Regions Help & Support

FAQ

What happens when I use my debit card?

When you use your debit card to make purchases, the funds are automatically deducted from your checking account and are placed on an “Authorization Hold”. That means they are in a pending status until the merchant and Regions settle the transaction. This could take several days, depending upon when the merchant submits the transaction. Regions normally places a hold on such transactions for 3 days to help prevent overspending which could result in an overdraft. Note that on occasion, the actual transaction submitted by the merchant may differ from the amount of the hold based on the authorization request. A common example of this is the addition of a tip to your restaurant bill.