Solutions · Virtual terminals

Virtual terminal
for phone orders and small businesses

Customer on the phone? Type in the card or bank details from your computer and you're done. No reader, no terminal, nothing to plug in.

Set up a virtual terminal →New Business? Start Here

Or call 949-946-2442 or text us.

What it is

What is a virtual terminal?

A card terminal in your browser

A virtual terminal is a secure web page where you type in a customer's card or bank details to take a payment. It does the same job as the card machine on a counter, but the customer isn't standing in front of you.

You log in from a computer, tablet, or phone, enter the amount and the payment details, and the money lands in the same merchant account as the rest of your sales.

Who uses one

  • Offices that take payments over the phone
  • Businesses that get orders by mail or fax
  • Anyone who charges a saved card on file
  • Businesses that collect on open invoices
  • Contractors taking deposits before a job
Options

Phone payments land with the rest of your sales.

Hyfin virtual terminal showing card and bank prices

No hardware needed

Type in the card or bank details while the customer is on the phone, and the payment lands in the same merchant account as everything else.

PayBright Gateway

A virtual terminal to take cards by phone or browser, with a customer vault for cards on file.

Hyfin

Take a card or bank payment over the phone, with past-due balances pulled in for you.

SwipeSimple

A virtual terminal for payments over the phone or on your computer, in the same app as your reader.

Fluidpay

A virtual terminal with card and ACH on one form.

Authorize.net

A virtual terminal for phone orders, with built-in fraud detection.

NMI

A virtual terminal, hosted payment page, and QR code payment links.

Who uses it

Built for payments you don't ring up in person.

Phone orders

The customer reads you their card while you're on the call, and the payment runs before you hang up.

Mail orders

Order forms and checks-by-mail customers who'd rather pay by card. Key it in the day it arrives.

Card on file

Save a repeat customer's card once, then charge it for the next order or on a schedule.

Invoices

Key in a card or ACH payment against an open invoice, or send the invoice with a link to pay online.

Phone orders

How to take phone orders safely.

A virtual terminal makes phone payments easy. A few habits keep them safe for you and your customers.

Type it straight in

Enter the card into the virtual terminal while the customer is on the line. Don't write card numbers on paper, sticky notes, or in an email.

Ask for the ZIP and security code

Enter the billing ZIP code and the 3 or 4-digit code on the card. The gateway checks them against the card issuer, and a mismatch is a sign to stop and confirm.

Send a link instead

For a new customer or a large order, text or email a payment link so the customer types in their own card. You never hear the number at all.

Save cards in the vault

For repeat customers, store the card in the gateway's customer vault, not in a spreadsheet or your CRM. Next time, charge it without asking again.

Give each person a login

Everyone who takes payments gets their own login, so you can see who ran each charge and turn off access when someone leaves.

Watch for odd orders

Rush shipping to a different address, several cards tried in a row, or an order far bigger than usual are worth a second look. Authorize.net includes built-in fraud detection.

Features

Virtual terminal features.

Everything below runs from the same browser screen. Which features you get depends on the tool we set up, and we'll tell you before you start.

Card on file

Save cards in a secure customer vault and charge repeat customers without asking for the number again.

Recurring charges

Turn a saved card into a weekly, monthly, or yearly schedule from the same screen. See recurring billing.

Payment links

Text or email a link, and the customer pays from their phone. NMI also offers hosted payment pages and QR code links.

ACH bank payments

Take a payment from a checking account on the same form as cards, which works well for larger B2B payments.

Receipts

Email the customer a receipt the moment the payment runs, so they have a record of the call.

Reporting

Search payments by customer, date, or amount, issue refunds, and see what's settled. Hyfin syncs with QuickBooks Online.

Need online checkout on your website too? A payment gateway runs your web checkout and the virtual terminal from one login. Billing clients? See invoicing and payment links.

How it works

From first call to first payment.

01

Tell us how you take payments

By phone, by mail, or against invoices.

02

We recommend the right one

The PayBright Gateway, Hyfin, SwipeSimple, Fluidpay, Authorize.net, or NMI, based on how you take payments.

03

Log in from any browser

No hardware to install.

04

Take your first payment

Then next-day funding on your sales.

Pairs well with: Payment gateways · Invoicing · Recurring billing · Mobile payments

Set up a virtual terminal →New Business? Start Here

Also included

The rest of the setup.

Next-day funding

You get next-day funding, so you aren't waiting days for your own money.

Free equipment if you qualify

Terminals and POS at $0 upfront on approved setups. No lease. We match the equipment to how you sell.

Month-to-month

No long-term contract and no cancellation fee on the processing agreement we set up.

Setup and training

Setup and training are part of the account.

No rate increases, ever

Your markup never goes up. Interchange is set by the card networks and can change.

24/7 processor & POS support

Processor and POS support is available 24/7, except most federal holidays. Day-to-day account questions come straight to us.

Common questions

Virtual terminal questions.

What is a virtual terminal?

A secure web page where you type in a customer's card or bank details to take a payment. It runs in a browser on a computer, tablet, or phone, so you don't need a card reader.

Can I take phone orders with a virtual terminal?

Yes. That's what most businesses use it for. Type the card in while the customer is on the line, add the billing ZIP and security code, and email them a receipt.

Do keyed payments cost more than tapped cards?

Usually, yes. Card networks charge higher interchange on card-not-present payments than on tapped or dipped cards. Your statement shows the difference, and a Free Rate Analysis shows it line by line.

Can I save a card on file and charge it later?

Yes. The PayBright Gateway, Fluidpay, NMI, and other tools we set up have a customer vault. Save the card once, then charge it for the next order or set up recurring payments.

Can I take ACH in a virtual terminal?

Yes. Fluidpay, Hyfin, and the PayBright Gateway take card and bank payments on the same screen.

What's the difference between a virtual terminal and a payment gateway?

The gateway is the system that sends card payments to the processor. The virtual terminal is the screen inside it where you key in payments by hand. Most gateways we set up include both, plus online checkout. See payment gateways.

Still have a question? Call 949-946-2442 or text us.

Set up a virtual terminal →New Business? Start Here

Other solutions: All solutions · Business funding · Gift cards & loyalty · High-risk processing · Invoicing · Merchant services · Mobile payments · Payment gateways · QuickBooks integrations · Recurring billing