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Best MOTO Merchant Accounts For Taking Payments Over The Phone
These seven highly recommended processors provide excellent value for MOTO transactions no matter what type of small business you own.
Jason has been writing about small business software platforms, services, and financing since 2015. Jason’s expertise has been featured in Yahoo Finance, Time/NextAdvisor, Home Business Magazine, CreditCards.com, GoBankingRates, TheLadders.com, and other publications. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San Diego State University.
WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Jason VissersJason has been writing about small business software platforms, services, and financing since 2015. Jason’s expertise has been featured in Yahoo Finance, Time/NextAdvisor, Home Business Magazine, CreditCards.com, GoBankingRates, TheLadders.com, and other publications. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San Diego State University.
Expert Contributor
Last updated onUpdated
Frank has been writing about payment processing and business services since 2015. He is a retired Air Force officer and a former practicing attorney. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law.
REVIEWED BY
Frank KehlFrank has been writing about payment processing and business services since 2015. He is a retired Air Force officer and a former practicing attorney. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the Ventura College of Law.
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Our content reflects the editorial opinions of our experts. While our site makes money through referral partnerships, we only partner with companies that meet our standards for quality, as outlined in our independent rating and scoring system.
If your business takes orders over the phone, you’ve probably noticed that these transactions cost a bit extra. If you’re seeking to lower this cost, this summary of the best MOTO merchant account providers is for you.
While most of the best credit card processors offer a virtual terminal for phone transactions, the following providers offer particular value for MOTO transactions and are well-suited for businesses that often use MOTO credit card processing.
The following providers offer robust MOTO credit card processing along with a full range of merchant services. Each provider excels in serving a particular business type or size, and each choice offers honest services at reasonable rates.
Helcim: Overall Best Choice For MOTO Credit Card Processing
Transparent and competitive interchange-plus pricing with volume discounts
No long-term contracts, early termination fees, or monthly minimums
Cons
Not available to high-risk businesses
Not the cheapest option for very low-volume businesses
The Helcim Card Reader is on the pricey side
What Makes Helcim Our Top Overall Choice For MOTO Processing?
Helcim's transparent and affordable merchant services make it an excellent choice for a wide variety of US and Canadian businesses. As a MOTO credit card processor, Helcim is hard to top.
Helcim's proprietary virtual terminal comes standard with all Helcim merchant accounts, and it can be run from any internet-connected device. No matter where you are, you can accept a card payment over the phone, so long as you can connect to the internet.
Combine this with the absence of long-term contracts and monthly fees, and you have an ideal option for those who process MOTO payments only occasionally, but who still seek the stability only a full merchant account can provide.
Helcim Features
Helcim’s full set of merchant services comes standard with every unique merchant account it provides.
Proprietary Helcim Virtual Terminal for taking MOTO payments
Helcim Card Reader for taking mobile card-present payments
Helcim Smart Terminal for taking mobile payments from a touchscreen device that runs POS software natively
Free Helcim POS app
International payment acceptance without currency conversion
Helcim Smart Terminal — $329/unit (or five monthly payments of $68 for US customers)
No annual or monthly account fees
No PCI compliance fees or monthly minimums
What To Watch Out For
Helcim is great for many business types, but the company does not accept high-risk merchants. Also, those with low processing volumes will likely be able to find a cheaper processor.
Helcim Is Ideal For ...
Professionals who take MOTO payments
Low-risk businesses processing upwards of $5K—10K/month looking to avoid long-term contracts and recurring fees
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Pros
High-risk specialist with a great reputation in the field
Virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
Excellent customer support
Cons
No publicly disclosed pricing
Many high-risk merchants will have to accept tiered pricing
PaymentCloud’s website could be more informative
What Makes PaymentCloud Great For High-Risk Businesses?
If your business is considered high-risk and you take MOTO payments, look into PaymentCloud. It's one of our favorite high-risk merchant account providers.
MOTO sales are classified as card-not-present sales, which are inherently more prone to fraud and, therefore, riskier for the banks to underwrite. If your industry is already considered high-risk and you need MOTO payment processing, finding a good merchant account provider becomes that much harder.
We love that PaymentCloud takes a hands-on approach during the application and underwriting process. The company works with numerous acquirers to find the ones willing to work with your high-risk business and picks from those to get you the best deal possible. Afterward, PaymentCloud provides intensive ongoing support.
PaymentCloud Features
You’ll get the following features with PaymentCloud no matter what back-end processor you’re matched with:
A virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
One free terminal per merchant account (it’s free so long as you immediately return it upon closing your account)
Mobile payments and card readers
Your choice of payment gateways
ACH processing
Online store integrations
Cryptocurrency processing
Customized application guidance
PaymentCloud Pricing
PaymentCloud currently provides no pricing information on its website for high-risk merchants. Ordinarily, we don’t like this practice, but high-risk processing rates are exceedingly variable and will differ from one merchant to the next, making it difficult to estimate what a typical merchant will end up paying.
What To Watch Out For
We’re not fans of multi-year contracts and early termination fees (ETFs), and the low-risk payment processing industry has been moving away from these practices. However, high-risk merchants will likely have to agree to these terms, whether with PaymentCloud or with another high-risk merchant services provider. It’s worth asking if you can get your ETF waived or lowered, though.
High-risk merchants may also have to accept a tiered pricing scheme, which is unfortunate. However, it’s another way payment processors hedge against the risk of taking on high-risk clients.
PaymentCloud Is Ideal For ...
High-risk merchants looking to take payments over the phone
Transparent and competitive interchange-plus pricing with discounts for nonprofits
Virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
Month-to-month billing with no ETFs
Cons
Expensive for businesses processing under $10K/month
Not for high-risk or international sellers
$49 account closure fee
What Makes Dharma Merchant Services Great For Nonprofits?
Don't get us wrong: Dharma Merchant Services is an exceptional merchant account provider for any business processing over $10K/month. Its excellent customer support, fully disclosed pricing (including MOTO rates), and extensive feature list make it ideal for a wide range of companies and organizations.
However, Dharma offers a particularly compelling package for nonprofits. The company has a long history of catering to the needs of nonprofit organizations and offers discounted nonprofit processing. What's more, the company contributes a portion of its profits to charity.
Dharma Merchant Services Features
Full merchant accounts underwritten by Fiserv and TSYS
QuickPay virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
MX Merchant integrated payments platform + reporting system
Dharma advertises all of its standard rate and fee information on its website. For MOTO (virtual/eCommerce) rates, Dharma charges the following:
$20 monthly fee
Interchange + 0.20% + $0.11 per keyed-in transaction
Closure and chargeback fees disclosed on Dharma’s website
As mentioned, Dharma also offers discounted pricing for nonprofits:
$15 monthly fee
Interchange + 0.10% + $0.11 per keyed-in transaction
Rate discounts are also available to those processing over $100K/month or who process over 5,000 transactions per month.
What To Watch Out For
Dharma’s pricing model isn’t a great fit for businesses processing under $10K/month. Thankfully, Dharma acknowledges this on its website. The company even recommends that newer, low-volume merchants consider Square and PayPal as they build their businesses and then consider “graduating” to a full merchant account provider like Dharma.
Dharma Merchant Services Is Ideal For ...
Businesses that are processing over $10K/month and want to take payments/donations over the phone
Nonprofits seeking a MOTO provider with discounted nonprofit rates
Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.
Pros
Predictable flat-rate pricing — ideal for lower-volume merchants
Free virtual terminal for MOTO payments
Expansive feature set
Cons
Account stability issues
No support for high-risk businesses (except CBD sellers)
Not the best processor for international commerce
What Makes Square Great For New & Lower-Volume Businesses?
If your business processes under $10K/month, consider Square as your MOTO processor. We typically recommend Square for stores that have physical locations. Because Square absorbs some incidental costs and gives you a free virtual terminal, it's a processor worth your consideration if your monthly sales volume remains low.
Square is a third-party processor, which means you can sign up quickly and start processing almost right away, but your transactions will face heightened scrutiny, which leads to a higher risk of account holds and terminations than you'll face with a traditional merchant account provider.
One of Square’s biggest selling points is that it offers such a vast array of features with your easily obtained account, most of which are free. As for Square’s Virtual Terminal, it comes free with every account, supports MOTO payments, and includes the following:
Support for credit/debit cards, ACH transfers, and payment links
Support for split transactions and BNPL financing
Integrates with Square Dashboard
Compatible with Square Terminal for in-person payments
Square Virtual Terminal app available for Windows or Mac
Square Charge digital payments app available for Macs (Windows app coming soon)
Square Pricing
No monthly fee for standard accounts
$29/month for Square Plus (offers advanced features for restaurants, retail, and appointment-setting businesses)
3.5% + $0.15 per MOTO/keyed transaction
2.6% + $0.10 per card-present transaction
2.9% + $0.30 per online transaction
Magstripe-only card reader — free
Online store — free
Contactless/chip reader — $59/unit ($49 for the older 1st generation model)
Square Terminal — $299/unit ($27/month with financing)
No incidental fees or monthly minimums
Square’s closest competitor in the third-party processing space is PayPal, which offers most of the same features Square offers. However, PayPal charges extra for its virtual terminal, skewing the Square vs PayPal debate in Square’s favor for MOTO merchants.
What To Watch Out For
The account stability issues inherent to third-party processors are Square’s biggest drawback, though we must note that most Square users do not encounter these issues. Doing your due diligence will mean that you’ll be unlikely to face these issues; still, they bear thinking about.
Additionally, Square’s flat-rate pricing, while easy to understand, is relatively expensive once you’re processing over $10K/month, which is when you might think about switching to a provider of full merchant accounts.
Square Is Ideal For ...
Businesses that want to take MOTO payments without paying a monthly fee
Businesses processing under $10K/month that want payment processing with loads of free features
Get a free Clover Go card reader from National Processing when you sign up. Claim your card reader.
Pros
Offers month-to-month billing with no early termination fee
Virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
Custom pricing for those processing over $30K/month
Cons
Flat-rate pricing can be expensive if you sell over $10k/month
Interchange-plus rates no longer listed online
What Makes National Processing Great For ACH Processing?
National Processing is a no-frills merchant account provider that we've been fans of for some time. It offers full merchant accounts, great customer service, and a sterling reputation. It has a very good MOTO offering, but nothing spectacular.
We include National Processing in our list because, in case you take other forms of payment as well, it can't hurt to take a serious look at a processor that is excellent across the board, including its low-cost ACH processing. There's a lot of overlap between businesses that take phone orders and businesses that process lots of B2B transactions, and ACH is one of the cheapest means of doing the latter.
National Processing Features
Free credit card terminal available (may require contract)
Offers ACH and eCheck processing as an add-on
Offers mobile processing with a Clover Go card reader
No long-term contract if processing hardware is purchased outright
$9.95 or $19/month account fee (depending on plan)
3.5% + $0.15 per keyed-in transaction
Specific pricing for ACH is no longer listed on NP’s website, but the company says that its ACH processing averages at about $0.48 per transaction.
National Processing doesn’t charge any account setup fees or annual fees.
Higher-volume sellers may be able to negotiate custom interchange-plus pricing (though interchange-plus rate information is no longer listed on National Processing’s website)
Note that the above pricing pertains to low-risk businesses. National Processing does accommodate many high-risk business types, but high-risk businesses nearly always have to pay a premium for merchant services.
What To Watch Out For
Businesses processing over $30K/month can get custom pricing. If this is your business, remember to contact the company and ask if interchange-plus pricing is available.
National Processing Is Ideal For ...
Businesses seeking cheap ACH processing along with MOTO processing capabilities
Virtual terminal for MOTO transactions + free payment gateway
Month-to-month billing with no early termination fees
Excellent customer support
Cons
Only available to US merchants
Some high-risk business types not accepted
Full pricing for interchange-plus, membership pricing not disclosed
What Makes CDGcommerce Great For eCommerce Merchants?
CDGcommerce is an eCommerce specialist, which means that the pricing its merchants use most is card-not-present transactions — the same type of transaction MOTO merchants use.
CDGcommerce offers three separate pricing plans. There's flat-rate pricing for smaller/low-volume businesses, interchange-plus pricing for those processing $10K to $200K per month, and membership pricing for those processing over $200K/month. No matter your processing volume, CDGcommerce offers prices that fit your business.
CDGcommerce Features
Credit card terminals available for purchase or for “free” if you pay a $79/year insurance fee
Mobile payments and card readers
Free payment gateway
Free virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
Recurring billing
PastePay Cloud POS, CDGcommerce’s integrated POS
High-risk merchant accounts available
CDGcommerce Pricing
Here’s what you’ll pay with CDGcommerce’s flat-rate starter plan:
No monthly fee
3.5% + $0.30 per keyed-in/online transaction
2.9% + $0.30 per in-person transaction
Here’s what the interchange-plus plan will cost you:
Monthly fee not disclosed
Rates for keyed-in and online transactions not listed
Lastly, here are the details of CDGcommerce’s membership pricing:
$49-$199/month
Rates for keyed-in and online transactions not listed
What To Watch Out For
Note that while CDGcommerce does accept some high-risk businesses, it won’t accept as many high-risk business types as PaymentCloud.
Other than that, CDGcommerce has very few drawbacks. Just remember that the “free” credit card terminals aren’t entirely free and that you’ll have to pay that $79/year insurance fee.
CDGCommerce Is Ideal For ...
Businesses that deal in eCommerce and occasionally take payments over the phone
Offers features specifically for the healthcare industry
Free virtual terminal for MOTO transactions
No monthly fee with a standard account
Interchange-plus pricing available for larger businesses
Cons
Same-day deposits only available for Chase Business Complete Banking account customers
Interchange-plus rates not disclosed
High chargeback fees
“Free” credit card terminal requires a long-term contract
What Makes Chase Payment Solutions Great For Medical Offices?
Companies in the medical field are more likely to take MOTO payments than businesses in other fields, and Chase Payment Solutions has a number of features and integrations targeted at the medical industry. In fact, we consider Chase to be one of the best credit card processors for healthcare businesses.
Offering month-to-month billing with no ETFs, Chase Payment Solutions offers the kind of merchant account terms we like to see.
Chase Payment Solutions Features
Chase offers the following features for healthcare businesses:
HIPAA-compliant payment processing
Patient billing management
Scheduling tools
Integrates with InstaMed for online patient payments
You’ll also get:
A virtual terminal for MOTO payments
ACH payments
Developer tools/API access
Recurring billing
Chase Payment Solutions Pricing
$0-$9.95+/month (monthly fee applies if you want eCommerce)
3.5% + $0.10 per keyed-in transaction
2.6% + $0.10 per card-present transaction
2.9% + $0.25 per eCommerce transaction
Interchange-plus pricing is available for larger businesses, but you’ll have to contact Chase for pricing details.
What To Watch Out For
Note that while you won’t need to sign a long-term contract to use Chase as your payment processor if you accept “free” equipment, you may well have to agree to a multi-year contract.
Chase Merchant Services Is Ideal For ...
Healthcare businesses that sometimes take payments over the phone
Merchant Maverick has been researching the payment processing industry since 2009. Our writers have reviewed hundreds of credit card processors, merchant account services, and mobile payment apps, evaluating each provider carefully on several different metrics.
Weighted Rating Breakdown
Fees & Rates 35%
Contract 20%
Products & Services 15%
Sales & Advertising Transparency 15%
Customer Service 10%
User Reviews 5%
When comparing different payment processing companies and applications to one another, we consider numerous data points. Our experts start by comparing credit card processing rates, the presence of additional fees, contract length, sales practices, and the presence or absence of additional features and services, like point of sale software. Each provider is judged on its own merits and how well it stacks up to industry standards; then it is weighed against the other providers on the list.
We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure every company or application included meets our internal standards for quality and reputation. Any list of recommended payment processors on our site might contain a mix of standard merchant accounts, third-party payment processors, mobile payment devices, and high-risk payment processors, depending on what our expert feels is the best fit for certain scenarios or business types.
For additional details about Merchant Maverick’s review and rating processes, please refer to any or all of the following methodology pages:
MOTO stands for Mail Order/Telephone Order. While most mail-order businesses have evolved into online stores, many businesses still take telephone orders. These businesses take customers’ credit card numbers over the phone and enter them into a virtual terminal app for processing.
There are still call centers set up to take telephone orders. More recently, the COVID era drove many restaurants and professional services firms (such as doctors’ offices) to start taking MOTO payments as well.
What Do I Need For MOTO Credit Card Processing?
No matter what merchant services provider you go with, there are two essential elements you’ll need to be able to take payments over the phone:
A payment gateway
A virtual terminal
What Is A Payment Gateway?
A payment gateway gathers payment information from an input point (e.g., virtual terminal, website shopping cart, app interface) and transmits that information to the payment processor or the acquiring bank. It also returns authorization information (payment accepted or declined).
A payment gateway can capture several types of payment information, such as credit, debit, ACH, eCheck, etc.
What Is A Virtual Terminal?
A virtual terminal is the software interface that lets a merchant type in (“key in”) payment card information to send through a gateway for processing. Sometimes, they come as part of a gateway, but other times, you have to pay for access.
All MOTO sales are transacted through a virtual terminal.
What Is A CNP/Card-Not-Present Transaction?
A card-not-present (CNP) transaction is where the payment card information isn’t dipped, swiped, or tapped directly into a physical card reader. Instead, it’s typed (keyed) into a software interface on a computer, tablet, or similar device. The merchant typically doesn’t see the customer’s card, hence “card-not-present” transaction.
By definition, all MOTO transactions are CNP transactions.
Why Do CNP Transactions Cost More To Process?
CNP transactions typically cost more to process because there’s a higher instance of fraud associated with this type of transaction. Stolen card numbers are always easier to use when one doesn’t have to show a card but only has to type the number into a payment screen.
What To Expect With A MOTO Merchant Account
Whether you’re an old hand at credit card processing or are completely new to it, you might find certain aspects of a MOTO merchant account surprising. We list some of them below.
Higher Rates For CNP Transactions
As already mentioned, a MOTO transaction is always a card-not-present transaction. As such, you’ll always be charged a higher rate, and you’ll definitely notice this if most of your past transactions were in-store (i.e., card-present) transactions.
If you run an online business, however, you may not see any difference, because MOTO and eCommerce are both categorized as CNP transactions and are usually (but not always) charged at the same rate.
There’s a reason for this higher charge. There is a statistically higher probability that a CNP transaction is a fraudulent charge, so the higher rate is to compensate processors and banks for taking this higher risk. The card associations decide the rate, and whether it’s marked up even more by your processor depends entirely on which one you use.
Payment Security
As mentioned, CNP transactions are prone to fraud. To reduce the likelihood of a thief stealing card information, MOTO merchants are subject to a higher PCI compliance requirement.
For instance, at a physical store, the customer ordinarily transfers the payment information on the card directly to the reader/terminal. However, for phone orders, the employee, instead of the customer, takes the card information.
It’s important to train your employee to always enter the card information directly into the virtual terminal instead of writing it on a piece of paper, and this training is a part of the PCI compliance procedure the merchant must follow. As an added security procedure, both the AVS and the CVV should be checked as a part of the transaction authorization process to reduce the risk of fraud.
Because of these added security procedures, MOTO transactions can be a little bit more complicated to keep in security compliance than card-present transactions.
Fraud, Chargebacks, & Other Issues
If you take MOTO transactions, no matter how careful you are, you will have to deal with fraud and chargebacks sooner or later. It might be better for you to think of them as merely a cost of doing business so that you don’t get frustrated and let that ruin your day.
Fighting chargebacks means having to spend time digging through your transaction records and answering questions. Sometimes, you will have to pay a chargeback fee, and occasionally, your processor will withhold funds, so you cannot immediately withdraw the money from the merchant account.
With chargebacks, most processors won’t refund you the fee even if you end up winning the dispute.
Be sure to follow all the security procedures (check the AVS and CVV in every transaction) and consider purchasing additional fraud protection from your processor. Otherwise, take a deep breath and realize that a percentage of your sales will inevitably be entangled in fraud and chargebacks regardless of what you do.
The Bottom Line On Finding The Best MOTO Credit Card Processing
While most of the best online processors support MOTO transactions, we wanted to make sure that this curated list included options for the types of businesses most likely to need MOTO capabilities. No matter your industry or your processing volume, one of the options presented here should meet your business needs.
Jason has been writing about small business software platforms, services, and financing since 2015. Jason’s expertise has been featured in Yahoo Finance, Time/NextAdvisor, Home Business Magazine, CreditCards.com, GoBankingRates, TheLadders.com, and other publications. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San Diego State University.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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