Learn How a Virtual Terminal Can Benefit Your Business

Not every sale happens at a counter. Phone orders, mail orders, invoices, deposits — for many businesses, a meaningful slice of revenue arrives without the customer or their card ever being present. That's exactly the problem a virtual terminal solves.

What is a virtual terminal?

A virtual terminal is a web-based version of a physical card machine. It's a secure page you log into from any browser, on any internet-connected device, where you can key in a customer's card details and process the payment — no hardware to buy, install, or maintain.

How it works

The customer gives you their card details by phone or email. You log into your virtual terminal in a browser, enter the payment information, and click Process. The transaction is authorized in seconds and settles to your account like any other card sale — with the payment data encrypted and handled to PCI security standards throughout.

Why businesses love it

No equipment costs. If you rarely see cards in person, you can skip the terminal entirely — your laptop is the terminal.

Sell from anywhere. Take a deposit over the phone, bill a repeat client, or process a mail order from home, the office, or the road.

Faster cash flow. Invoice by email, take payment by phone the same day, and stop waiting on cheques.

It fits businesses of every shape: trades and contractors taking deposits, professional services billing clients, restaurants taking catering orders, retailers handling special orders.

Virtuous Payments includes virtual terminal access alongside our in-person hardware, so you can take payments however your customers want to pay. Ask us about adding one to your account.