not pay the balance and you cancel the purchase, reverse the partial authorization.
- Check debit data. For Visa debit transactions, confirm your system sends the approved amount correctly in clearing data to reduce the risk of interchange problems or a Transaction Integrity Fee.
Frequently asked questions
Does partial authorization add a processing fee?
Visa’s Partial Authorization Service document does not list a separate service fee or amount. Your processing statement can still include the fees tied to the transaction. Compare the transaction’s authorization and processing charges with your agreement’s fee schedule.
Does partial authorization work on every card?
No. Support depends on the issuer, card type, and your payment setup. Visa requires prepaid issuers and acquirers to support the service, while debit issuer support is not universal. Your checkout must also support split tender.
What should I do if the customer does not pay the balance?
Cancel the sale and reverse the authorization. For an abandoned sale, this tells the issuer to release the approved amount rather than leaving the customer with a pending authorization.