Ticketmaster is one of the largest primary ticket outlets and marketplaces for ticket resale in the United States and abroad. When purchasing tickets on Ticketmaster, customers go through a payment processing system to complete their transactions. However, some customers have complained that Ticketmaster takes an excessively long time to process payments. There are a few key factors that affect Ticketmaster’s payment processing times.
Ticketmaster Payment Options
Ticketmaster accepts a variety of payment methods, including:
– Credit cards – Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover
– Debit cards – Must have a Visa or Mastercard logo
– PayPal
– Ticketmaster gift cards
The type of payment method used can impact processing time. Credit and debit card payments must be authorized and can take longer with extra security steps. PayPal or gift card payments may be faster since the funds are already available in the customer’s account.
Verification and Fraud Checks
Ticketmaster utilizes verification and fraud prevention systems to protect customers against unauthorized access and tickets being purchased with stolen payment details. These security checks aim to validate the customer’s identity, ensure tickets are being purchased for personal use, and screen for suspicious transactions. However, they can require additional time to complete the order verification process.
Some of the verification steps may include:
– Checking for bots – Ensures a human is making the actual ticket purchase
– Address checks – Compares billing address to credit card records
– CVV checks – Verifies the 3-digit code on the back of credit cards
– Duplicate order screens – Prevents mass ticket orders by resellers
High Demand Events
For major concerts, festivals, and sporting events, Ticketmaster experiences extremely high order volumes over short periods of time. Hundreds of thousands of fans might be trying to purchase tickets all at once when they first go on sale. This rush can overwhelm Ticketmaster’s sales systems and cause payment processing delays across their website and apps.
Under normal circumstances, Ticketmaster aims to process payments within just a few minutes. But during peak sales, payment confirmation emails can take over an hour to be delivered if orders are backed up in their system. Customers might assume the payment did not go through when it actually was just delayed by the high influx of orders.
Technical Issues
Like any website, technical problems can also disrupt Ticketmaster’s services from time to time. Server outages, website crashes, or payment processing failures can all stop payment processing in its tracks. These tech issues are usually resolved within an hour or two after being identified. But customers trying to purchase tickets during an outage will encounter delays until functionality is restored.
How Long Does Ticketmaster Usually Take to Process Payments?
Under normal circumstances, Ticketmaster strives to process payments instantly or within 3-5 minutes. However, a number of factors can extend processing times. Here are some estimates for common scenarios:
Payment Scenario | Estimated Processing Time |
---|---|
Regular ticket sale | Less than 5 minutes |
Peak ticket rush | 15 minutes – 1 hour |
Fraud security checks | 15 minutes – 1 hour |
Technical issues | Less than 2 hours typically |
High risk international order | 24 – 48 hours |
During big on-sales, payment confirmation can take over an hour in some cases if Ticketmaster systems are overloaded with requests. Fraud verification steps may also tack on 15 minutes to an hour to complete the screening process.
Technical problems are usually resolved quickly within 1-2 hours. In rare cases, an outage could last longer if it requires extensive repairs.
International orders flagged as high risk could have the longest delay, up to 48 hours for additional verification. But domestic U.S. orders should not take more than a few hours at most.
Tips for Speeding Up Your Ticketmaster Order
Here are some tips customers can use to try and speed up payment processing times when ordering tickets through Ticketmaster:
Use PayPal or Gift Cards
PayPal or Ticketmaster gift cards often process faster than entering new credit card information since that data needs to be authorized with banks. PayPal withdrawals from a linked bank account or existing gift card balance speed up the process.
Ensure Payment Details are Correct
Double and triple check that all billing details entered match your credit card or bank account records. Incorrect Zip codes, expired cards, or misspellings can trigger fraud alerts and slow down order verification.
Avoid Peak Rush Times
Try to purchase tickets a couple days after the initial on-sale date to avoid peak order volumes. Payment and website responsiveness is usually improved after the first big rush.
Use Ticketmaster Account
Setting up an account on Ticketmaster can expedite purchases by storing your payment and personal details for faster checkout. This skips re-entering data every order.
Contact Customer Service
If your order is stuck in payment processing limbo for over an hour, reach out to Ticketmaster customer service for assistance. They can investigate stalled orders and attempt to push them through.
How to Tell if Your Ticketmaster Payment Went Through
The best way to confirm if your Ticketmaster ticket purchase payment was successfully processed is to check for a confirmation email. This will have details of the event, seats, and a receipt confirming payment.
However, if you have not received an email within 2 hours, check your credit card statements and Ticketmaster account purchase history. A pending or completed charge from Ticketmaster will indicate payment was processed, even if the email confirmation has not arrived yet.
You can also contact Ticketmaster Fan Support to have them look up the status of your order number and payment. They have access to verify if the transaction went through on their end.
Do not attempt to purchase the same tickets again if uncertain, as you may end up with duplicate orders. Reach out to customer service first to validate.
Troubleshooting No Confirmation Email
Some steps to try if you do not receive a Ticketmaster order confirmation email:
– Check Spam or Junk Folders – Emails sometimes get filtered out
– Contact Ticketmaster Support – They can resend confirmation emails
– Review Purchase History – Account will show completed orders
– Call Credit Card Company – They can confirm if a charge went through
– Wait 2 Hours – High volume sales can delay emails
As long as the charge appears on your credit card statement, your Ticketmaster ticket payment was successful. The confirmation email may just be delayed and arrive later. Support can also resend it if needed.
Is Ticketmaster’s Payment Processing Getting Faster or Slower?
Overall, Ticketmaster’s payment processing speeds have improved along with upgrades to their website capabilities and shift towards mobile ticketing. Some areas of progress include:
Mobile Optimization
The Ticketmaster app and mobile-friendly purchasing on their website has accelerated order completion. Mobile checkout removes lags from legacy desktop flows.
Increased Bandwidth
By scaling servers, bandwidth, and system resources, Ticketmaster has greater capacity to handle upticks in traffic and sales volume. This reduces downtime during peak sales.
Expansion to Mobile Tickets
Mobile tickets reduce fraud risks and allow faster entry to events by removing paper ticket bottlenecks. Over 60% of Ticketmaster tickets are now delivered digitally.
AI Fraud Detection
New AI systems quickly identify suspicious transactions and bot attacks. This automates fraud analysis that otherwise requires manual reviews.
However, extremely high demand events can still overwhelm systems and cause temporary bottlenecks. As sales volumes continue rising, Ticketmaster will need to continually evolve their systems to keep up with faster payments. But on average, payment processing is progressively getting quicker over time.
Conclusion
Ticketmaster aims to process ticket order payments instantly but high sales volume, fraud checks, and technical issues can sometimes delay confirmations by a few hours in worst-case scenarios. Payment problems are usually resolved quickly within 1-2 hours. Customers with stalled orders past that time should contact support for assistance. While occasional delays occur, Ticketmaster’s payments have generally been speeding up over time as they optimize their systems to handle more mobile volume and grow their event inventory.