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Process for Telephone/Voice Authorization of Credit Card Transactions

I. Date of Initiation/Revision

May 16, 2006, April 6, 2007, March 5, 2009, February 29, 2012, November 29, 2016

II. Process Classification

UR Central Administration, as supported by Treasury

III. Process Summary

This document identifies the contact information and telephone numbers for manual credit card transaction authorization.

IV. Related Policies

Credit Card Policy
Guidelines for Credit Card Fraud
Guidelines for Security of Card Not Present transaction

V. Delegation of Authority

The Office of the Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance and CFO has delegated authority for this process to the Office of Treasury.

VI. Process Statement

The purpose of this process is to identify the contact information and telephone number for merchant terminal locations to contact in the event a manual telephone authorization is necessary for Discover Card, Visa or MasterCard.  

VII. Definitions

CID is a Card ID which is the three extra digits at the end of the card number, on the back of the card in or near the signature panel. This is personally indentified information, do not request from cardholder.

VIII. Responsibilities

Each office that maintains merchant card processing will maintain the contact information and telephone numbers for authorizing credit card transactions on a manual basis. The contact information and credit card numbers are included for Visa, MasterCard and Discover Card.

IX. Process

This process applies to Visa, MasterCard and Discover Card transactions that require a manual or verbal authorization. A manual or verbal authorization is necessary for a transaction where the card does not swipe or the card is not present.

Bank of America Merchant Services           usa.visa.com     Discover Network

Bank of America Voice Authorization at 1-866-484-9137. Live operator will request:

  • Merchant ID:  Bank of America merchant ID (MID) begins with 6749105-xxxx.
  • Amount
  • Credit card number
  • Expiration Date
  • CVV2 (for Visa) and CVC2 (for MasterCard) and the four-digit validation code (CID) on AMEX*
  • Live operator will provide a 6 digit authorization code. 

Please process the transaction through a credit card terminal or Paypal/Verisign/Cybersource the same day of authorization to assure collection and to minimize credit card fees.

Note: If customer/patient is using a debit card, the authorization will hold funds on the customer’s account for 7-10 days. If UR does not process a sale on the customer’s card, it will automatically come off their account at the end of the 10 day period. If UR does process a sale to customer’s debit card, the authorization will disappear and the sale will appear.

 * Merchants may elect to provide or not provide the CVV2, CVS and CID values for Visa, MasterCard and American Express. None of these three Card Organizations require the validation code to be provided.

An authorization is an approval on a cardholder account for a sale amount. All card sales require an authorization from the card issuer to verify that the card is valid and has sufficient funds or credit line to cover the amount of the transaction. The card issuing bank provides an authorization and approval code to Wells Fargo.

Authorization is not a guarantee that you will receive payment for the authorized/approved transaction, and it does not mean that the person using the card is the rightful cardholder, therefore it is important that you verify the signature and identity of the card presenter. In addition, if the transaction is disputed at a later date, it is also important to retain the authorization code as proof of approval.

Authorization Codes and Messages–Wells Fargo

Code/Message

Response Definition

00 – Approved

A 2 to 6 digit code follows approval.

02 – Declined

The merchant should never accept the card once declined but request another form of payment.

03 – Pick Up Card

Please pick up the customer’s card.  The card issuing bank wants the card returned to them.  The merchant should never accept the credit card for payment when this response is received.

04 – Referral or Call Center

This response indicates that the card issuing bank requests direct contact with the merchant in order to authorize the sale.  The merchant must contact the Authorization Center for Visa/MasterCard/Discover/American Express.

Hold Card / Card Center

The card issuing bank requests that the card be removed from circulation.  The merchant should never accept the credit card for payment when this response is received.

 

 

10 – Invalid Account Number

The cardholder account number was entered incorrectly.

Invalid Merchant Number

The network does not recognize the merchant account number.  Verify the merchant number was entered correctly and make sure the account is still in an active/open status.

08 – Invalid Debit Card

The cardholder account number was entered incorrectly.

14 – Invalid Expiration

The cardholder expiration date was entered incorrectly.

15 – Invalid Transaction

Verify the customer information was entered correctly.

To obtain a voice authorization – Call the Wells Fargo Voice Authorization center at 800-626-4480 to obtain an authorization code.

  • Write the approval code on the receipt and proceed with keying the transaction into the terminal as a Force/Offline/Post-Authorization sale.  Refer to your terminal Quick Reference Guide for the necessary steps to enter this type of transaction.  You must enter the transaction into the terminal (with the obtained authorization code) in order to process the transaction.
  • If the card is declined, ask the cardholder for another form of payment.
  • Tip: Do not accept an authorization code from a cardholder or from a number the cardholder dialed.  This is a common fraud tactic.