A virtual terminal is one of the easiest ways to accept card payments when the customer is not face-to-face. If you sell over the phone, collect deposits, provide field service, or process invoice payments, the right setup can increase approval rates, reduce errors, and minimize chargebacks caused by miscommunication.
This guide explains what you need to know for the best virtual terminal, how ‘keyed’ transactions differ from card-present transactions, and which providers tend to be the best fit based on your typical operations and risk appetite.
What is a Virtual Terminal and How Does It Work
A virtual terminal is an online window for payment, where your employees enter card details themselves and execute a real-time transaction. This is most commonly done for phone orders, mail orders, and any remote payments that cannot be completed via web checkout. Many virtual terminals also support bank payments, such as ACH, but this depends on the provider.
The important part is that this is a card-not-present transaction, which means it has different risk, different approval tendencies, and more often than not, different rates than a card-present tap or dip.
When A Virtual Terminal Beats Payment Links And Invoices
A virtual terminal is preferable when you need to accept on-the-spot payments during a conversation. Whether that’s a deposit to secure a booking, a balance due for assistance, or a sale to wrap up a conversation in a call center. It’s also good for split payments, running a card on file (with client consent), or any situation where a link isn’t needed because a customer isn’t comfortable. In these situations, speed and communication take precedence over aesthetics.
However, if a customer can pay via a hosted invoice or payment link, those options generally provide stronger documentation and fewer chargebacks. A good cadence includes the virtual terminal for where the person-to-person interaction is the sale.
The Real Costs And Risks Of Keyed Transactions
Keyed transactions are generally more susceptible to fraud and more sensitive to dispute thresholds because the customer isn’t present and the card isn’t swiped. This is not to say you shouldn’t do them, but rather, to do them intentionally. If your team keys information from a set of scrawls, improperly saves credit card information, or doesn’t follow up with the customer, the game is afoot, and risk accelerates exponentially.
The best credit card processing virtual terminals mitigate this risk through built-in protections within the transaction, such as required fields, appropriate receipts, necessary confirmations at the point of payment, and relevant paperwork, as well as defined roles and responsibilities that make it easy to assess a payment denial in a timely manner.
Best Virtual Terminal Credit Card Processing Options In 2026
When searching for the best virtual terminal, the top contenders are those that offer the easiest integration and least legwork, or those that provide greater customization and access, with better reporting, stronger permissions, and stronger risk-mitigation tools. Most merchants are either one or the other, and the best solution is one that best fits your sales model and post-sale customer support.
These are the most commonly used solutions among merchants for phone/remote orders, along with anticipated pros and cons.
Square Virtual Terminal: Best For Simple Phone Payments And Quick Adoption
Square offers its Virtual Terminal as a free, web-based solution for accepting payments over the phone via manual credit card entry. It’s frequently a good fit when your employees need to start accepting payments over the phone quickly without an extended setup process. Ease of use and a familiar user interface reign supreme for many mom-and-pop and small-to-medium businesses.
Square can be restrictive due to limited underwriting flexibility, limited support for high-risk niches, and limited customization of routing and regulations. If your company operates in a niche—and by sensitive niche, we mean adult entertainment, eCommerce, gaming, travel, subscription services, heavy dispute volume—you may require a solution that is less cookie-cutter and more so, the ability to customize the account to your specific merchant profile.
PayPal Virtual Terminal: Best If Your Customers Already Trust PayPal
PayPal’s Virtual Terminal is where you can receive card payments by manually inputting payment information. Usually, you need a PayPal Business account/application for approval. If your clients already know PayPal on their statements, it reduces “I don’t know this charge” chargebacks. In addition, it’s a good option if you want a familiar payment processor and the ability to place orders by phone.
Always check fees and ensure your payment structure aligns with PayPal’s acceptance criteria. PayPal’s Virtual Terminal fees are transparent, which makes them a useful reference before you sign, especially if you operate on thin margins or handle high-ticket items.
Authorize.Net Virtual Terminal: Best Gateway Versatility And ACH
Authorize.Net’s Virtual Terminal is its manual-entry solution (payments occur in the browser) and accepts credit cards and eChecks (ACH). As such, it’s a go-to solution for companies seeking a more streamlined gateway layer. Especially if you already have a merchant account relationship with them or need the variety of integrations this solution offers.
The practical advantage comes from the consistency of operational management. When your gateway, reporting, and transaction history are all synced, it makes it easier to reconcile payments, issue refunds, and have clear-cut evidence when it’s time to dispute something.
Stripe And API-First Platforms: Best Virtual Terminal Fit For Custom Workflows
When your workflow needs are more specific—integration with a custom CRM, internal controls, or a consolidated view across channels—API-first platforms are the solution. Stripe’s documentation indicates that virtual terminals integrate MOTO payments and keep payment information on file for reporting and responding to chargebacks.
This is most applicable when you have someone in-house or a partner who can implement it without issues. The advantage is that this option is specifically tailored to your organization, which can reduce margin for error, improve documentation, and enable remote orders without becoming a literal free-for-all.
Implementation Tips That Keep Phone Orders Smooth
Provide your employees with a single script that covers approval amounts, billing descriptors, and what to expect next for the customer. Automate receipt processing and inform customers of expected wait times for a refund if one is requested. If you bill monthly, make it clear and document it, because phone orders can become chargebacks if details are forgotten down the line.
Finally, monitor results weekly. Approval levels, refunds, and chargebacks should be monitored for phone orders (distinct from checkout for online orders), as the sooner issues are detected, the better, given the cumulative nature of these processes.
What To Compare Before You Pick The Best Virtual Terminal
Permissions, Roles, And Audit Trails
The best systems make transaction processing, refund issuance and sensitive viewing accessible by those who truly need to as easy as possible. Audit trails matter for retrospective exploration of mistakes and an international paper trail for dispute justification. Yet if you have many agents, role-based access isn't an enhancement but risk mitigation. A virtual terminal that acknowledges permissions tends to get easier over time.
Receipts, Descriptors, And Customer Recognition
Many chargebacks arise out of confusion and not fraud. Your receipts need to adequately restate what someone purchased and why, how they can contact support and what name will appear on the statement. If your descriptor is foreign from the phone order (where there's less of a digital paper trail), it's going to be disputed a lot more easily. This is an under-discussed reality that makes the best virtual terminal credit card processing all the more secure.
Verification Tools And Keyed Transaction Guardrails
At the very least you want AVS and CVV standards in place and acknowledgment of what to do when it's denied. Guardrails should stop agent error from charging twice or accidentally charging $1,000 instead of $100. If your team is taking it upon themselves to verify, things will be sporadic. There needs to be stability for integrity of remote payments.
Refund And Dispute Workflow Support
Disputes are created by people unresponsive to their concerns after they purchase things—even via the phone or a digital medium and despite limited proof. The best virtual terminal options make it easy to effectively render refunds and easy to track refunds with timestamps and links. Even if you plan to fight back a dispute, good paper trails make your efforts more timestamped and reliably consistent. This is where operational prowess translates to profit protection directly.
Integrations With Your Accounting And CRM Stack
If payment processors don't integrate with accounting, your staff will manage and managing invites mistakes. Look for easy exports, matching transaction IDs and the ability to add payment info to customer records. The easier reconciliation occurs, the quicker support is and the less likely disputes happen. This should be part of what makes something “best” in the real world.
Compliance, Data Handling, And PCI Exposure
Phone payments create legitimate compliance responsibility. You want a virtual terminal solution that avoids notes/emails/recordings to be home for card data, as well as unneeded handling outside of compliant solutions. If a virtual terminal provider can help facilitate safer collection methods along the way and reduce your exposure, it's worth it. Such compliance is needed for long-term success in the virtual terminal arena.
FAQs
Q: What is a virtual terminal, and who needs it?
A: A virtual terminal is a web-based screen where you manually input card information to process payments on your end. It’s essentially how you get paid without being in person, relying on the trust a customer gives you. Call centers, service businesses, and anyone processing a payment while talking need a virtual terminal. It’s suitable for deposits, final payments, and complex scenarios where someone cannot be directed to the checkout link for any reason. If card-not-present/manual entry represents a significant portion of your revenue, virtual terminal payment processing is as critical as anything else.
Q: What is the best virtual terminal credit card processing option?
A: The best virtual terminal credit card processing option is one that provides reliably predictable approvals, clean documentation, and safeguards against human error. For example, permissions that lock certain functions when misapplied are helpful; receipts must be clear; and third-party software for 3D Secure or competitive verification must be treated consistently. You don’t want a refund process that leaves customers vulnerable to the dispute going in the wrong direction. You want reporting that integrates easily with non-virtual terminal processing so you can see how many phone orders you have each month. The “best” will be consistent even as volume increases.
Q: Are keyed payments more expensive than card-present payments?
A: They are typically categorized separately because keyed transactions are card-not-present. Even if the rate is the same across all, the added risk undermines customer service for declines and retries and generates disputes. If operations are sloppy, this higher cost will be necessary. However, with proper safeguards, this drag is significantly reduced. Sometimes the better process outweighs a slight cost difference.
Q: Should high-risk merchants use virtual terminals?
A: They do, however, require additional safeguards and more detailed documentation than those for low-risk merchants. High-risk categories are more likely to be subject to future investigations as disputes escalate, and maintaining operational integrity for phone orders is essential. The best way to use a virtual terminal for high-risk status is to be transparent about policies, perform proper verifications, and ensure receipts and descriptors are available. If volume warrants it, it makes sense to go through someone who can offer a customized underwriting solution with tighter safeguards.
Conclusion
The best virtual terminal for you is the one that most closely matches how you sell, how your team functions, and how your customers know and trust the experience of payment regardless if they’re not in-person. For many merchants, the best virtual terminal credit card processing option ultimately comes down to whether they want easy access, more extensive access to gateway features, or customizable workflow payment processing. If you consider phone orders a valid processing avenue with scripted authorizations, vetted receipts, and all extended guards, then the best virtual terminal will not only support payment processing but also reduce friction, reduce chargebacks, and safeguard your cash flow as you scale.
Sources
- Stripe. “Virtual terminal: What it is and how to use it.” Accessed January 2026.
- Stripe. “What Are MOTO Payments? A Guide for Businesses.” Accessed January 2026.
- Stripe. “How an omni-virtual terminal works.” Accessed January 2026.
- Square. “Virtual Terminal Credit Card Processing.” Accessed January 2026.
