Frequently Asked Questions About Pending Transactions

We've had a flurry of questions and feedback about how credit card transactions are now shown on FastNet and ASB Mobile. To help explain the changes more clearly, we've outlined some examples below to illustrate what this means for you.These initial platform changes are animportantfirst step which will allow us to offer future credit card enhancements to our customers.

What is a pending transaction?

Your recent credit card transactions may show as  Pending. This could mean that:

• A purchase was made from your credit card and has been authorised, but not yet billed to your account (for example: concert tickets you bought online yesterday)
• A payment was made to your credit card before 8:30pm today and will be processed overnight
• A payment was made to your credit card after 8:30pm today and will be processed the following night

Alternatively, this may mean that a merchant has temporarily applied the following:

• A small amount (e.g. $1) to verify your card details
• An estimated amount of a purchase (called a pre-authorisation and commonly used in hotels)

Authorised and pre-authorised transactions are not new, however we have now enabled these to be visible to help you understand why your available credit may have changed.

A  Pending transaction may appear for up to five days depending on:

• When the transaction was made
• How long the merchant takes to process the transaction (ASB does not control this)
• If the authorised transaction is not processed to your credit card (for example if you pay your hotel bill using another payment method)

In all of the above cases, the transaction will  affect your available credit immediately. Once the processing is complete, the transaction will show normally and your current balance will reflect this.

Some customers have asked us about the timing of interest accruals when paying their credit card. This remains unchanged; as long as your payment is processed by the due date you will avoid incurring additional interest charges.

Here are some examples to help explain these scenarios further.

1. Payment made to your credit card

FastNet Classic

Credit card limit: $100

Current balance: $10

Available credit: $90

$10 payment is made to your credit card at 2pm, and your available credit is updated immediately.

Credit card Limit: $100 (unchanged)

Current balance: $10 (unchanged)

Available credit: $100 (this has increased by $10 to reflect your payment)

Next day: The transaction is processed overnight (as the payment was made before 7pm) and your current balance is updated.

Credit card Limit: $100 (unchanged)

Current balance: $0 (this has dropped by $10 as your payment has been processed)

Available credit: $100 (unchanged)

Mobile banking

Current balance: $10

Available credit: $90

 $10 payment is made to your credit card at 2pm, and your available credit is updated immediately.

Current balance: $10 (unchanged)

Available credit: $100 (increased by $10 to reflect your payment)

Next day: The transaction is processed overnight (as the payment was made before 8:30pm) and your current balance is updated.

Current balance: $0 (drops by $10 now your payment has been processed)

Available credit: $100 (unchanged)

2. Purchase made using your credit card

FastNet Classic

Credit card limit: $100

Current balance: $0

Available credit: $100

$20 purchase is made from your credit card at 5pm, and your available credit is updated immediately.

Credit card limit: $100 (unchanged)

Current balance: $0 (unchanged while your transaction is Pending)

Available credit: $80 (drops by $20 to reflect the authorised transaction)

Once the merchant has processed the transaction on their side, it will then be processed by us, the Pending transaction will disappear, and the current balance will be updated.

Credit card Limit: $100 (unchanged)

Current balance: $20 (updated once the transaction is moved from Pending to Processed)

Available credit: $80 (unchanged as the purchase was reflected in your available credit when the transaction was authorised)

Mobile banking

Current balance: $0

Available credit: $100

$20 purchase is made from your credit card at 5pm, and your available credit is updated immediately.

Current balance: $0

Available credit: $80 (drops by $20 to reflect the authorised transaction)

Once the merchant has processed the transaction on their side, it will then be processed by us. The Pending transaction will disappear, and your current balance will be updated.

Current balance: $20 (updated once the transaction is moved from Pending to Processed)

Available credit: $80 (unchanged as the purchase was reflected in your available credit when the transaction was authorised)

Thanks to everyone for your patience and feedback on the changes. These examples should help clarify Pending transactions, and we will keep you posted on future enhancements to our platform.

Unfortunately due to security and privacy reasons we are unable to answer specific queries about your credit card here on our blog, but if you do have a query that wasn't answered above, please give us a call on 0800 803 804 and our Contact Centre team will assist you.

Find out more about our credit cards here.