Mail Order Telephone Order Processing

When is a mail order/telephone order (MOTO) account the correct choice for your business? When more than 30% of your transaction are card not present (CNP) you need to have a MOTO account. Although it initially appears to be much more expensive, in the long run it will save you money. If you are set up as a swiped account and you are manually entering credit card information, those transactions will downgrade, and instead of the low rate that you were quoted you're paying a great deal more. Processors also watch carefully to see how business is transacted. If you're keying information and you applied as a swiped account, there is a chance they could close your merchant account. This is because the risks of a CNP transaction  are much higher than a face-to-face transaction. A MOTO account will allow you to accept credit card payments via telephone, fax, or mail, so you can increase your business.

Payment options for a MOTO account can be a little confusing. There are three main ways process transactions: via terminal, via virtual terminal, and via phone. Using a traditional terminal you would enter the card information manually and send the information to your processor. Using a virtual terminal you would log into a secure website and enter all of the information asked for, click on submit, and wait for a response from the processor. Using a telephone you would enter your merchant ID number, then enter the card number, then the expiration date and then the amount. Since you can't input the CVV2 number on the back of the card over the telephone, all of the transaction will downgrade.

It generally takes a bit longer to get a MOTO account approved because there is a higher risk of fraud and chargebacks, the approval generally takes two business days. Merchants also have to be very diligent about obtaining written approval before charging a credit card. Without a signed contract or credit card authorization form you have no protection if a reversal is issued.