Operations · Glossary
Also called: delayed delivery risk
Future-delivery risk is the exposure an acquiring bank carries between the day a card is charged and the day the product or service is actually delivered. The longer the gap between charge and delivery, the bigger the exposure, which is why future-delivery categories like travel carry rolling reserves and high-risk underwriting.
Future-delivery risksits inside the broader system of U.S. payment processing economics that determine a merchant’s effective rate. Most operators encounter this term on their merchant statement without understanding what it controls, which is how the four hidden fees covered by our methodology slip past unnoticed.