Bill Blaney said: In the case of a purchase -- Does Q or my bank know about the online approval date or only the C&S date? If the store takes the card and doesn't seek online approval in advance of C&S, there is no approval date. In the case of an automatic repeat payment from the bank -- I believe the date is when the bank takes the money from my account and keeps it for a day or two before issuing and mailing the check or electronically transferring the funds to the payee.