How long does a store have to debit your account from the time the sale is made?

‘ness! asked:


I purchased a money order using my debit card close to 2 weeks ago at a local discount store. The cashier had issues getting the money order machine to work and after 30 minutes of asking other employees if they knew how to fix the machine, they gave up and issued a refund for the full amount in cash.

I have checked my bank account and the amount has not been debited from the account, which makes me wonder… how long do merchants have to charge a customer after the initial transaction is made, if there is a deadline at all? I’ve made purchases at the store since then at that same store, and all of the purchases have posted to my account (even if at least “pending”) that same day/night the purchase was made.

Hopefully this makes some sense, but just to recap… I paid for a money order with a debit card (which should have deducted money from my bank account) and was refunded in cash that same night. Is there a time limit that the merchants have to complete a transaction?