Business Tips
May 18, 2024

How to Charge a Virtual Credit Card Without a POS Device

In the world of online payments, virtual credit cards (VCCs) offer a convenient and secure way for online travel agents (OTAs) to pay tourism businesses. But what if you need to charge your virtual cards without a traditional point-of-sale (POS) device? We've got you covered with some quick payment solutions to tackle this challenge head-on.

Leverage Online Payment Gateways

Popular channel managers like Sirvoy may allow you to charge virtual cards, as long as you have an account with payment platform Stripe and the right merchant category code (MCC).

But what if I can’t get a Stripe account in my country?

Tab works in most countries and most currencies, with a bespoke payment feature built especially for charging virtual credit cards, all from your web browser.

Explore Virtual Solutions

Some web-based payment platforms allow merchants to manually enter virtual card details and process secure transactions securely, without a physical POS device. Services such as Tab offer a desktop web app that’s user-friendly and can process your virtual card payments in a matter of seconds. However, virtual cards are really expensive, so you may want to explore alternatives!

Receive Your OTA Payments via Another Method

While virtual cards streamline OTA transactions, they may pose challenges for tourism businesses that can’t charge them. They’re usually more convenient for the OTA provider than for the business! If you already receive virtual credit cards, you might want to explore the other ways that you can take payment from OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia. You could ask them to send your funds via bank transfer, or request to receive the secure customer card details when they book via the platform. You can then charge the details through your POS or another payment provider.

This opens up more traditional (and cheaper!) payment options - for example, Tab can help you charge secure customer card details provided by Booking.com and Expedia. It’s a great way to secure your bookings in advance and we can send your weekly payments (we call them payouts) to most bank accounts in most currencies around the world.

Our Tips:

  • Check if the virtual card provider can pay you via another method, such as bank transfer.
  • Source secure customer card details, already provided by the OTA, then charge through a POS or online payment provider.
  • Sign up for a free Tab account and charge virtual cards without the need for hardware!

Conclusion:

Receiving your money on virtual credit cards with no way to charge them may seem daunting, but with the right online payment tool, it’s easy.

Ready to simplify your payment processing?

Apply for a Tab Payments account today, your all-in-one solution for online tourism payments, without the hassle of a traditional POS device.

More success stories

Ecotourism Nam Et-Phou Louey

"Collecting advance and instant credit card payments in Lao currency (LAK) with free payouts to Lao bank accounts! A game changer!"

Janina
Ecotourism Advisor, Ecotourism Nam Et-Phou Louey
Laos
Read their story  ➞
Hotel Doña Esther

"We like the selfie feature because it gives our staff a chance to chat with people and it makes most customers laugh!"

Wendy and Arthur
Owners, Hotel Doña Esther
Ecuador
Read their story  ➞
Hotel Chillies

"Tab has made charging reservations and working with Booking.com so much more dependable."

Michele
Co-owner, Hotel Chillies
Honduras
Read their story  ➞

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