27 Apr Card Payments Over The Phone
Taking card payments over the phone
During these unprecedented times consumers and businesses have had to rapidly adapt to change. This includes changes in the way we shop and sometimes in the way we pay. In the past phone payments were a seldom used alternative to chip and pin or contactless payments, however recently many businesses are now relying on phone payments to keep their doors open during these trying times.
Taking card payments over the phone is simple and may be the perfect solution for your business at this time. In this post we will cover everything you need to know about taking card payments over the phone.
A simple way to take payments
Many businesses across the UK take payments over the phone every day. Taking payments over the phone requires a safe and secure solution, such as EVO Payments Virtual Terminal or Mail Order / Telephone Order (MOTO) functionality on your card terminal.
Advantages of taking payments over the phone
There are a number of advantages to taking payments over the phone:
Flexibility – customers appreciate having a number of payment options available to them. This makes paying an easy and seamless experience for your customers.
Adaptability – having the ability to take payments over the phone allows your business to adapt. This could mean being able to offer delivery or collection. This could be a way for your business to differentiate itself from your competitors and also to continue trading during unprecedented situations like we are facing now.
Accessibility – accepting payments over the phone allows your business to expand your reach to a broader geographic area. You could offer delivery to a greater geographic area of the UK as customers do not need to enter your business to collect or pay for your goods and services.
Virtual Terminal
In order to take over the phone payments a business simply needs a phone to take the card details from the customer and a secure online web portal to input the card details to process the payment – called a Virtual Terminal.
In simple terms, a virtual terminal is a secure web form which allows a merchant to enter card details and process the payment. This is all done while talking to the customer over the phone. As long as you have access to the internet, payments can be taken anywhere. Once the payment is complete the merchant will receive an authorisation and can confirm approval of the payment to the customer immediately.
EVO’s Virtual Terminal also has ‘link to pay’ functionality. Link to Pay allows businesses to collect payment via email. From the Virtual Terminal web portal the merchant generates an email to the customer which includes a custom payment link. The customer simply clicks on the link which brings up a payment page where they enter their card details to make a payment. It is quick, easy and convenient for your customers. This also reduces time spent on chasing payments.
Taking card payments with your card terminal
You can also take payments over the phone using a card terminal. Your merchant service provider must approve and enable this functionality on your card terminal – called MOTO (Mail Order Telephone Order). In order to take card payments over the phone on your card terminal you simply manually type the customer’s card number, expiry date and CVV code (3 digits on the back of the card) into the card terminal to process the payments. All of this is done while on the phone to your customer. While convenient, using the MOTO functionality on a card terminal does prevent you from using the terminal for face to face payments at the same time. Therefore this functionality may be less suitable for managing a higher volume of phone payments.
Safety of taking card payments over the phone
Taking payments over the phone is safe and convenient for both your business and your customer when carried out in a responsible manner. Provided you follow the correct security procedures taking card payments over the phone is safe. The relevant procedures will be explained to you by your merchant services provider before you start taking payments over the phone.
Phone payments regulations
Merchants need to follow PCI DSS compliance in relation to accepting, storing, processing and transmitting cardholder data during card transactions. Some merchant services providers charge fees for PCI DSS compliance, however as EVO Payments is committed to having no hidden charges we apply no PCI fee to merchants.
Tips for safely taking payments over the phone
Some of our top tips for taking payments over the phone include:
- Never write down or store card numbers or security codes.
- Set-up each of your staff members that will be using your Virtual Terminal with separate user accounts so in the event of a query arising you can easily identify who has processed each transaction.
- Encourage your staff to be vigilant. If anything seems strange about a payment they should flag it with you or contact their merchant services support team before processing the order.
How much does it cost to take payments over the phone?
This varies between providers. Some providers charge minimum monthly fees, percentage fees, transaction fees, PCI DSS compliance fees and many more hidden fees. These charges can all add up to a significant charge each month. At EVO Payments we do not charge any hidden fees. For MOTO you pay the terminal rental and transaction fees. With the EVO Virtual Terminal you pay the Virtual Terminal rental fee and transaction fees outside of the Virtual Terminal bundle.
Benefits of taking phone payments
The key benefits of accepting payments over the phone include:
- Your business becomes accessible to an increased number of consumers.
- The business can sell to customers in a variety of ways, including collection or delivery options.
- Over the phone payments are suitable for a wide range of businesses.
- Taking payments over the phone is simple, safe and secure.
Start taking phone payments today
If you think your business could benefit from taking payments over the phone, get in touch with us today by filling in the form below and we will contact you to discuss the best option for your business.
EVO Payments will have your business ready to take payments over the phone in no time!
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