7 Best Virtual Terminals of July 2026
The right virtual terminal can save you time and money when you need to manually enter credit card transactions.
Virtual terminals let businesses manually enter payment details without a card reader or point-of-sale hardware. If your business often receives phone, fax, email or mail orders from customers, you’ll need a virtual terminal to accept those card payments and a company to process them.
Most payment processing companies offer their own virtual terminals, and the best option is typically to stick with a single provider to avoid unnecessary complications. Still, make sure to consider a service’s overall costs — as well as factors like deposit speed, customer support and online payment options — to determine which virtual terminal is the best fit for your business.
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Here are NerdWallet’s top picks for the best virtual terminals.
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Square POS
Best for Overall virtual terminal
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.15
Online: 3.3% + $0.30
Online: 3.3% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$0
and up.
Learn more on Square's website
Pros
- No monthly fee.
- App and card readers are compatible with iOS and Android devices.
- No long-term contracts.
- All plans include a free online store.
Cons
- Live chat or phone support is limited to weekdays.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services
Best for Fast deposits
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$0
and up.
Pros
- Same-day funding seven days per week for U.S. Bank checking account holders.
- No cancellation fees.
- Free POS software plan available.
- 24/7 support.
Cons
- POS system onboarding assistance can be costly.
- Deposit times are not as quick for merchants using third-party bank accounts.
- Virtual terminal costs extra.
Stax
Best for Subscription pricing model
Payment processing fees
In-person: 0% + $0.08
Online: 0% + $0.15
Online: 0% + $0.15
Plus interchange
Monthly fee
$99
and up.
on Stax's website
Pros
- No contract required.
- Option for same-day access to funds, including holidays and weekends, as an add-on.
- Set up an online store through an add-on.
- Mobile app is compatible with Android and iOS devices.
Cons
- Technical support is through a ticketing system.
Shopify Retail POS
Best for E-commerce integration
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$39
and up for e-commerce plans; Can upgrade to POS Pro for an extra $89.
on Shopify's website
Pros
- No long-term contracts or termination fees.
- All plans include an online store.
- Built specifically for online sellers.
- 24/7 chat support.
Cons
- No free plan options.
- Business and American Express cards carry higher online rates (3.5% plus 30 cents in the Basic plan).
- Phone support only available for Plus plan subscribers.
Clover POS
Best for POS flexibility
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.5% + $0.10
Online: 3.5% + $0.10
Online: 3.5% + $0.10
Monthly fee
$0
and up.
on Clover's website
Pros
- App works with iOS and Android mobile devices.
- Next-day deposits to your bank account in most cases.
- Online payment option.
- 24/7 phone support.
Cons
- Differing pricing structures depending on business type.
TouchBistro
Best for Restaurants
Payment processing fees
N/A
Quote-based.
Monthly fee
$69
and up.
on TouchBistro's website
Pros
- 24/7 phone, chat and email support.
- Includes restaurant-specific features, like table and menu management.
- Optional profit management system provides tools for improving margins.
- As a hybrid POS system, TouchBistro can operate without the cloud. Offline capabilities include accepting payments, taking orders, editing menus and managing staff.
Cons
- Payment processing rates are quote-based, making them difficult to compare to the competition.
- Contracts are automatically renewed and can't be terminated early.
- No free plan options and charges setup fee.
- Ability to accept online orders costs extra.
Dharma Merchant Services
Best for Surcharging option
Payment processing fees
In-person: 0.15% + $0.08
Online: 0.2% + $0.11
Online: 0.2% + $0.11
Plus interchange
Monthly fee
$20
for most industries; $15 for nonprofits.
Pros
- No long-term contract.
- Mobile app is free and compatible with iOS and Android devices.
- Two-day funding for card-not-present transactions.
- 24-hour customer support help lines.
Cons
- Invoicing and recurring billing is an additional monthly fee.
- Account closure fee of $49 is charged.
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Default Square POS
Best for Overall virtual terminal
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.15
Online: 3.3% + $0.30
Online: 3.3% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$0
and up.
on Square's website
Pros
- No monthly fee.
- App and card readers are compatible with iOS and Android devices.
- No long-term contracts.
- All plans include a free online store.
Cons
- Live chat or phone support is limited to weekdays.
Square offers a robust virtual terminal without the need for special equipment or devices. You access it through an online dashboard that works on both Mac and Windows POS systems. Some free features include recurring payment options; email, text or print receipts; and a library of products, taxes and discounts.
Pros
- No monthly fee.
- App and card readers are compatible with iOS and Android devices.
- No long-term contracts.
- All plans include a free online store.
Cons
- Live chat or phone support is limited to weekdays.
Square offers a robust virtual terminal without the need for special equipment or devices. You access it through an online dashboard that works on both Mac and Windows POS systems. Some free features include recurring payment options; email, text or print receipts; and a library of products, taxes and discounts.
Pros
- No monthly fee.
- App and card readers are compatible with iOS and Android devices.
- No long-term contracts.
- All plans include a free online store.
Cons
- Live chat or phone support is limited to weekdays.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services
Best for Fast deposits
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$0
and up.
Pros
- Same-day funding seven days per week for U.S. Bank checking account holders.
- No cancellation fees.
- Free POS software plan available.
- 24/7 support.
Cons
- POS system onboarding assistance can be costly.
- Deposit times are not as quick for merchants using third-party bank accounts.
- Virtual terminal costs extra.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services is an all-in-one solution for banking, payment processing and POS software. Businesses with a U.S. Bank checking account are eligible to receive deposits more quickly than they might with competitors, thanks to the company’s Everyday Funding option. This gives you access to free deposits every day of the week, including weekends.
Read full review
Pros
- Same-day funding seven days per week for U.S. Bank checking account holders.
- No cancellation fees.
- Free POS software plan available.
- 24/7 support.
Cons
- POS system onboarding assistance can be costly.
- Deposit times are not as quick for merchants using third-party bank accounts.
- Virtual terminal costs extra.
U.S. Bank Merchant Services is an all-in-one solution for banking, payment processing and POS software. Businesses with a U.S. Bank checking account are eligible to receive deposits more quickly than they might with competitors, thanks to the company’s Everyday Funding option. This gives you access to free deposits every day of the week, including weekends.
Read full review
Pros
- Same-day funding seven days per week for U.S. Bank checking account holders.
- No cancellation fees.
- Free POS software plan available.
- 24/7 support.
Cons
- POS system onboarding assistance can be costly.
- Deposit times are not as quick for merchants using third-party bank accounts.
- Virtual terminal costs extra.
Stax
Best for Subscription pricing model
Payment processing fees
In-person: 0% + $0.08
Online: 0% + $0.15
Online: 0% + $0.15
Plus interchange
Monthly fee
$99
and up.
on Stax's website
Pros
- No contract required.
- Option for same-day access to funds, including holidays and weekends, as an add-on.
- Set up an online store through an add-on.
- Mobile app is compatible with Android and iOS devices.
Cons
- Technical support is through a ticketing system.
Stax (formerly Fattmerchant) has a free virtual terminal with all of its monthly subscription packages. You’ll pay the monthly fee plus the applicable interchange rate for each card transaction. Features allow you to customize invoices, automatically send receipts and also set up recurring payments.
Pros
- No contract required.
- Option for same-day access to funds, including holidays and weekends, as an add-on.
- Set up an online store through an add-on.
- Mobile app is compatible with Android and iOS devices.
Cons
- Technical support is through a ticketing system.
Stax (formerly Fattmerchant) has a free virtual terminal with all of its monthly subscription packages. You’ll pay the monthly fee plus the applicable interchange rate for each card transaction. Features allow you to customize invoices, automatically send receipts and also set up recurring payments.
Pros
- No contract required.
- Option for same-day access to funds, including holidays and weekends, as an add-on.
- Set up an online store through an add-on.
- Mobile app is compatible with Android and iOS devices.
Cons
- Technical support is through a ticketing system.
Shopify Retail POS
Best for E-commerce integration
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.6% + $0.10
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Online: 2.9% + $0.30
Monthly fee
$39
and up for e-commerce plans; Can upgrade to POS Pro for an extra $89.
on Shopify's website
Pros
- No long-term contracts or termination fees.
- All plans include an online store.
- Built specifically for online sellers.
- 24/7 chat support.
Cons
- No free plan options.
- Business and American Express cards carry higher online rates (3.5% plus 30 cents in the Basic plan).
- Phone support only available for Plus plan subscribers.
Shopify POS syncs directly with the Shopify e-commerce platform. However, Shopify does not offer free POS software, and the platform is retail-focused.
Read full review
Pros
- No long-term contracts or termination fees.
- All plans include an online store.
- Built specifically for online sellers.
- 24/7 chat support.
Cons
- No free plan options.
- Business and American Express cards carry higher online rates (3.5% plus 30 cents in the Basic plan).
- Phone support only available for Plus plan subscribers.
Shopify POS syncs directly with the Shopify e-commerce platform. However, Shopify does not offer free POS software, and the platform is retail-focused.
Read full review
Pros
- No long-term contracts or termination fees.
- All plans include an online store.
- Built specifically for online sellers.
- 24/7 chat support.
Cons
- No free plan options.
- Business and American Express cards carry higher online rates (3.5% plus 30 cents in the Basic plan).
- Phone support only available for Plus plan subscribers.
Clover POS
Best for POS flexibility
Payment processing fees
In-person: 2.5% + $0.10
Online: 3.5% + $0.10
Online: 3.5% + $0.10
Monthly fee
$0
and up.
on Clover's website
Pros
- App works with iOS and Android mobile devices.
- Next-day deposits to your bank account in most cases.
- Online payment option.
- 24/7 phone support.
Cons
- Differing pricing structures depending on business type.
Clover offers a wide range of plans to select from, including a virtual terminal with no additional monthly fee. You’ll pay applicable processing rates per each transaction, and depending on the plan you select, Clover may charge a monthly software fee. You can request payments by email, set up tax rates and apply them automatically, and have customers pay online.
Pros
- App works with iOS and Android mobile devices.
- Next-day deposits to your bank account in most cases.
- Online payment option.
- 24/7 phone support.
Cons
- Differing pricing structures depending on business type.
Clover offers a wide range of plans to select from, including a virtual terminal with no additional monthly fee. You’ll pay applicable processing rates per each transaction, and depending on the plan you select, Clover may charge a monthly software fee. You can request payments by email, set up tax rates and apply them automatically, and have customers pay online.
Pros
- App works with iOS and Android mobile devices.
- Next-day deposits to your bank account in most cases.
- Online payment option.
- 24/7 phone support.
Cons
- Differing pricing structures depending on business type.
TouchBistro
Best for Restaurants
Payment processing fees
N/A
Quote-based.
Monthly fee
$69
and up.
on TouchBistro's website
Pros
- 24/7 phone, chat and email support.
- Includes restaurant-specific features, like table and menu management.
- Optional profit management system provides tools for improving margins.
- As a hybrid POS system, TouchBistro can operate without the cloud. Offline capabilities include accepting payments, taking orders, editing menus and managing staff.
Cons
- Payment processing rates are quote-based, making them difficult to compare to the competition.
- Contracts are automatically renewed and can't be terminated early.
- No free plan options and charges setup fee.
- Ability to accept online orders costs extra.
For restaurants that haven’t warmed to the idea of a totally cloud-based POS system, TouchBistro is a solid option. It’s a hybrid POS, meaning it’s locally installed but data is still sent to the cloud. Although other cloud-based POS systems can accept payments in offline mode, the TouchBistro system will maintain additional capabilities, like real-time reporting, in a Wi-Fi outage.
Read full review
Pros
- 24/7 phone, chat and email support.
- Includes restaurant-specific features, like table and menu management.
- Optional profit management system provides tools for improving margins.
- As a hybrid POS system, TouchBistro can operate without the cloud. Offline capabilities include accepting payments, taking orders, editing menus and managing staff.
Cons
- Payment processing rates are quote-based, making them difficult to compare to the competition.
- Contracts are automatically renewed and can't be terminated early.
- No free plan options and charges setup fee.
- Ability to accept online orders costs extra.
For restaurants that haven’t warmed to the idea of a totally cloud-based POS system, TouchBistro is a solid option. It’s a hybrid POS, meaning it’s locally installed but data is still sent to the cloud. Although other cloud-based POS systems can accept payments in offline mode, the TouchBistro system will maintain additional capabilities, like real-time reporting, in a Wi-Fi outage.
Read full review
Pros
- 24/7 phone, chat and email support.
- Includes restaurant-specific features, like table and menu management.
- Optional profit management system provides tools for improving margins.
- As a hybrid POS system, TouchBistro can operate without the cloud. Offline capabilities include accepting payments, taking orders, editing menus and managing staff.
Cons
- Payment processing rates are quote-based, making them difficult to compare to the competition.
- Contracts are automatically renewed and can't be terminated early.
- No free plan options and charges setup fee.
- Ability to accept online orders costs extra.
Dharma Merchant Services
Best for Surcharging option
Payment processing fees
In-person: 0.15% + $0.08
Online: 0.2% + $0.11
Online: 0.2% + $0.11
Plus interchange
Monthly fee
$20
for most industries; $15 for nonprofits.
Pros
- No long-term contract.
- Mobile app is free and compatible with iOS and Android devices.
- Two-day funding for card-not-present transactions.
- 24-hour customer support help lines.
Cons
- Invoicing and recurring billing is an additional monthly fee.
- Account closure fee of $49 is charged.
Dharma Merchant Services includes free access to its virtual terminal, MX Merchant, with every account. Dharma uses an interchange-plus pricing model for payment processing and also charges a monthly fee. A customer database allows you to store payment information, and you'll have the ability to create quick-payment links on your website.
Pros
- No long-term contract.
- Mobile app is free and compatible with iOS and Android devices.
- Two-day funding for card-not-present transactions.
- 24-hour customer support help lines.
Cons
- Invoicing and recurring billing is an additional monthly fee.
- Account closure fee of $49 is charged.
Dharma Merchant Services includes free access to its virtual terminal, MX Merchant, with every account. Dharma uses an interchange-plus pricing model for payment processing and also charges a monthly fee. A customer database allows you to store payment information, and you'll have the ability to create quick-payment links on your website.
Pros
- No long-term contract.
- Mobile app is free and compatible with iOS and Android devices.
- Two-day funding for card-not-present transactions.
- 24-hour customer support help lines.
Cons
- Invoicing and recurring billing is an additional monthly fee.
- Account closure fee of $49 is charged.
Jump to
What is a virtual terminal?
How much does a virtual terminal cost?
What businesses use virtual terminals?
How to choose a virtual terminal
What is a virtual terminal?
A virtual terminal is an online application that makes it possible to process card transactions from anywhere with an internet connection, even when you aren’t face-to-face with a customer.
These transactions are usually initiated by phone, email or fax orders, making virtual terminals a convenient alternative if you can’t accept cards in person with POS hardware or online through an e-commerce site. Many payment processors and POS software providers include virtual terminals as part of their services. Standalone options may also be available, but choosing a company with strong overall payments infrastructure can make sense — especially since some don’t charge a subscription fee to use their terminals.
After setting up an online account with your virtual terminal provider, you’ll log in and navigate to its payments section. Exact directions and information needed varies based on provider, but generally you’ll enter the following information to process transactions:
- Card number.
- Expiration date.
- CVV/CVV2 number (the three- or four-digit number on the back of a card).
- Customer name.
- Billing ZIP code.
There may also be an area on the screen to write a note to the customer, as well as an option to email or text a payment confirmation. Processing fees are deducted from the payment before the transaction funds are transferred to your business account.
How much does a virtual terminal cost?
Many payment processors give you access to a virtual terminal for free. If there are no monthly subscription fees, that means you’re typically just responsible for payment processing fees.
At a minimum, those include interchange rates and per-transaction fees or markups. Card-not-present transaction fees are usually higher than in-person fees because they’re considered to have a greater potential for fraud. While some payment processors treat virtual terminal transactions as online transactions, others charge more expensive transaction rates for manually keyed-in transactions.
For example, Square and U.S. Bank Merchant Services charge 3.5% plus 15 cents per manually keyed transaction compared to 2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions. That means, for a $1,000 purchase, you’d pay about $6 extra in fees if it was manually entered instead of processed online.
Separately, if you plan to use POS software for in-person or online sales, make sure to factor those monthly costs in too.
» MORE: Best small-business apps
What businesses use virtual terminals?
Businesses that accept payment information from customers who are not physically there — card-not-present transactions — use virtual terminals. They’re also an option when a mobile card reader is required (but unavailable) or when customers prefer contactless payments.
Businesses that may use virtual terminals include:
- Mail-order and telephone-order businesses, also called MOTO businesses.
- Restaurants, diners and cafes that process phone and online orders.
- Delivery-based businesses such as food and beverage stores, florists and gift shops.
- Mobile businesses such as food trucks, pet groomers and photographers.
- Freelancers such as web designers, artists, SEO specialists and bookkeepers.
How to choose a virtual terminal
Here are some factors to consider to choose the right virtual terminal for your small business.
Payment processor and POS integrations
If you already have a POS system, your best option is generally to use your existing provider’s virtual terminal (if they offer one). However, if more than about a quarter of your transactions are entered manually, looking for a different payment processor that offers a more robust virtual terminal or lower transaction fees could be a smart choice.
Price
The cost of credit card processing is important to consider when evaluating your options. There are a variety of payment processing pricing models, such as flat-rate, interchange-plus and membership plans. Because each payment processor has different pricing, it’s not easy to make a quick side-by-side comparison.
This credit card processing fees calculator can help you get a good idea of the cost of each plan based on your volume of manual transactions.
For example: Say a processing service charges $100 monthly to use its platform, and its virtual terminal option is free. Its processing fees are 2% of the transaction total plus 10 cents per transaction. If you do 80 manual transactions a month for a total of $4,000, you would pay the monthly fee of $100 and processing fees of $80 (2% of $4,000) plus $8 (10 cents x 80 transactions) for a total of $188.
A company with a high volume of phone orders could benefit from a membership-based model with lower processing fees, while a business that does a small volume of phone orders may pay less with a flat-rate model and no monthly fee.
Payment speed
The money your customers pay you doesn’t immediately get transferred to your business’s bank account. Ideally, you’ll receive the funds the next business day and have an option to pay extra for same-day deposits.
Fraud and chargeback protection
Virtual terminal transactions carry a higher risk of fraud and chargebacks because the customer isn’t making the purchase in person and credit card numbers can be keyed in wrong. Make sure your payment processor offers fraud and chargeback protection tools in some capacity, especially if you aren’t familiar with the company. Many processors include security tools in their services or offer advanced security tools as an add-on.
Customer support
At a minimum, you want support available during the hours you'll be submitting transactions. Getting 24/7 phone and/or chat support is ideal, but isn’t always available. Searching through customer reviews of a product may give you some insight into a provider’s quality of service and general response times.
