When you place an order with Amazon.de or on Amazon.de Marketplace, we contact your payment card's issuing bank to confirm that your card has a valid number, and has not been reported as lost or stolen. This is communicated via a full authorisation for the amount of the purchase. However, we don't actually proceed with the charge. This is simply one of the security measures that we use to protect our customers. Additionally, if you sell items on Amazon Marketplace, we may periodically authorise your card to ensure your account information is up-to-date.