See a charge from Instacart you don’t recognize? Before you reach out to us for help, you might want to double-check it’s not—
- An Instacart Express subscription fee
- A temporary authorization hold for an order in process
- An adjusted total for changes in your order (e.g., items unavailable or replaced items at a different price).
Temporary authorization hold amounts
For orders in process, Instacart places a temporary authorization hold for a slightly higher amount than your estimated order total. This small difference accounts for potential changes in the final total due to added items, items replaced at a different price, and actual weight of items.
We release the authorization hold after your order is delivered or canceled. It can take 3-5 business days for the pending charge to drop, depending on your bank.
Instacart will only charge you for the total of the items delivered to you.
Final total different from total at checkout
When you place an order, Instacart shows you the anticipated total, including estimated taxes and fees. The final total charged to your card may be different if any changes occur during the shopping process, such as—
- An item is out of stock and you’re refunded
- You add an item to your order after checkout
- An item you order needs to be replaced, and the replacement has a different price
- An item you order is sold by weight and the exact weight is slightly different
Recurring charges
For security reasons, Instacart’s payment processor cannot store a card's CVC on file. Instacart’s payment processor flags the initial charge as "recurring" so that you don’t have to re-enter your card information every time you place an order.
Fraudulent charges
If the scenarios outlined in this article do not apply, and you still feel the charge you see is fraudulent, please contact us.
Talk to Instacart before disputing unknown charges directly with your bank. When a dispute is filed, the associated Instacart account is placed on hold during the investigation, which can take up to 90 days.