How to Process Credit Cards by Phone
Processing credit cards over the phone gives you a convenient way of accepting payments from your customers. Credit card acceptance will benefit your business due to the additional number of people you can service. In order to effectively process customer payments over the phone, you must follow certain guidelines.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Have a legal business established. Not only will your customers trust giving you their payment information over the phone if you are an established business, it's a requirement for getting approved to accept credit cards. You can legally structure your business as a sole proprietorship, LLC or corporation. To establish your business, go to the Secretary of State's website or contact your local attorney or certified public accountant.
-
2
Have a checking account opened in your business name. Accepting credit cards over the phone requires depositing the credit card funds into an account. A business checking account allows the name of your business to report on your customer's credit card statement. Contact your local bank to open a business checking account. If you are sole proprietorship you may be able to use a personal checking account.
-
-
3
Establish the phone number that customers will call to pay by credit card. Having a dedicated number for processing credit card payments places your customers at ease in giving credit card information over the phone. You can select a new toll-free number or a local phone number by contacting your telephone provider.
-
4
Gather advertising materials, business cards and flyers or have a website showing how you will market your product or service. In order to be able to accept credit cards, the underwriting department that approves merchant accounts must see the product or services that you offer. Submitting marketing materials increases your chances of approval.
-
5
Apply for a merchant account processor. A merchant account processor accepts credit card payments for you in return for a fee and a percentage of each sale. Tell your merchant account processor that you will be accepting payments over the phone. Processors may have a special percentage for phone credit card acceptance.
-
6
Find out what security features are in place to protect you and your customers. If the security of your customers' credit cards is compromised, the customers can legally sue your business. Find out what security features your merchant account processor has in place to protect you and your customers.
-
7
Ensure your merchant account processor is PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant. PCI compliance is a regulated method of protecting your customers' credit card information from hackers or system failures.
-
1
