A virtual terminal for phone, email and invoice payments
No card reader needed. Clearo's virtual terminal lets you take payments over the phone, email invoices, send payment links and set up recurring billing, all from a web browser.
Short answer
A virtual terminal lets you take a card payment by typing the customer's card details into a secure web page, with no card reader: the tool for phone orders, emailed invoices, payment links and recurring billing. Clearo's virtual terminal handles all four from any browser, on interchange-plus pricing.
What is a virtual terminal?
A virtual terminal is a secure web page from your payment processor where you type in a customer's card details to charge them. It turns any computer with a browser into a card terminal for the sales that never reach a counter: orders taken by phone or mail, invoices, and payments set to repeat on a schedule.
Comparing providers? Our list of the best virtual terminals sets seven side by side, and our guides cover taking card payments over the phone and the credit card authorization form to keep on file for repeat charges.
That form matters. Before you store a customer's card for later charges, Visa's stored credential rules call for the cardholder's consent, and the first storage and each later charge have to be flagged in the transaction data (Visa). Get the consent in writing before the first recurring charge.
What you can do
Phone payments
Type in a card number from any web browser while your customer reads it out over the phone. No card reader, and no card number left on a notepad.
Invoicing
Email an invoice your customer can pay by card. They open it, enter their card and pay, and you don't have to call them for a card number.
Payment links
Create a link for any amount and send it by email or text. The customer opens it and pays by card.
Recurring billing
Charge repeat clients on the schedule you agree with them, once they've authorized it. It suits retainers, memberships and service plans.
Who it's for
Virtual terminals are ideal for businesses that take orders over the phone, send invoices for services rendered, or need a flexible way to collect payment without a physical card reader. For on-the-go needs, consider mobile payments, or for website checkout see online payments. All solutions use our transparent interchange-plus pricing. Common use cases include professional services firms, contractors, consultants, and any business with a phone-first or email-first sales process. If you already invoice from QuickBooks Online, we can also set you up so those invoices take card payments directly, as we did for Commerce Media Group.
Virtual terminal FAQ
You sign in from a web browser, type in the amount and the customer's card details, and submit the sale. It goes through the same card networks as a sale at a counter, and the card's issuing bank approves or declines it in the same way.
No. A computer or tablet with a web browser and an internet connection is all it takes. If you also sell face to face, the POS terminals we supply take chip, tap and swipe at the counter.
Usually, yes. A card typed in by hand is a card-not-present sale, and Visa and Mastercard set higher interchange for those than for cards read in person. Our guide to card-not-present transactions shows the networks' own rates, and on interchange-plus pricing you see that cost line by line.
When your only card handling is typing card numbers into a provider's web-based virtual terminal, PCI SSC's SAQ C-VT is usually the one, though your acquirer confirms which questionnaire applies. Our SAQ A guide explains how the questionnaires differ.
More detail: card-not-present transactions and PCI SAQ A.
Sources
The Visa, Mastercard and PCI SSC documents behind the facts on this page, checked in October 2026.
- Visa USA Interchange Reimbursement Fees (rates effective April 18, 2026) (usa.visa.com)
- Mastercard 2026-2027 U.S. Region Interchange Programs and Rates (mastercard.com)
- PCI DSS v4.0.1 SAQ C-VT (docs-prv.pcisecuritystandards.org)
- Improving Authorization Management for Transactions with Stored Credentials (Visa) (usa.visa.com)
See how we compare
Side-by-side comparisons that link each company's own pricing page.
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Related Services
Everything you need to accept payments and reduce costs.
Payment Processing
Transparent interchange-plus pricing
Merchant Services
Full merchant services stack for small business
Credit Card Processing Fees
Understand fees and lower your effective rate
POS Terminals
Countertop, wireless, and portable terminals
Online Payments
Secure website checkout and payment gateway
Mobile Payments
Accept payments from phone or tablet
ACH Payment Processing
Bank-to-bank payments for invoices and B2B
Chargeback Management
Tools and a rep to keep disputes in check
PCI Compliance
Support for keeping card data secure
Surcharging Program
Pass processing costs to credit card users
Pricing
See our interchange-plus rates and how we compare
Other industries we serve
Clearo works with businesses across the US and Canada. Find your industry below.
Guides to phone orders, invoices and stored cards
Security and compliance
Credit card authorization form: template and safe handling
B2B payments
How to send an invoice: steps, email template, and timing
Payment basics
Recurring billing: how card-on-file payments work
Online payments
What is a payment link? How it works and when to use one
Payment basics
Card on file: rules for storing customer cards
Security and compliance
Card-not-present transactions: costs, fraud, and liability
Comparisons
Best virtual terminal: 7 options for phone and mail orders
Payment basics
Card account updater: how stored cards stay current
Canada
Invoice requirements in Canada: what the CRA asks for
Let's talk about your payments
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If we can save you money and improve your setup, we'll show you exactly how. If we can't, we'll tell you that too.
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