What is a forced authorization code in payment processing?

[Samuel]

I recently heard about a “forced authorization code” used in credit card transactions and wanted to understand what it actually means. From what I gather, it seems related to approving a payment manually when the system doesn’t automatically authorize it.

 

[karen]

A forced authorization code is a manual authorization number supplied by a card issuer to a transaction when the system does not have the capability to authorize the transaction.

 

[Gsusangrey]

A 6-digit code that a merchant receives over the phone from an issuing bank is known as a forced authorization code.

It is employed to manually override a soft decline on a card-present transaction (such as a PIN error or AVS mismatch). To "force" the transaction through, the merchant must input the code into the POS; however, this increases the risk of a chargeback.

 

[danisjohn]

A forced authorization code is a manual approval number provided by the card issuer when a payment can’t be authorized electronically. Merchants enter this code to force the transaction through, usually during system outages or special approval cases.

 

[Jarwish]

A forced authorization code is a manually entered approval number used in payment processing when a transaction can’t be automatically authorized, often due to offline systems or card issues.

 

[Mayank]

A forced authorization code in payment processing is a code manually provided by a card issuer to approve a transaction that would otherwise be declined, often used when the card reader cannot obtain standard authorization due to technical or risk issues.

 

[erwinsmith]

When the card reader is unable to get conventional authorization because of technical or risk concerns, a forced authorization code is a code manually supplied by the card issuer to accept a transaction that would otherwise be denied.