Regardless of what business you are in and whether you sell a product or a service, the ability to take payments over the telephone is becoming increasingly important. This is particularly true if:

  • You offer delivery on your products.
  • Your business is mobile/operates on the go.
  • You sell a service and require deposits in order to secure appointments or make a reservation.

The fact is, being able to take phone payments allows you to capitalise on impulse purchases and close down sales quickly before the customer changes their mind. This is just one benefit of telephone payments. Others include:

  • The money goes straight into your account. Less cash on the premises means your takings are more secure.
  • The money clears into your account quicker than it would if paid by cheque, meaning you can access it sooner.
  • Money clearing quicker also allows you to post out items sooner, keeping your stock moving and your profit rising.

Ok, I’m sold. How do I get started with taking payments over the phone?

When starting a new business it can be overwhelming trying to decide which payment provider is right for your needs. This is particularly true in the case of phone payments which are often the most vulnerable to fraud and it is vital that you choose a provider that is able to support you in meeting the strict compliancy rules that are in place to protect you customers and your business.

If you aren’t already set up to take card payments, then the first thing you need to do is to choose a card payment provider that accepts ‘card not present’ transactions, and in particular, over the telephone transactions. You will often see this referred to as virtual terminals.

The big traditional providers such as Sagepay and Worldpay offer telephone transaction features, but customers are required to sign up to fixed term contracts and monthly fees in addition to transaction fees. This can make taking money costly.

Well know provider Paypal offers the service with no fixed fees, but a higher per-transaction cost. Alternatively, you could purchase a card reader from Payleven.

As well as payments in person, you will also get access to their phone payments feature. There is no fixed contract or monthly fees, and the per-transaction fee is lower than Paypal. Even better, Payleven also offers a 30 day free trial giving you the perfect opportunity to see if it is right for your business.

Follow these easy steps

Once you have a card payment provider, you can literally take a phone payment by following just a few short steps.

1. Log into your payment provider account and select the correct option for this type of payment. What it is called will vary depending on your provider. It may be called “Virtual Terminal”.

2. Follow the on-screen prompts given to you. These will usually ask you for the long card number, the card expiration date and the card security code. The card security code can be found on the signature strips on the reverse of your card and is three digits.

3. As the cardholder is not present for the transaction you will be unable to ask them for the PIN number on their chip card. Instead you will usually be asked to provide additional security information. Depending on your card payment provider this may consist of:

  • The cardholder name as it appears on the card.
  • The postal code of the address the card is registered to.
  • The door number of the address the card is registered to.

4. Then submit the information for processing using the ‘Submit’ or ‘Complete Transaction’ button. Again the name will vary depending on your provider. It is important that you keep the customer on the phone while the transaction is being processed, and you can use this time to get any other customer information that you may need or may be useful to you, for example their email or full postal address.

5. Once the payment has gone through you will be able to ask the customer how they would like to receive their receipt. Many payment providers now give the option to email the receipt directly to the customer. Alternatively if you are posting a product you may wish to include it in the parcel. Make sure you remember to write ‘paid by phone’ on your copy of the receipt in case you need to refer to it at a later time.

That’s it, it is really that simple. By following these simple steps you will be able to start taking payments over the phone and boosting your sales in no time.

Before you start, be aware that taking other people’s debit and credit card information over the phone carries responsibilities. You need to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) when handling confidential data.