Do you want to claim your money at a remittance center but you’re personally unable to do so? What you can do is to make an authorization letter so that your authorized representative can claim the money for you. Writing an authorization letter is fairly easy and you don’t even have to hire a lawyer to do it.
An authorization letter to claim money is a letter that grants another person (also known as your authorized representative) the right to claim your money on your behalf. It gives that person the legal authority to claim or withdraw your money at a bank, remittance company or any financial institution, subject to the terms and conditions specified in the letter. In most cases, the authorized representative is required to furnish his identity card or any proof of identification, as well as the identity card of the authorizing person.
An authorization letter is useful in circumstances where an individual is not physically present or able to claim the money himself. For example, an ill or sick person can write a letter allowing his parent, relative, guardian or even a trusted friend to claim the money on his behalf. The authorized representative will then furnish the letter to the bank or remittance center when claiming the money.
Ideally, the authorization letter must include all the relevant information needed to support it, such as the name and contact number of the authorizing person, the name of the representative, the amount of money to be claimed, and so on. The more information you can provide to support your authorization letter, the more likely it is for your letter to be accepted by the bank or financial institution.
How to Write an Authorization Letter to Claim Money
You don’t need to be a lawyer (or hire one) to write an authorization letter to claim money. As long as you know the basic parts of the authorization letter, then you can write one yourself and save money on legal fees.
The authorization letter to claim money involves three parties:
- First party: The authorizing person who is the original owner or claimant of the money.
- Second party: The bank, remittance company or financial institution where the money will be claimed (e.g. Palawan Express Pera Padala, Cebuana Lhuillier, M. Lhuillier, Western Union).
- Third party: The authorized representative or the individual who will claim the money on behalf of the first party.
Now that you know the parties that are involved in an authorization letter, you can start crafting it yourself. You may follow this format in writing an authorization letter to claim money:
- Write your name and address.
- Write the date the letter was made.
- Write the name and address of the second party (bank or remittance center).
- Include a salutation (e.g. “Dear Manager”). If the second party is unknown, you may write “To Whom It May Concern.”
- In the first paragraph, introduce yourself and write a statement that you are authorizing your representative to claim the money on your behalf. You may include the following details:
- Your name or the name of the authorizing person
- The name of the authorized representative
- Your relationship to the representative (e.g. “Wife”)
- Total amount of money to be claimed
- The date when the money will be claimed
- Name of the second party (e.g. “Palawan Express Pera Padala”)
- The reason why you can’t claim the money
- In the second paragraph, mention that your authorized representative will have to present his identification card as well as the identification card of the first party or authorizing person.
- In the third paragraph, mention that you are willing to be contacted to verify the identity of your representative. Include your phone or mobile number for this purpose.
- In the last paragraph, write a short sentence thanking the recipient of the letter and that you’re hoping for their cooperation and understanding.
- Write the complimentary close (e.g. “Truly yours”).
- Finally, write your name along with your signature.
Feel free to write your own authorization letter in a way that suits you. The important thing is to include all the necessary information to support your claim, such as the names of all parties involved, the amount of money to be claimed, and your contact information.
If writing your own letter is too hard for you, you can use a free template and edit it to suit your needs. A sample authorization letter to claim money is available later in this article.
Does an Authorization Letter Need to be Notarized?
In most cases, no, an authorization letter doesn’t have to be notarized. It is still considered valid without notarization.
However, an authorization letter to claim money may be notarized as an additional security measure to prevent fraud and forgery. When the letter is notarized, the notary public verifies the identity of the signatory and records the entry in the notary journal as proof of the existence of the document. Having an authorization letter notarized is a good way to prevent any attempts to forge your signature and thus gain authority without your knowledge and permission.
So while an authorization letter is still considered valid even if it’s not notarized, having your letter notarized will increase its credibility and gives the second party the assurance that the document is legitimate.
Sample Authorization Letter to Claim Money
Here’s a sample authorization letter that you can copy and paste to your Word document. Simply replace the words inside brackets [ ] with your own information.
[Your Name]
[Street Address]
[City, Province, ZIP Code]
[Date]
[Name of Bank/Remittance Center]
[Street Address]
[City, Province, ZIP Code]
To Whom It May Concern,
I, [Your Name], hereby authorize [Name of Authorized Representative], who is my [Relationship], to claim my money on my behalf. [Name of Authorized Representative] is allowed to claim the total amount of [Amount of Money] from [Name of Bank/Remittance Center] located at [Location of Bank/Remittance Center] on [Date]. I am personally unable to claim the money myself because of [Reason].
To support my claim, [Name of Authorized Representative] shall be presenting [his/her] identification card for your verification. I have also included my identity card to serve as proof that my representative has the authority to claim the money on my behalf.
Should you have any questions about this letter and the identity of my representative, you may contact me at [Your Phone/Mobile Number].
Thank you and I’m hoping for your consideration regarding this matter.
Very truly yours,
[Your Signature]
[Your Name]
Download a Free Sample of an Authorization Letter to Claim Money
Click any of the buttons below to download a free sample or template of an authorization letter. Feel free to edit it with your favorite word processing software (Microsoft Word or Google Docs) and replace the information inside with your own.
How to Edit the Sample Authorization Letter
Follow these steps to edit and customize the sample authorization letter using Microsoft Word:
- Download the Microsoft Word document by clicking this link.
- Open the document in Microsoft Word (Ctrl + O).
- Click the “Enable Editing” button.
- Replace the words inside the brackets [ ] with your own information.
- Save the document by clicking File > Save or pressing Ctrl + S.
- Print the authorization letter by clicking File > Print or pressing Ctrl + P.
- Sign the letter.
In Summary
The next time you’re personally unable to claim money from Palawan Express Pera Padala or any bank or remittance center, you can write an authorization letter to claim money and have a family member or friend claim the money on your behalf. Don’t forget to give your authorized representative your ID card as a supporting document.
We hope that you enjoyed our guide on how to make an authorization letter to claim money. As always, you can download the free template and edit it in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, and then print and sign your letter before giving it to your representative.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only, and should not be considered as legal advice.
