Virtual terminal UK: take payments over the phone

Virtual terminal vs payment link vs physical terminal

On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to compare all three options.

How the customer completes payment

For a virtual terminal: sign in to the approved provider system, enter the agreed amount and order reference, then enter the details requested during the call. Submit the payment and check the provider’s result before confirming it to the customer. Follow the agreed receipt and reconciliation process.

For a payment link: create the request and send the provider-hosted link to the customer. They enter their details on that page; you check the payment status against the invoice. takepayments describes both hosted services, so a business does not need its own ecommerce website to use them.

Choose around the business workflow

A garage taking payment before collection, a business handling telephone orders or a service business collecting an invoice during a call may find a virtual terminal useful. These are examples of workflows, not a promise that every business or transaction will be approved. See the checks for payments for garages.

A payment link can fit a deposit or invoice where the customer wants to pay in their own time. A physical card machine fits face-to-face payment. For a website basket and automated checkout, ask about an ecommerce payment gateway. A browser-based virtual terminal is operated by staff; it is not a customer checkout.

Explain advance payments, the time before goods or services are delivered, unusual transaction sizes and any fallback if a link is not completed. For a new business payment setup, use realistic expected volumes. Confirm the permitted methods before taking orders.

Card present and card not present

MOTO means mail order / telephone order. A card payment taken over the phone is a card-not-present transaction: the card is not read at the merchant’s physical terminal. Payment links and ecommerce are also card-not-present channels, but a customer-completed online payment is a different workflow from a staff-entered telephone payment.

Do not assume online authentication works the same way for both. takepayments distinguishes the address and card-security-code checks used for MOTO from 3D Secure on online payments. Confirm the controls for your service. An ordinary card-machine agreement does not establish that phone payments are enabled.

Compare the costs for the remote channel

Ask for a written breakdown: percentage rates by card category, pence per billable request, monthly virtual-terminal or gateway fees, any minimum charge, setup cost, refund and chargeback fees, and applicable PCI-related charges. Check the contract term, cancellation terms and VAT treatment. Confirm whether using both links and phone payments changes the cost.

Price the expected remote-payment volume separately from in-person sales. Use the same volume and card mix to compare complete payment quotes; do not apply your cheapest in-person debit rate to every remote payment.

Illustration only: 100 remote payments averaging £80 give £8,000 of sales. An assumed 1.5% charge is £120 before any fixed or pence fees. These invented figures are arithmetic, not a CardsMachines price or promised saving.

Check payment status and settlement separately

A customer’s message or screenshot is not the provider’s payment record. Check the approved reporting system and match the payment to the order. Agree how staff handle expiry, cancellation, refunds and duplicate requests.

takepayments notes that ecommerce, pay-by-link and virtual-terminal transactions may have different settlement timescales. Ask for the timetable, cut-off and fee-collection method for the channel you will use. Read the settlement checks before relying on a next-day claim.

Ask about the security and dispute process

Using a hosted virtual terminal does not remove your business’s PCI DSS responsibilities. Ask your provider or acquirer which validation applies to your actual computer, network and telephone setup. PCI SSC says merchants should check eligibility for the C-VT self-assessment questionnaire with their acquirer; it is not automatically right for every business using a virtual terminal.

Keep access limited to authorised staff and agree how devices, credentials and call recordings are protected. PCI SSC prohibits retaining card security codes after authorisation, even encrypted. If calls are recorded, arrange controls that prevent sensitive authentication data being retained; have the provider check the process before use.

Never send card numbers or security codes through the CardsMachines enquiry form, ordinary email or chat. Use only the provider-approved payment process. Keep appropriate order and fulfilment records, without copying sensitive card details. Approval of a payment does not guarantee it cannot be disputed.

Request a review with the right information

Use the remote-payment enquiry to tell Awais whether you need phone payments / virtual terminal, payment links or both. Give your business activity, UK trading postcode and estimated monthly card sales. In the conversation, explain average payment size, deposits, fulfilment delay and any existing provider.

Awais offers proposals through his takepayments / Global Payments role. CardsMachines is an enquiry and guidance site, not the virtual-terminal payment service and not a whole-market broker. The proposed service, acquiring approval, fees, contract and security setup must be confirmed before you take payments. No original statement, banking document or customer card details are needed in this enquiry.

Common questions