When accepting credit cards on a phone, a business owner needs an ideal payment provider. To accept credit cards on phone or tablet via our iProcess mobile payments application, merchants simply need to download our mobile app. Mobile payment processing made easy with SecureGlobalPay!
With the right provider, the business owner can accept card payments conveniently by keying credit card data into a virtual terminal. This can be done via a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet or through a bluetooth card reader.
Some merchant account providers and PSP’s provide the hardware and software needed for merchants to accept credit cards on a tablet or phone at no cost.
A merchant account provider provides a dedicated merchant account for merchants along with other accessories like payment gateways, terminals, software, and card readers that take card payments. This is one of the many advantages of accepting credit cards through a direct merchant account provider.
Most payment service providers, on the other hand, do not usually offer these supplementary payment options. Instead, they focus mostly on internet-based transactions to receive customer funds into a single merchant account and then move the funds into their sub-merchant bank accounts.
Merchant account providers require an application, charge wide-ranging fees, and are generally considered more secure.
Payment service providers and payment aggregators, depending on the business model and volume processed, charge fewer fees and offer access to their services under 24 hours of signing up online.
Opening an account with a payment service provider is straightforward, however, customers tend to face plenty of issues down the road because their business types are not properly vetted and underwritten.
Whatever option works for you is best, but ensure that you choose a payment service provider that offers a virtual terminal and accommodates card not present transactions—this is the only way that you can accept credit cards on a phone while using the iProcess mobile payments application.
A virtual terminal is a piece of online software that allows a merchant to manually enter and process a cardholder’s payment information without the card being present.
This method processes payments based on information supplied by the customer. Once the payment process is completed, the merchant receives the balance after the credit card processing fees have been deducted.
Virtual terminals can be accessed from various internet-enabled devices so you can accept credit cards on a tablet. These devices allow customers to accept credit cards on tablets, smartphones, laptops, and desktop computers via a virtual terminal. The Virtual Terminal can be connected to a card reader via the iProcess mobile payments application.
It is worth noting that a Point-of-Sale System can also be used to process card-not-present transactions.
In this instance, the POS system is used as a makeshift virtual terminal by keying in the credit card information a customer provides over the phone.
For example, if you use a Square Point-of-Sale system, you can use the Square POS app to charge a manual card entry by inputting the relevant data and hitting charge.
What happens is that this over-the-phone payment is processed inside the Square POS software. The software is the reason why it works like a virtual terminal.
Step 1: Determine Credit Card Information Required
After you have been granted access to a virtual terminal, it is important to know the particular information required to process card payments over the phone via the iProcess mobile payments processing application.
Different processing companies have different requirements for their virtual terminals and mobile payment processing, applications. Make sure you know what is required before talking to your customers.
Furthermore, mainstream credit card providers follow certain regulations with regards to card-not-present transactions. Go through them thoroughly and understand the terms as well as the conditions required.
It is important that you comply with these laid down rules.
Most of the time, small business owners are expected to ask customers for the following in order to process credit card payments through a virtual terminal:
A merchant can ask for additional information like the type of card as well. Additionally, if a merchant plans on sending a receipt after a purchase has been completed, obtaining a buyer’s email address or phone number is also in the order. All this can be done via the mobile payment processing application initially used to process the payment.
In terms of physical products, getting a customer’s shipping address is absolutely necessary.
Step 2: Take Customer Order and Put In System
If a customer is providing the information required to complete a purchase over the phone, the seller should be putting the information into the system.
This is made up of the total order amount as well as additional charges like sales taxes and shipping costs. Once this is completed, the accumulative sales total will be forwarded to the customer.
Step 3: Ask for Card Information and Key into Virtual Terminal
After the customer has approved the accumulative sales total and has agreed to make payment over the phone, the seller has the all-clear to ask for the buyer’s credit card details and keys in the information into a virtual terminal.
Once the information has been entered and confirmed, the virtual terminal notifies the seller if the transaction has been approved or declined.
If the payment is declined, the seller might need to check the details again or ask for a different set of card details from the customer.
On the other hand, if the transaction is approved, it means that the seller has successfully completed a credit card payment over the phone.
Step 4: Send Customer Receipt and Order Completed
The customer requires some type of receipt as confirmation that an order has been completed.
Depending on the system, a customer can receive a text or email receipt. The receipt can also be printed out or even mailed to a customer’s physical address.
Card-not-present transactions pose plenty of risks as criminals particularly take advantage of the void to perpetuate fraud.
Due to this risk, merchants should always save their records and take notes about everything they transact over the phone.
With this action, businesses can have an idea when credit cards end up in the wrong hands.
Make sure you are always on your toes when asking for payment information. This concentration helps a seller to easily spot conflicting information. For instance, there is a red flag when a buyer is trying to make a purchase and the billing code does not match with the ZIP code.
If the cardholder does not provide a convincing answer, you can stop the transaction and report the case to the relevant authorities.
Choosing a payment provider that has experience and expertise in allowing businesses to accept credit card payments over the phone should be your main priority.
Ensure that the security measures in place are top-tier, especially in the area of PCI compliance.
PCI compliance refers to a set of laid-down standards that dictate a high sense of security of how credit card information should be accepted and processed to prevent fraud.
While some payment providers expect merchants to take care of PCI compliance themselves, some providers handle it on behalf of their customers.