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Accept remote payments with a virtual terminal

Turn your computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone into a virtual card machine and start accepting card payments from your customers over the phone with ease. With a Paymentsense virtual terminal, you can accept all major credit and debit cards securely and efficiently with our easy-to-use software.

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What is a virtual terminal?

A virtual terminal is the name of the software that allows you to process electronic payments over the phone securely without a physical card machine and the cardholder being present. 

It’s called a virtual terminal or a virtual card machine because it can turn your smart device such as your laptop or tablet into a card terminal to get you paid efficiently. Best of all, you don’t need to be a tech guru to get started; it’s easy to set up and use. 

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Over the phone payments in 3 simple steps

We don’t mess around. We’ll have you up and running in 24 hours, so you can start taking payments quickly. And you’ll be able to keep track of everything in your online account - from sending receipts to your customers, to keeping track of all the payments you receive.

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Sign in

When your customer calls, sign in to your account on our Merchant Management System.

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Add payment details

Enter the payment amount, and your customer’s name, card details and billing address.

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Take customer’s payment

You can create and send a receipt to your customer at the same time. It’s as easy as that.

Secure virtual payments you can rely on

Our virtual terminal uses secure technology to create end-to-end encryption between our web server and your browser. It’s PCI compliant and allows you to use security checks such as an Address Verification System (AVS) which asks customers to confirm the billing address associated with their debit or credit card. 

And when it comes to protecting your customers’ card details, we’re got that covered. We use tokenisation, which means sensitive information is encrypted and hard to decipher, helping keep your customers’ private data safe.

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Choose a package that works for you

We don’t charge set-up fees, so the price you pay is based on the amount of money you take in card transactions in a year. If things change, you can switch to a different package or cancel free of charge.

Starter

£8.29 per month

For annual transactions up to £50K

Regular

£12.45 per month

For annual transactions up to £250K

Advanced

£16.62 per month

For annual transactions up to £1.2M

Ready to help your customers pay over the phone?

Get your free quote

Recurring payments made easy

Get paid from your regular customers without repetition. No more keying in their card number over and over again. Your virtual terminal saves their details safely as a token – keeping it safe from fraud and saving you time and effort.

Why do I need a virtual terminal?

Now more than ever, it’s vital to offer remote payments to your customer base, whether that’s over the phone, via email or online. After all, it’s convenient for them and you. It means that getting paid is just a quick call away. 

So whether you’re a takeaway taking payments for preorders, or a taxi service confirming a pre-booking, you no longer have to wait for in-person payments. 

Taking payments over the phone manually? With a virtual terminal, you eliminate some of the risks that come with identity theft. For example, you don’t have to store sensitive cardholder data in any of your systems if you want to reuse it. And you can use address verification systems (AVS) to check that the cardholder’s billing address matches with their bank card.

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Why choose Paymentsense?

Here’s why more than 70,000 small business owners like you use Paymentsense.

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Quick to set up

We know time is money, so we never waste yours. We can set you up to take payments over the phone in under a day.

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Seriously secure

We use the latest security checks and fraud protection, so you can take remote card payments without the worry.

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24/7 tech support

Our award-winning tech support team is available 24/7. They’re a friendly bunch whose mission is to make things easy for you.

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No ball and chain

There are no long contracts with us. We know things can change, so you’re free to adapt things as your business grows.

Pick up more payments

If you don’t have a dedicated website or online store (maybe you’re a taxi driver or delivering tasty takeaways) you can reach more customers by accepting payments by phone. Makes sense. And our easy-to-use virtual terminal lets you log in from any computer, tablet or mobile so you can take card payments on the go – they call, you sign in, take their details and get paid. Makes even more sense.

Start accepting card payments over the phone

Setting up phone payments is easy. Just get in contact and we’ll help you pick a package that fits your business. You’ll be able to accept all the major debit and credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and American Express. And your virtual terminal uses SSL secure payment technology (that’s as secure as it gets), so you can be sure of safe transactions every time. Plus, we’ll get you up and running in 24 hours. Speedy.

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FAQs

With a virtual terminal, you can accept all of the main credit and debit cards you would on your premises with a card machine. This includes Mastercard, Visa and American Express.

The short answer is yes. We use modern encryption standards so that sensitive data submitted from your browser reaches us confidentially and is untampered. All Paymentsense virtual terminals are PCI compliant and allow you to use security checks such as an Address Verification System (AVS) which asks customers to confirm the billing address associated with their debit or credit card.

Taking payments over the phone is quicker for you and your customers – no more waiting a month to invoice or relying on face-to-face payments when closures occur. If you’re a restaurant, bar, pub or cafe, it can help you keep track of your bookings too. 

You can ask diners for a holding deposit upfront for their table, to avoid ‘no-shows’, or you can charge them upfront for their takeaway, so you don’t have to deal with long queues when they arrive.

Virtual terminals are for any small or medium business that wants to unlock phone payments. They’re ideal for taxi firms, small retailers, restaurants, pubs and bars, as well as takeaways who wish to collect payment ahead of time.