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

Los Elementos Adventure Center

"Being able to swipe a card and make a charge on the fly with our cell phones makes our business run smoothly and doesn't slow down our clients."

Lee
Owner, Los Elementos Adventure Center
Guatemala
Read their story  ➞
Atitlan Sunset Lodge

"The ability for guests to pre-book with Tab, using Advance Bookings, gives security and trust."

Armand
Owner, Atitlan Sunset Lodge
Guatemala
Read their story  ➞
Tubagua Ecolodge

"Tab is easy to use. Guests like the security and convenience of processing the charge from their own phone."

Tim
Owner, Tubagua Ecolodge
Dominican Republic
Read their story  ➞

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