How can my employees and I perform a MO/TO virtual terminal transaction?

Mail Order/Telephone Order (MO/TO) transactions have been a popular payment method for more than 20 years and they continue to play a fundamental role in payments acceptance.

This means, for example, that a person in the UK can book their next trip to Greece by calling the hotel and providing the employee with their card details over the phone. This is a quick and easy solution when there is a physical distance between the merchant and the buyer and as such, figuring out how MO/TO payments work is essential.

In this article, we will explore what an online MO/TO transaction is alongside how you and your employees can accept payments through your myPOS web account or mobile app. Let’s get started!

What is a MO/TO virtual terminal and how does it work?

Also called a card-not-present transaction, a MO/TO payment happens when the merchant and the buyer are not physically close in proximity to each other. Because of this, the buyer can’t use their contactless or Chip & PIN card to make a payment. This is where the ease and convenience of MO/TO transactions come into play.

With ever-changing industry requirements, and the fact that regulators and institutions are driving the adoption of online MO/TO payments, it is now necessary to ensure that you and your staff members know how to perform MO/TO transactions straight from your myPOS account. In the section below, we outline the steps for you to do this easily and securely.

How can I perform a MO/TO virtual terminal transaction?

Step 1: Go to your myPOS web account, click on “POS devices” and select “MO/TO Virtual Terminal”. When the new menu opens, you should click on “+ New transaction”, which will appear at the top right-hand corner of your screen.

Step 2: You will now be taken to a new menu where you will need to enter the customer’s payment data. This will include information such as the full name on the card, the card PAN number, the card’s expiry date and the payment details (such as the payment amount, billing descriptor and order reference number).

Step 3: Once you have filled in all the payment information, you can click on the “Submit” button and you are done. The next step (which is entirely optional) would be for you to send your customer a receipt.

How do I add a MO/TO virtual terminal operator?

If you would like your employees to accept MO/TO virtual terminal payments (or add an operator) from your myPOS account (both web and mobile app), you would need to grant them access to the functionality. Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Begin by logging into your myPOS account. The next step would be to click on your company name/logo located in the upper right-hand corner and choose “Team” from the dropdown menu.

Step 2: You will be taken to another menu where you will be able to edit the new user’s access or add a new user to the account, if needed. The user rights for accepting Virtual Mo/To payments can be found at “Step 2: User Rights”.

Step 3: Once you have added a new user/operator or edited their rights, you should proceed to choose “View and manage GiftCards, Top-up and MO/TO Virtual Terminal”. Once done, you are ready and simply need to click on the last blue button at the bottom of the screen.

Alternatively, you can grant access to your user (operator) only for accepting MO/TO payments, by filling in their details in Step 2 and clicking on “MO/TO Virtual Terminal Operator” at the bottom. This will provide rights only for this payment method.

Please note that if you are adding a new user, they would first need to be identified before (s)he is able to charge a card.

Taking MO/TO virtual terminal payments has never been this easy

In just three simple steps, you and the team members you’ve granted access to your account can now accept MO/TO virtual terminal payments. This can save you a lot of time, effort and resources and can streamline your business operations. 

Once a new operator has been added to your account, they will be able to initiate a MO/TO transaction following the same steps as you would.

MO/TO virtual terminal payments are one of the most important ways for merchants to catch every sale and impact their business’ bottom line!