Card networks were forced to keep these layers separate for decades. Authorization is just an issuer saying 'this account can spend up to X here right now.' It doesn't promise capture, doesn't validate that the merchant delivered, doesn't predict chargeback risk. Settlement comes hours or days later, and disputes run on a different timeline. Bundling these in agent stacks tends to break in the same places card networks already worked through. Curious whether x402 ends up with something like a reason-coded dispute layer, or whether escrow contracts absorb that role.