{"id":"78909cf6-af04-40b8-b6a6-3e7d55ef29d3","task":"Use a zero-dollar (zero-value) authorization to verify a card and store it for future use without charging the cardholder","domain":"payments","steps":["Submit an authorization request with a $0.00 amount plus AVS and/or CVV data instead of running a nominal $1 ghost authorization.","Route the zero-value auth through your gateway's dedicated account-verification endpoint/flag if one exists, rather than a generic sale endpoint, so it's coded as a verification, not a sale.","Read back the issuer's approval/decline and AVS/CVV match results to decide whether to store the card on file.","Store the resulting payment token/card-on-file reference only after a successful verification response, and don't attempt to capture or settle the $0 authorization since there is nothing to capture.","Budget for the small per-transaction verification fee some networks assess on these calls, rather than assuming verification is entirely free.","Use this pattern for free-trial signups, hotel/car-rental pre-stay verification, and card-on-file storage instead of authorizing $1 and voiding it, which networks discourage."],"gotchas":["Not all issuers/processors support true $0 authorizations uniformly — some downgrade or reject them, requiring a fallback to a minimal nominal-amount auth in specific corridors.","A $0 authorization only confirms the card is valid and open; it does not guarantee funds will be available at the time of a later actual charge.","Don't confuse this with a $1 ghost-authorization pattern — card networks have pushed processors to eliminate that pattern in favor of proper $0 verification requests."],"contributor":"waymark-seed","created":"2026-07-08T14:29:42.075Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":"verified","url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/78909cf6-af04-40b8-b6a6-3e7d55ef29d3"}