How to Fill Out a Credit Card Authorization Form

What is a Credit Card Authorization Form?

A credit card authorization form is a very important financial document, which is signed by a credit card holder to give their consent to a merchant or other entity to charge a certain amount to their credit card. The main purpose of this authorization form is to protect merchants and their businesses against charge-backs, if the credit card holder tries to report a falsified or illegal transaction against the merchant and asks for the consented amount on his card to be reversed by the concerned bank.

A credit card authorization form essentially contains 4 sections provided below:

1. Information about the card holder, including the card holder’s full name
2. Information about the credit card, including:
   • Full credit card number
   • Expiration date on the card
   • CCV number printed on the back of the card*
     • *However, depending on the security measures installed on your end to protect your client’s data, it may not be advisable to collect such a sensitive piece of information on the authorization form.

3. The name of the merchant/business that will be charging the consented amount on the credit card
4. Signature of the card holder(s)

Merchants Using Credit Card Authorization Forms

Merchants who use credit card payment authorization forms on a regular basis need to make sure the information provided on the form is correct. This is the only way they will be able to ensure that their payment is not rejected or challenged by the bank issuing the credit card. Although in most instances these days, credit card payments are completely automated, unless there is a problem with the bank’s server or the power supply is down, and online payment processing is not possible at that moment.

In such a scenario, the same process of filling out the form would be carried out, albeit in a hard copy. Merchants will need to fill out some very important pieces of information regarding their clients. That’s why it’s advisable to fill out this information carefully. It’s also wise to put a small description of the item that is being purchased through the transaction in the form. If there is more than one item being purchased, you should also furnish a small description or item number for each additional item on the form. Noting the price of each item is also advisable.

Once all the items and their respective prices are noted in the form, then you should determine the total value of the merchandise and add any applicable taxes on the total sale value and write the final amount down on the form. You will also be required to furnish the name and contact information of the customer/client, for which you can use their telephone and/or driver’s license number to show that you have properly verified the identity of the card holder. Now the last thing to do is to mention the merchant’s information if it is not already pre-printed on the merchant form and swipe the card on the hard copy of the credit card payment authorization form.