How To Authorize Card Payments In Websites

Written By Amiso Pius (Collaborator)

Updated at February 21st, 2025

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of setting up card payment authorization on your website. This feature allows you to temporarily deduct a specific amount from a customer’s bank account to verify they have sufficient funds before completing a purchase. Once authorized, the system refunds the amount. This is particularly useful for subscription and payment plans.

Understanding Card Payment Authorization

Card payment authorization is not automatically enabled and requires additional setup steps. Here's how it works:

  • The system temporarily deducts the "authorized amount" from the customer's bank account.
  • If the customer doesn't have sufficient funds during authorization, they won't be able to continue with the purchase.
  • Once the authorization is approved, the system refunds the deducted amount.
  • If your plans include trial days, they will start after card authorization.
  • The refunded funds may take up to 5 business days to return to the customer's bank account.
  • Card payment authorization only works with subscription and payment plans.

Setting up Card Payment Authorization

To get started, go to your website and locate the section where the order form is placed. Then, click on the "three dots" to access more options. Click on "Products." If you don't see any products on your page, add them first.

On the page, select the three-dotted button and click “Edit” for the product for which you want to enable authorization. For this example, we have two plans: a plan for $15 and a monthly plan for $100.

Scroll down and click on "Additional Options."

Select "Custom Authorization" and specify the amount you want to authorize. Remember, this amount will be temporarily deducted from the customer's account. It should be a positive number, equal to or more than 1, with exactly two decimals.

Remember to click the "Save" button to save the authorization settings for the selected plan.

If you have multiple plans, return to the Edit Product step and repeat the process for each plan that requires authorization.

📌NOTE: To authorize payments before purchase for all plans, you must repeat this process for each plan attached to the payment form.

This guide simplifies the process of setting up card payment authorization, making it accessible for both professionals and beginners looking to enhance their website’s payment options.