How to Accept Credit Cards by Phone

This article was co-authored by Michael R. Lewis. Michael R. Lewis is a retired corporate executive, entrepreneur, and investment advisor in Texas. He has over 40 years of experience in business and finance, including as a Vice President for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. He has a BBA in Industrial Management from the University of Texas at Austin. This article has been viewed 103,016 times. To accept credit card payments by phone, invest in a merchant account and credit card processing equipment if you’ll be making a lot of transactions. You’ll also have to purchase a credit card terminal so that you can submit transactions. Alternatively, use a third party processing service, like Flagship, if you don’t want to invest in your own merchant account. With a third party service, you'll need to choose between a company with a call-in number, or one with online processing, which may be more convenient based on when you take your payments. To learn how to use your smartphone to accept credit card payments, read on!