To prevent a client from being billed for a credit card transaction, when must the ARC accredited agent void the transaction?

To prevent a client from being billed for a credit card transaction, when must the ARC accredited agent void the transaction?

• A. By midnight of the day of the transaction
• B. By midnight of the day after the transaction
• C. By midnight of the day following the day of the transaction
• D. End of the week

Answer: (C)

The timing window being tested is when you can void a credit card transaction to stop the client from being billed. A void works by reversing the authorization before the sale settles. In ARC practice, the latest you can do this and still avoid billing is by midnight of the day following the transaction. If you wait beyond that cutoff, the transaction may settle, and the customer could be billed; at that point you’d need to issue a refund, which is a separate process and not the same as a void. The end-of-week option is far too late to prevent billing, so it doesn’t fit the required cutoff. Therefore, voiding by midnight of the day following the transaction is the correct timing.

The timing window being tested is when you can void a credit card transaction to stop the client from being billed. A void works by reversing the authorization before the sale settles. In ARC practice, the latest you can do this and still avoid billing is by midnight of the day following the transaction. If you wait beyond that cutoff, the transaction may settle, and the customer could be billed; at that point you’d need to issue a refund, which is a separate process and not the same as a void. The end-of-week option is far too late to prevent billing, so it doesn’t fit the required cutoff. Therefore, voiding by midnight of the day following the transaction is the correct timing.