Taking money over the phone?

You need to be careful accepting credit card information over the phone. I don't know if it is "illegal" but I don't think you are allowed to write down credit card information. It is a big security problem. What you need to get is a "virtual terminal" that will allow you to enter the credit card information online. I am pretty sure PayPal offers one in one of their higher tier business accounts.

Hi there,

Well, this can be done, but it is not totally advisable to do, primarily because of security reasons... Maybe settling the payment through Paypal or the like would make it safer.

@ needleads, their are 'n' number of ways you can receive payment including on the phone. But all this depends on three important aspect.
1. Credibility of the seller
2. Security
3. Tran Fee

Paypal, 2checkout, ccavenue, skrill to name a few are the market leaders in payment processing.

It is not good for the privacy reason. Sometimes, It will not give you the actual information. By the phone call, you should not know the credit card information. You should try another way to take money. Thanks.

sounds like a bad idea...

do people still give their credit cards info over the phone?

... direct them to your site and have all your transactions happen there..

-Ike Paz

Getting sensitive banking related information is always a risk and especially if it is over the phone. You need to make sure that IP address is secure while making online transactions and also need to secure IP via a dedicated vpn server. I use purevpn to secure my connection from the snooping eyes of hackers and to keep my card information safe from being leaked.

I have great success taking payments over the phone. People still like to talk to people and over the years I've learned I'm able to close more sales by actually talking to people. A great merchant account would be stripe they have an app that's called Invoices2Go so it really helps when, you're on the go. Good luck to you!

If your taking orders over the phone and processing credit card payments, you should be entering their info into the payment system immediately as you talk and ensure your not writing it down anywhere. You also need to cover yourself, it's best to record the call.

I used to work in a call centre and took payments over the phone. Always ensure you record the call, ask for verification and verify the details before processing the payment.

What we did was ask "Is it okay that I charge $xx.xx to your card?" just before processing.

If they asked why, we would just tell them we need verbal confirmation in order to process it.

I don't like the idea of storing c.c. numbers. You never know what could happen (somebody could steal them from your computer) and you could get in a lot of trouble. I wouldn't do it...

Im pretty sure You guys are misunderstanding what it is that OP is referring to.... I have personally been processing orders over the phone or other companies for well over 17 years and for myself around 3 so long as you follow a few simple guidelines you should have no problem whatsoever - and in fact you will likely convert 300 to 400% higher than you would if you relied solely on your website to sell your product for you (assuming you have some sales prowess) as a website cannot offer a rebuttal when a customer has an objection. As long as OP is using virtual terminal which most processors provide with their service to begin with proprietary or authorize.net virtual terminal or usaepay virtual terminal or NMI or Plug & Pay etcetera etcetera....

All of these virtual terminals provide an internal system that enables automated recurring billing in a manner that is PCI Compliant because after that transaction takes place you, the merchant, will no longer have any access whatsoever on your device or elsewhere to that customers card information it is stored remotely with the payment facilitator and entered manually in real-time by you at the time of the initial transaction ... most of them also integrate with more robust systems for recurring billing/membership etc that is handled similarly (you don't have access to card data) in any event you don't end up with any of the information on your computer at all unless you purposely do something shady

Telephony concerns: The odds of you as small time home based business selling over the phone having your business voice line hacked or your call information maliciously accessed are about in line with the odds of winning Publishers Clearing House... So although you have an obligation to do due diligence there no need for a tinfoil hat.

The major reason to record all your calls, in my opinion, is because there is an epidemic (especially in the US) of buyers who are entirely too adept at manipulating investor diving consumer protection laws and feel justified in using them as a means to order receive and consume goods and services from Merchant over the phone or online, then simply call their credit card company or you think after having recipe what they wanted and secured in their possession claiming not to recognize the charge thus getting your product for free and on top of that sticking you with a $45 chargeback p in addition to their money being refunded Plus credit card processing fees. There's actually a term for it in the financial industry "Friendly fraud"...

Even though its Handy to have these call recordings on hand for emergency purposes to potentially dissuade your processor from dropping you if your chargeback call you he gets over 1 or 2% but don't expect that to do anything for you fighting a chargeback - it's hopelessly impossible for a Merchant to win a chargeback dispute

I once came prepared and armed with multiple call recordings where the customer or not only bought and paid for the service but received support and assistance and utilizing it to its fullest extended Express that he has received benefit value Plus phone records from RingCentral with the incoming caller ID being that customers phone number and name as well as login tracking details demonstrating Scentsy customer has signed again several times during the two weeks he was registered and access a ton of content belong and Records by the way also included the customer's IP address which just so happens to match the IP address that the customer's correspondence regarding a chargeback coming from AND WAS STILL DENIED - at that point it's clearly obvious but fighting a chargeback is a losing battle just giving you a heads up so you don't enjoy the same aggravation that I didn't not a battle we can win considering money gone but keep those records in case you ever end up with having a conversation with risk management so you can demonstrate ethical business practices

Anyway, I'm sure that's entirely more than you asked for but if you look at any of those payment gateways I mentioned ( for recurring billing systems such as chargebee, chargify, spreedley, zaura, recurly excetera or gateways such as authorize Nmi usaepay plug n pay payjunction braintree Beanstream ccbill bluepay etc) you will find an integrated solution that fits your business needs keep in mind the combination will be different depending on your industry and your volume and your average transaction etc etc because different processors or partial business models make sure that's the one you want is only aware of exactly what you do and has experience Successfully working with similar types of businesses ... also: CHECK REVIEWS

I believe it's time for me to step down off my soapbox but I'm hoping you got something out of more than $0.02 I guess LOL best of luck

We take phone orders all the time and as Ace of AllMedia said, nothing converts as well as a phone call, so letting someone off the hook and telling them to go to the website and order is just not very smart.

Back in the day, none of the processors had virtual terminals. We simply went to our website just like a customer could do, added items to the cart and entered their credit card information on the checkout page of the live site.

Accepting money using payment processor is the best, most convenient and safer way. It protects you from the legal issues in case customer's card was misuse by irresponsible people. However, depending on the country and nature of business, I know there are still business accepting payment via manual way and charging to the card and it works very well.

I personally know a friend who is working in the florist industry where they have an option to accept credit card payment manually. (i,e get the card details from customer and charge manually to the terminal machine) It was provided by the bank directly and known as MOTO (Mail Order Telephone Order).

Anyway, in my opinion the best way is still using payment gateway to accept payment. If traditional method is required, provide them with the bank account and accept money via fund transfer.

I don't like the idea of giving my information to unknown party over the phone. I only give them my last 4 digits of the card only, that is if I already purchase a product from them in the past. Otherwise, I won't.
Especially if whoever calls you is someone outside from your country. Even if he is someone in your country, and claims to have legit business, there is no guarantee your card information will be safe. With lots of payment processors Paypal, Netteller, Skrill, and more to come, why would you handle your sensitive information to telemarketers?

It can be easier and instant but lets just not forget that it has its cons as well. There are snoopers who are busy in targeting people with their scams and transaction of such sort are a hot spot for these activities therefore it is always good idea to invest in a good vpn service like the one I use purevpn while carrying out sensitive and financial transactions just to be extra secure from hacking attempts.

Every company takes orders over the phone via CC... Some have new "higher security" ways, others don't...

Just use Square, or Stripe and type those numbers in. Even PayPal can do this.

~ Caleb

Many people wouldn't trust giving credit card over phone, email , etc. yet, if you provide them a page that ask for this information, they will be more than happy to do so.

I wouldn't waste time try to accept credit card over the phone, unless you are the energy company or gas, nobody would risk it.

That's so old school. Main reason because it doesn't look legit and raises a lot of privacy issues. Paypal is an easy option over here to smooth up the process. You can also try e-transfer by exchanging your email address and setting up a security question. But there is a certain limit on a transfer amount for every 24 hrs. Therefore look for these resources.

James

tell me also how i can earn the money from the mobile phone ??

I support the idea with PayPal. "Credit card info over the phone" sounds alarming.

It is still safe providing card details over the phone especially if you are calling banks. Aside from merchant contacting payment processing banks for obtaining manual approvals for a credit card transaction, buyers still share similar infos when doing Telephone Order transactions.