When you pay — or a merchant checks your card — the amount is reserved as a hold. The money hasn't left your account yet, but it's set aside for the merchant to collect, so it's taken out of your available balance and shows as pending.
Because the held amount isn't available to spend, a later payment can be declined for not having enough money even if your overall balance looks high enough.
If a payment was cancelled or declined
If a payment is cancelled or declined, the merchant doesn't collect the reserved money — but it can stay on hold until the hold is released. So you may see a pending amount for a payment that didn't actually go through.
When will I get the money back?
A hold is released when the merchant completes the payment, cancels it, or the hold expires. The timing is set by the merchant and the card network — not by Ben — so we can't speed it up. If a payment is never completed, the hold is released automatically; this can take up to 30 days.
If an amount has been pending for a while, you can contact the merchant to ask when they'll complete or release it.
What happens to the money when it comes back
Once the hold is released, the amount returns to your available balance and you can spend it again — as part of your allowance, and following your allowance's normal expiry, the same as the rest of your balance.
Refunds from a merchant
A refund is different from a released hold: it's a new payment the merchant sends back to your card, and its timing is set by the merchant and card network too. When it arrives, it's added to your available balance. For more on this, see "Will I receive funds back on my card if refunded with a merchant?"
Still waiting?
If an amount has been pending for a long time, contact support with the merchant name, amount, and date, and we'll look into it.