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

Hospedaje Blue Ocean

"When we started the business, we had a lot of no-shows. We were not able to charge clients' credit cards in advance - we could only charge the cards once they had arrived. So Tab helped us a lot as we can charge the customer a deposit in advance - we have no no-shows any more!"

Marlen & Marco
Owners, Hospedaje Blue Ocean
Peru
Read their story  ➞
SAUCE Hotel Boutique

"TAB was a relief as the charge percents are reasonable and it's easy to use."

Ivo
Owner, SAUCE Hotel Boutique
Peru
Read their story  ➞
Alam Kita

"Because I am located on a very small island, it was difficult to get this credit card machine from the ordinary bank in here… so I was so happy to find out about Tab so the people can pay with their credit cards at last…!"

Margo
Owner, Alam Kita
Indonesia
Read their story  ➞

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