WooCommerce Pro Partner
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WooCommerce Stripe pre-authorisation for high-value orders
For Jaggards, we built a custom WooCommerce payment flow where customers place high-value bullion orders by bank transfer, while Stripe places a card hold to help secure the order. The flow works with live metal pricing, 3D Secure and a checkout price lock.
The problem
Selling gold and silver online creates payment challenges that standard checkout flows don’t handle well.
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Large orders and card costs
Card fees on high-value bullion orders can be significant, so Jaggards wanted customers to be able to pay by bank transfer while still helping secure the order with a card hold.
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Different ways to pay
Customers needed clear payment options at checkout, with the right wording, pricing and order status for each method.
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Prices that move
Gold and silver prices change through the day, so the checkout needed to hold the price long enough for the customer to complete the order.
What we built
We built a custom Stripe payment method, bank transfer order flow and live price lock for Jaggards’ WooCommerce store.
Card hold
A card hold for bank transfer orders
Pre-authorisation bank transfer is the default way to pay on the Jaggards store.
At checkout, the customer enters their card details and a set percentage of the order, 5% by default, is held rather than charged.
The order stays pending while the customer pays the full amount by bank transfer.
Card details go into Stripe’s secure fields, with 3D Secure when the bank asks for it, so card numbers do not touch the store.
The hold percentage, checkout wording and test or live mode are all managed from WooCommerce settings.
Pre-authorisation bank transfer is the default way to pay for large bullion orders.
Jaggards, bullion dealer.
Read the case study
Payment pricing
Clear pricing for different payment methods
Customers see the available payment options before they confirm the order.
Where legally appropriate, the store can show a bank transfer price or discount upfront, so customers understand the payment options before checkout.
The payment flow avoids adding unexpected fees at the last step of checkout.
Bulk buy pricing still works, and the cart recalculates when the quantity crosses a tier.
Price lock
Prices locked while they check out
Live metal prices keep moving, so the checkout holds the price the customer saw.
Once a customer is checking out, the price is locked for 5 minutes with a countdown, so they pay the price shown at checkout.
The price is frozen the moment they press pay, even if the countdown is about to run out.
If the 5 minutes pass, the checkout refreshes to the latest price before they can pay.
Checks and safety
Built for what can go wrong
Payments are the part of a store that cannot fail quietly.
A few minutes after each hold, the payment is checked again with Stripe, so the order matches what really happened.
If a hold is cancelled in Stripe, the store hears about it and updates the order.
Holds, failures and cancellations are written to the order notes and WooCommerce logs.
Day to day
How it works for a customer
From adding bullion to the cart to paying by bank transfer.
Card details stay with Stripe
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01
Price locked at checkout
The customer starts checkout and the live price is locked for 5 minutes.
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02
Chooses how to pay
Pre-authorisation bank transfer is selected, with the payment terms shown clearly.
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03
Card held, not charged
They enter their card, pass 3D Secure if asked, and a small percentage is held.
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04
Pays by bank transfer
The order waits as pending while they transfer the full amount.
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05
Checked and logged
The payment status is checked again with Stripe and every step is recorded on the order.
Need a custom WooCommerce payment flow?
If your orders are large, your prices move, or your customers pay in different ways, we can build a payment flow around how your business actually sells. We’ve built Stripe pre-authorisation, price locking for live-price products, authorise-then-charge flows for weighed orders, and gateways for other payment providers.
Questions about Stripe pre-authorisation
A pre-authorisation holds an amount on the customer’s card without charging it immediately.
The store can then charge all or part of the held amount, or release it, depending on how the payment flow is set up.
Card holds usually expire after a limited time if they are not charged, so the payment flow needs to be designed around the provider’s authorisation window.
No. Card details are entered in Stripe’s secure fields, and the store only receives a reference to the payment.
Yes. In the Jaggards flow, the percentage held is a WooCommerce setting, so it can be changed without a developer.
Yes. For Jaggards, we built a checkout price lock for live gold and silver pricing, so the customer has a fixed window to complete payment before the price refreshes.
Yes. We’ve also built authorise-then-charge flows where the order is authorised first, then the final amount is charged once the order is weighed or confirmed.
We can help design payment flows and checkout wording that suit the way your business takes payment.
Card surcharge rules have changed in Australia, so we avoid building flows that rely on adding a card surcharge at the last step. For anything involving payment-method pricing, discounts or fees, confirm the approach with your payment provider or legal adviser.
Yes. Tell us how your customers pay today, what needs to happen before the order is confirmed, and which payment provider you use.
We’ll map the payment flow and give you a fixed quote before we start.
Talk to us about payments
Tell us how your customers pay today and what you’d like to change. A real person from our Sydney team will get back to you to talk it through.
Rather talk now? Call us(02) 9121 6234We'll only use your details to reply to you.