How to Take a Payment When the Card Is Not Present

“Virtual Terminals” may not sound like a glamorous topic but they are an alternative solution through our Chesapeake Payment Systems team when you can’t swipe or dip credit and debit cards for customer (or card-not-present) transactions. And getting paid is always exciting.

What is a virtual terminal?

A Virtual Terminal (VT) is an online point-of-sale solution that allows merchants to manually key card numbers via website for charges. VTs can be accessed by any device that can connect to the internet i.e. computer, tablet, phone.

It works similarly to a customer placing an order online, but in this case, it’s the merchant that enters the information.

Virtual Terminals might be a fit for you if:

Your business takes mostly card-not-present (CNP) transactions, by means of orders or invoice payments, particularly over the phone. They can also be a work around, should the unthinkable happen and machines go down.

Features and Benefits:

“Because of the way fees are structured through VISA and other card brands, transactions through a Virtual Terminal are usually a bit cheaper because of alternative security parameters, like Address Verification, that are already in place,” says Thanh Alexander, Merchant Technology Specialist, Chesapeake Payment Systems. Additional benefits include:

  • Easy access to reporting: Instead of having to contact the card processor or comb through paper receipts, merchants can run reports and search any transaction that’s ever been processed through in-depth filter options on the terminal site.
  • Keep track of all your customers: Your “Customer Vault” creates a directory of saved customers and can keep card information on file for additional manual or recurring charges.
  • Multiple user accounts: You can set additional users for employees with varying permissions.
  • Invoicing: Send customers customized invoices that can have the merchant’s logo and itemized lists. Customers will be able to pay through the invoice as well. Merchants can sort through invoices by invoice number (which can be auto-generated or manually input) or by customer name.
  • Collect checkout: Create a link or an html-based script that will send users to a custom payment page.
  • QuickBooks integration: Take payments directly through QuickBooks using a SyncPay plugin tool.
  • Physical Terminal Integration: VTs are designed to work as a standalone system on the go but they can also integrate with a physical card terminal and desktop application. This feature would also allow you to split transactions between card-present and card-not-present, if needed.
  • Web Developer Tools. Create an API (Application Programming Interface) or other custom code to accept transactions via your website.
  • Full Control: With up to 20 customizable fields with drop-down menus for additional values, you can be sure to get all of the information you need from each transaction.
  • Training Library: Access to video tutorials just like this one titled “Run a Sale Transaction” with membership.

Other functions and features may be available. Our team will ask you questions during our discovery call to determine your needs.

What you need to get started?

Virtual Terminals require, a payment gateway, internet access, and a web-browser. Most merchants already have these items in place for credit card processing. VTs are also often a feature of a gateway program—meaning that if you have the gateway, you likely already have access to the virtual terminal that can be turned on for as little as $15 per month.

“Setup is relatively straight-forward,” says Thanh. “Most of the time, merchants will only need to set up a password for an account that we create and they will be able to process immediately.”

Our team will always provide you with a hands on tutorial beforehand and answer any questions.

Ready to learn more?

Speak to someone with our Business Development Team at (877) 695-8239 to learn more.