Pending Redemptions & Release
Locks, the confirmation window, and cancelling a redemption cleanly
Between the request and the confirmation, a redemption is pending: its points are on hold and a deadline is ticking. This page is about that in-between state.
What the Hold Does
- Held points cannot be spent elsewhere — the customer's usable balance drops by the held amount the moment the redemption starts.
- Several redemptions can run at once, as long as together they fit the balance.
- A request that does not fit fails on the spot — before any customer code is sent — naming the shortfall.
The Window
A pending redemption lives for a fixed window from the moment it starts. The same window also bounds pending earnings awaiting confirmation. When it lapses:
- The hold releases itself — the points return to usable automatically.
- The customer's code, and any approval already given, becomes useless.
- Nothing needs cleaning up, and starting again is always safe.
What You Configure
Setting | Your options | Default |
|---|---|---|
Confirmation window | Any duration in minutes — long enough for the customer's code and the till's confirmation, short enough that abandoned holds free quickly | 10 minutes |
Cancelling on the Spot
When a sale is cancelled at the counter, the till releases the redemption immediately (release redemption) instead of waiting out the window:
- The held points free instantly — visible in the very next balance lookup.
- The code and any approval are voided. Restarting the same redemption later begins the security chain from scratch — a fresh code, a fresh approval.
- Releasing something that is not pending is harmless — it simply reports that nothing was held.
Built for messy counters
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