What Is a Credit Card Authorization Form?

You’ve just been approved for a new credit card. Also, the bank has promised that your shiny new plastic card will be in your hand within ten business days. In order to prevent any possibility of fraud, it’s imperative that you submit a few required forms before the delivery date. The most important of these refers to a Credit Card Authorization Form.

What is Credit Card Authorization Form? It’s an agreement between you and the bank. Also, it authorizes them to charge your account until your credit card arrives. The form also includes various other requests that you will need to meet before you send out the card. These might include:

• Credit Card Authorization Form requires that they hold all mail until they receive the card.
• Credit Card Authorization Form requests that the new credit card be sent overnight delivery.
• Moreover, it requires them to notify you when it’s on its way.

The bank will not send out your Credit Card Authorization Form unless the information they’ve requested you have filled out in full. It can take anywhere from one week to two weeks for your Credit Card Authorization Form to arrive. Once it does, the bank will proceed with processing your request.

Suggested Read: What is a Good APR for a Credit Card?

When Would You Need One

You may need a credit card authorization form in many cases. For example, when you don’t have or can’t get from your client an order confirmation number, a purchase order number, a pre-approval code, a legitimate credit card number, or any other proof of purchase. Some companies refuse to provide their customers with these numbers and codes. The reason is that they assume the consumer will use them to make unauthorized purchases. 

The purpose of this form is to provide proof that someone has authorized another person to use their credit card. As long as there is no purchase amount limit associated with the transaction mentioned on the document. In some cases, you might want just this type of proof. But with a lower purchasing limit set for your customer’s convenience.

How to Fill Out the Form

The first part of the form must include:

• Client’s name and address, as well as business name and address (if different)
• Three vertical lines or dashes
• The date that the credit card authorization is issued (mm/dd/yyyy format only)
• Approver’s signature (always left-justified on paper with a title underneath if applicable)

Right here, you would put your own initials, using uppercase for your first initial and lowercase for your last initial.

• Credit card number – (always left-justified on paper, even if it’s clipped off)
• Card expiration date (mm/yy format only)
• Customer or client name (if different from the person signing the form)
• All parties should sign the credit card authorization being a part of the transaction which is about to take place. Three vertical lines or dashes should appear after this section between the customer’s name and the date.

The rest of the form should include:

• An amount or a pre-approved limit on an account (entered as numbers only)
• Account name (left-justified on paper with initials if applicable)
• Customer information (name, address, city, state, zip code)
• Description of services/product/item that is being purchased
• The date that transaction takes place
• Purchase order number from client/customer if one is available
• Account balance after the transaction takes place
• Customer signature or initials that appear right next to an “X” if a pen was used for filling out this form on paper
• Date of customer’s signature (mm/dd/yyyy format only)

Note: You should leave this section always blank regardless of what type of form you are using. So leave it as a vertical line or dashes so you can easily identify it as part of the document. Fill out this information and sign at the bottom or where indicated by your company name and address for credit card authorization forms that will be faxed, mailed, emailed, or hand-delivered. After you fill out the form, print your full name. Then send it to the cardholder’s company if they request one on a regular basis or as needed.

How and When You Should Send Your Form

Depending on how often you provide this document to the individual who requested it, you might fax, mail, email, or hand-deliver your signed credit card authorization form after you fill it out. It is not advisable that you scan and email this information. It is because of possible security breaches like hacking someone else’s account by mistake. The different types of transactions (one time use or multiple times) should determine when and how often you give these forms to the client:

One Time Use Hand-Deliver If the transaction is one-time or infrequent, hand-deliver the form so both parties can sign it.

One Time Use Fax Only Never use email to send this information! A company will typically provide you with an authorization form on a regular basis. In case of if they want to give you direct deposit access for your paycheck or reimbursement forms. If that’s the case, then it is advisable that you fill them out and fax them back to the individual who requested them after signing. As soon as they receive your signed copy, they’ll email you how much money is due in the transaction. It will make the entire process go smoothly without having to wait too long for paperwork to arrive from either party involved.

Multiple Times Use Mail/Fax It’s not advisable that multiple times use to be done via email, and there is no reason for a company to require you to fill out the authorization form more than one time. Hence, if they want it mailed or faxed back, go ahead and do that as soon as possible. This will make it much easier on whoever needs to access your account as one set of information will arrive faster than two sets of different forms arriving at two separate times. 

Common Mistakes People Make on the Credit Card Authorization Form

People make many mistakes when filling out forms. Here are a few you should watch for: 

Putting a number where the company has asked for a signature or initials Mistakes in figures and amounts Incorrect account numbers Not knowing what subject to write about on certain lines Writing “for” instead of “account” Not understanding their right to cancel within three days The biggest mistake that people make is not paying attention to what they’re signing, so it’s better to take your time and fill everything out correctly than rush through it and run the risk of making an error. Tips For Completing An Authorization Form Correctly:

Read everything before you sign. Make sure you understand what each line means, and each number should go. If you need to take the time to know what every term means, don’t be afraid to ask your employer or whoever is requesting the form

How Does This Differ From Application for Credit Card Approval

An application for credit card approval is a request from an individual for another company to issue them a credit card. An authorization form, on the other hand, is a contract that someone or some company needs you to sign in order to gain access to your bank account, usually through direct deposit. The two can overlap if you’re looking for a credit card and the only way to get one with your employer is to have it deposited into your bank account – but this should state as such on the form itself as well as within any documentation you receive from either party involved. If there is any confusion about what kind of authorization form you are signing, ask someone from HR or whoever requested it before filling anything out.

What Are Some of the Benefits of Using Credit Card Authorization Form

Many customers and potential customers choose to use credit cards for purchases. It is because of the convenience and security offered by these payment options. Moreover, if you offer a service or sell goods that you can pay with a credit card, it is likely that your customers will want to pay online via your website as this transaction method is quick and easy as well as safe. In order to allow your customer to make a purchase using their credit card, you need to request authorization from the bank which has issued that card. To do this, you will need a credit card authorization form.

 Besides, a credit card authorization form requests approval from a company’s merchant services provider for a specific charge amount – including any applicable fees – against someone’s line of credit (or “open-to-buy”). The merchant services provider then sends the request to the customer’s financial institution, which either approves or denies the charge. In case of its approval, the financial institution tells your merchant services provider, and charges are in process. In case of rejection, your point of sale (POS) system declines the card. Also, your customer can try with another card or choose an alternative payment method.

Credit card authorization forms do not automatically mean that you have completed a transaction successfully; they confirm whether a company’s customer has enough credit available to pay for their purchase using their open-to-buy line of credit balance. You need to complete this step before you can finalize an online order via your website.

Credit card companies have begun to assist users with low credit limits. If you’re having trouble, get the Milestone Gold Card here.