system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do gas station charges take a day or two to show up on my card but just about everything shows pending almost immediately?
gpt
When you use a card at the gas station pump, it has to verify that the card is active and valid before it begins distributing gas (it's not like a gallon of milk they can just put back on the shelf if your card gets declined at the cash register). It does this by sending a $1 "preauthorization charge" to your card company - if that gets approved, then it goes ahead and pumps the gas. Only after the gas is pumped and the sale finalized can the gas company actually submit the final total to the credit company (replacing the $1 charge). This can take some time to go through.