What are pending transactions and why can’t I categorise a pending transaction?

When most banks process transactions they initially put the transaction into a pending state.  Often you can see the pending transactions when you login to your internet banking service.  Different banks label them in different ways – some include the word pending in the transaction description, others describe the transaction as a purchase authorisation.  Often the transaction description will be updated over the next couple of days as the bank finishes processing the transaction.  The lack of information on the transaction and the subsequent changes in the transaction description make it difficult for us to accurately categorise the transaction while it is in a pending state – so we don’t.  We wait until the transaction information is complete before we categorise it or allow you to categorise it.

We understand that not being able to categorise pending transactions can be frustrating and we are continually working with the banks and our suppliers to improve the way we deal with pending transactions and reduce the time that transactions are in a pending state.