How can I accept credit card payments in person, online, or over the phone?

The way you accept credit card payments depends on how the payment details are captured.

Here’s a quick overview:

In-person payments

• Most businesses use POS terminal to process payments at their physical location
• Customers can insert, tap or swipe their card, phone or wearable on the terminal at checkout or on a mobile device

Online payments

• Merchants can add a Pay Now, Buy Now or Donate button to a hosted form on their website/ app that allows visitors to securely enter sensitive card details.
• Pay-by-Link allows businesses to send a link to a digital invoice that contains a secure form to submit payments from any browser-connected device.
• E-commerce sites usually integrate a shopping cart platform

Phone and mail-order payments

• Businesses that take payments over the phone or by mail typically key payment details into a Virtual Terminal hosted by the payment processor, or into payment-related fields in their business software.
• Use Address Verification Service (AVS) to reduce fraud by checking address, ZIP code, and CVV.

Recurring or subscription payments

• Store card details securely for future transactions.
• Sensitive card data is replaced with a token after the first use, which is safe even if stolen during a breach.