What is a virtual terminal and its benefits

A virtual terminal is a web-based application that allows businesses to securely process credit and debit card payments without a physical card terminal. 

With a virtual payment terminal, you can turn any laptop, tablet, or smartphone into a secure payment gateway that lets you enter card info and get real-time authorization.

Virtual terminals are the go-to solution for Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO) transactions. Shoppers share their details by phone or mail, and employees can finalize the purchase instantly.

Using a credit card virtual terminal is straightforward. Here’s how virtual terminal credit card processing works:

1. Sign in: Your team logs into a secure, web-based payment portal on the device.

2. Gather info: The customer provides their card number, expiry date, and CVV.

3. Enter the data: You enter the payment details and the transaction amount into the interface.

4. Process: Hit submit to send the encrypted data through the networks for bank approval.

5. Confirm: You’ll see an immediate approval or decline, so you can confirm the sale with the customer.

The benefits of virtual terminal payments include:

• Stronger security: Keep your customers’ data safe during manual entry with advanced encryption and PCI-compliant processing.

• Improved cash flow: Faster processing and real-time authorizations mean you can streamline reconciliation and avoid unnecessary payment delays.

• Lower overhead: Skip the clunky hardware and complex setups. All your staff needs is an internet connection to start taking payments.

• Better experiences: Offer a smooth, assisted checkout for anyone who prefers to pay via phone, email, or mail order (MOTO).

• Global reach: Accept payments in multiple currencies and support international shoppers to expand your global footprint effortlessly.

Virtual card terminals provide payment infrastructure for a wide variety of industries that rely on accepting payments from customers that aren’t physically present. 

Here’s how virtual terminals work for different industries:

Hospitality and reservations

Hotels and travel agencies often use virtual terminals to make transactions while speaking with guests over the phone. It allows luxury brands to provide a high-touch service without making the customer navigate websites.

The result is a more personalized experience that keeps pace with the latest hospitality innovations.

B2B wholesale and platforms

Wholesalers and SaaS platforms use virtual terminals to handle complex B2B orders. A sales representative can enter corporate card details directly into the platform, ensuring the order gets processed and shipped without delay.

This speed and reliability are essential for managing modern B2B payments.

The best virtual terminal works for your business and workflow, whether that means syncing with your CRM or managing high volume of phone orders. 

When you’re comparing virtual terminal solutions, keep these factors in mind:

• Security: Look for tokenization and strict PCI-DSS compliance to ensure manual entry doesn’t put customer data at risk.

• User experience: Your virtual payment terminal should be easy to use. A clean dashboard means your team spends less time in training and more time helping customers.

• Integration: It should connect to your CRM and order management systems, giving you a 360-degree view of every customer interaction.

• Scalability: Your terminal needs to handle peak volumes without slowing down, so your team can process payments whenever needed.

• Clear insights: Detailed, real-time reporting helps automate your finances and gives you a clear picture of how your payments are performing.

Virtual terminal payment processing doesn't just simplify life for your employees; it ensures sensitive data is handled with the highest security standards and can provide immediate data for financial reconciliation.

With Adyen, your credit card processing virtual terminal is part of a much bigger picture: Unified Commerce. We provide a secure interface inside our Customer Area, so your staff can handle remote sales without ever needing extra software. 

This setup gives you centralized reporting, smart fraud prevention, and financial reconciliation across every channel. 

Adyen’s global payment processing is designed to maximize authorization rates while keeping you fully PCI compliant.

Ready to improve your mail and telephone order processing? Contact us today to learn how Adyen can unify your payment channels.

• A virtual terminal is a web-based payment gateway that processes cardless transactions securely from any browser.

• It is primarily designed for Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO) payments where shoppers provide card details remotely.

• Merchants can access the virtual terminal from any internet-connected device, eliminating the need for physical point-of-sale hardware.

• The technology provides real-time transaction authorization and centralized reporting for highly efficient financial operations.