Most people have used online shopping at some point in their lives. Similar numbers of us, especially from older generations, have probably called to place an order after finding something they liked in a newspaper or magazine. For online selling, a merchant requires a virtual payment terminal. So here are the top 5 best virtual terminal providers in the US.
Use of Virtual Payment Terminal
The use of a virtual payment terminal, which functions as a digital credit card reader, enables companies to take card payments over the phone. Accepting payments over the phone is made easy and economical by using a virtual terminal. There is no requirement that your consumer or their card be present.
All you need to do is sign in to a secure website, enter the customer’s card information, and presto. You only need a device with a stable internet connection, and a merchant account to accept payments. You don’t even need to establish a website. Easy enough? Yes, it is!
You must purchase a virtual terminal from a merchant services provider if you want your business to be able to accept credit and debit card payments over the phone and online.
Businesses may handle client credit card payments thanks to merchant services providers. You’ll need a virtual terminal from your merchant services provider if you wish to sell to customers in other parts of Britain or throughout the globe.
You can accept payments from customers even if they aren’t physically present in your store or office thanks to a virtual terminal. It can be challenging to choose the best virtual terminal for your organization, so we have compiled a list of the best virtual terminals we have researched.
You may likely obtain a decent bargain with one of these merchant account providers since they are known for their fair, transparent pricing policies and top-notch customer service.
Best Virtual Terminal Providers
Host Merchant Services
Known as one of the top merchant account providers, Host Merchant Services is situated in Newark, Delaware. It additionally provides various web-based services along with a flexible, proprietary virtual terminal.
Check imaging, ACH processing, recurring payments, wireless processing, batch processing, and multi-location networking are all capabilities of the company’s Transaction Central virtual terminal. POS systems, online marketing tools, mobile credit card processing, gift and loyalty programs, merchant cash advances, and offshore merchant accounts are other services provided by HMS.
Host Merchant Services focuses on e-commerce companies and offers potential merchants a free website and email account.
On public forums, Host Merchant Services has solely gotten positive reviews, with the majority of commenters praising the firm’s customer service. All of its merchants can take advantage of Host’s interchange-plus pricing without paying any early termination costs. It gives customers access to the most open pricing structure and free service cancellation.
Key points to remember:
- Most industries get approval quickly
- No contract fees or termination costs
- Excellent client service
PaymentCloud
PaymentCloud is a merchant account service with a headquarters in Woodland Hills, California. PaymentCloud offers services to both high-risk and low-risk companies, with a concentration on the retail industry. Each account comes with a free credit card terminal from the company. However, if you want to enter card-present transactions using a virtual terminal, you can opt to use a card reader instead. Your selection of payment gateway—the company provides Authorize.Net, USAePay, and several other third-party options—will decide the precise virtual terminal you receive.
To get your company accepted for an account, PaymentCloud, like other high-risk experts, works with a range of processors and banks (including some offshore choices). As a result, high-risk enterprises cannot access uniform pricing. Instead, you’ll need to get in touch with its sales division and request a personalized price. Fortunately, there is no account creation cost associated with PaymentCloud’s thorough screening procedure needed to establish a high-risk merchant account. After you register for an account, the organization offers first-rate customer service in addition to free hardware and affordable prices.
Key points to remember:
- Net, USAePay, or other suitable gateway providers give a free virtual terminal.
- Each account comes with a free mobile credit card reader.
- Accepts several high-risk sectors and integrates with the majority of third-party online shopping carts
- Accepts payments via QR codes through Paysley
- Robust fraud prevention
- Early termination fees were waived
- A minimum two-year agreement
Square
Square provides a full range of goods and services to handle any sort of transaction. One of those services is the Square Virtual Terminal, which is a web-based “virtual” terminal for taking credit card payments on a computer, as the name suggests. Although you don’t need a card reader to utilize Square Virtual Terminal, you should still get one because of the reduced processing rate for card-present transactions.
You’ll need a Mac (using Chrome or Safari) or a Chromebook, as well as the $299 Square Terminal card reader, to make in-person purchases using Square Virtual Terminal.
For small businesses that only process a few thousand dollars in credit/debit card transactions a month, Square’s Virtual Terminal is a great option. You would be better suited to having a full-service merchant account because the company’s flat-rate pricing can work against you at higher processing volumes.
Account holds, freezes, and terminations are more often than with any other PSP, as well. You should consider this risk before registering.
Key points to remember:
- Square Virtual Terminal is free and available with every account.
- supports ACH transfers, payment linkages, and credit/debit cards
- supports BNPL financing and split transactions
- Using Square Dashboard integration
- capable of accepting payments in person with the Square Terminal
- Download the Square Virtual Terminal program for Windows or Mac.
- Mac users can download the Square Charge mobile payments app
- Windows app is coming soon
Clover
Customers can pay you remotely, send you invoices through email, and create sales reports. It can send you paperless receipts with Clover’s No Hardware Plan. Additionally, you have access to the Clover App Market, where you may add other functions like personnel scheduling and inventory management.
While there is a monthly price for the No Hardware Plan, your contract is month-to-month and does not include an early termination fee. You must upgrade to the more expensive Clover Essentials Plan and buy the Clover Go card reader if you wish to add the capability of accepting in-person transactions.
Even though we prefer it when businesses provide their virtual terminals for free, the ability to add more apps from the Clover App Market makes paying a monthly fee for businesses that will be relying on the Clover Virtual Terminal for the majority (or all) of their transaction processing a worthwhile trade-off.
However, if you sign up with one of the many Fiserv resellers that sell Clover products, your merchant account provider can incorporate these restrictions even though Clover doesn’t demand a long-term commitment or impose an early termination fee.
Key points to remember:
- Payments over virtual terminals are encrypted end-to-end.
- POS system available
- Option of merchant service providers
- Incorporates with CRM
Helcim
Helcim is one of the most affordable solutions for payment processing that we’ve seen anywhere. It is accessible to businesses with locations in both Canada and the US. Each account comes with the company’s exclusive Helcim Virtual Terminal, which enables you to accept remote payments over the phone, in the mail, or through the terminal’s online invoicing tools.
Helcim is an excellent option for seasonal and low-volume businesses that don’t accept many credit card payments every day because there is no long-term commitment and no monthly account cost.
Any internet-connected device, including laptops, mobile phones, and tablets, can operate the Helcim Virtual Terminal. The extra Helcim Card Reader ($109) provides all the functionality of a wireless countertop terminal at a very reasonable cost if you also need to collect payments in person.
You won’t have to worry about unexpected charges being added to your bill because Helcim provides some of the most thorough pricing disclosures in the sector. Be warned that Helcim does not accept high-risk merchants even if it is one of the greatest all-around merchant services providers in the business.
Key points to remember:
- Provides free POS
- Excellent prices without monthly fees or long-term commitments
- ACH exchanges
- Discounted interchange plus price via automation
- Card data that has been tokenized
- Robust fraud prevention
Dharma Merchant Services
The pricing information provided by Dharma Merchant Services is completely transparent, with all account fees, processing costs, and contact details available on the Dharma website. By doing this, you can avoid the trouble of haggling over the best deal with the company’s sales personnel.
Dharma only employs interchange-plus pricing and month-to-month billing, and also gives qualified NGOs special rates. A complimentary virtual terminal is included with each Dharma merchant account as part of the MX Merchant integrated payments platform. With Dharma’s QuickPay virtual terminal, you may manually enter a transaction and combine it with a customer database to process sales to repeat clients even more quickly.
Dharma is a great option for a lot of businesses, but it’s not for everyone. The business is upfront about the fact that its pricing will be out of reach for merchants processing less than $10,000 per month. Additionally, it refers high-risk merchants to PaymentCloud rather than accepting the majority of them.
Finally, the $119 Magtek card reader, which only reads magnetic stripes, is pricey and virtually out of date. We advise the Walker 2 card reader with the business’ MX Merchant Express app for in-person payments.
Key points to remember:
- Interchange-plus pricing is only available
- Billing every month with no early termination penalties
- Discounted rates for approved nonprofit organizations
- Excellent sales transparency and very moral business conduct
Chase
For companies that conduct B2B sales as well as those that require the backing of a reputable bank for checking, credit cards, and even loans, we advise Chase Payment Solutions. Square currently provides banking services, but Chase has a long history in the industry with 5,100 locations in more than 100 nations.
It is the sixth-largest banking organization in the world and has a lot to offer companies that want to expand.
Chase is one of the great choices for the best small business checking accounts because it has many great features. Additionally, it supports some high-risk companies in a way that Helcim and Square do not.
Key points to remember:
- Possible same-day and next-day funding
- Some rates are negotiable.
- Use alternative payment gateways besides the direct processor
- Supported by a reliable payment processor
Payline Data
With HIPAA-compliant tools, ACH transfers, and customized pricing, Payline Data provides services to a wide range of organizations, with a special emphasis on the medical sector. Additionally, it gives charity and educational services preferential consideration. Additionally, it provides robust chargeback and fraud protection.
The virtual terminal is not as feature-rich as Square or Clover, but it still performs better than most and can handle invoices and recurring payments. In addition to a $10–$20 monthly subscription price, the system also charges you a one-time fee for using its virtual terminal feature. For high-volume firms, however, it is a better option than others because it offers interchange-plus rates.
Key points to remember:
- Includes a smartphone app and collecting payments in person
- No costs for chargebacks
- Free for the first month
- Also employs high-risk
- Holder of Verified Card Tools for dispute
- Various industries receive discounted prices
PayPal
With its simple connections that allow you to place a payment button just about anywhere, PayPal is unquestionably the most well-known payment processor worldwide. It provides a variety of payment options, including peer-to-peer payments like Venmo and crypto-currency wallets. This makes it ideal for one-person businesses, sporadic sellers, and hobbyists that have low sales volumes and don’t mind paying flat-rate processing fees for payments.
While the majority of its services can be utilized without paying a monthly subscription, advanced merchant features like virtual terminals will set you back at least $30 each month. Nevertheless, PayPal consistently ranks highly on our lists for mobile credit card processing and merchant services because it is an extremely well-known brand in the payments sector.
Key points to remember:
- Quick access to funds with a PayPal account
- Peer-to-peer transactions
- ties together with a huge number of POS and outside payment systems
Selecting a best Virtual Terminal Provider
There are a few factors to take into account when selecting a virtual terminal for your company. You must first choose between a monthly subscription and pay-as-you-go pricing. A monthly membership can be a better choice if you execute a lot of transactions because it will cost you less money overall.
The next step is to decide the characteristics you require. Do you require offline payment processing capability? Should you accept several currencies? Finally, you should think about usability. Is it simple to set up and utilize the virtual terminal? Is the user interface intuitive?
You might wish to seek a few standard features, especially if your company requires them. They consist of the following:
- Processing eChecks & ACH at a Cost
- Customer service
- The flexibility of the Customer Information Database
- Inventory Support for Recurring Billing
- Security Options
After taking these things into account, you’ll be able to focus your search and choose the ideal virtual terminal for your company.
