A virtual terminal is a web-based interface that lets a merchant key in card details to take a payment manually, usually for MOTO transactions. It is operated by staff rather than the cardholder and produces a card-not-present authorisation. Virtual terminals must be operated within strict PCI DSS controls because the merchant takes responsibility for the card data they handle.
Travel payments glossary
Virtual terminal
A web-based interface that lets a merchant key card details to take a payment manually.
Why it matters in travel
Travel agents and back-office teams still use virtual terminals for phone bookings, balance chases and ad-hoc charges, especially where a payment-link flow is not yet in place. The trade-off is higher PCI scope and more manual evidence handling.
A virtual terminal in a travel back office is one of the highest-PCI-scope surfaces in the business. Every agent screen is in scope, every desktop is potentially in scope, and the controls have to be proven year after year against an auditor. The cost is paid for every booking taken on the terminal, even the ones that could have been done by link.
The travel businesses gradually moving off virtual terminals do it by replacing the recited-card-number flow with a customer-led link or portal flow. The result is the same booking captured with less PCI scope, cleaner audit evidence and a happier customer. The businesses that hold on to virtual terminals usually do so because the operations have ossified around them, not because the trade-off still favours them.
How felloh helps
felloh’s virtual-terminal experience keeps booking context attached to every keyed payment so the audit trail and reconciliation work the same way they do for self-serve payments.
Where this shows up in payment collection.
Virtual terminal touches more than one workflow at felloh. Start with the pages most travel teams reach for next.
- Payment Collection
Card, open banking, payment links, deposits and instalments — captured against the booking.
Explore - Payment Links
Shareable, authenticated payment links so customers pay against a specific booking without keying card details.
Explore - Embedded Checkout
Booking-aware checkout that keeps card data out of your systems and the payment trail tied to the booking.
Explore
More on collecting payments in travel.
Real-world context from the felloh team and customers, written for travel finance and operations.
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UpdatesSetting up payment links manually
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UpdatesMaking multi channel payments work across travel systems
Multi-channel friction in travel usually sits between booking, payment and finance systems. Connected payments keep finance teams in control.
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Connect the dots.
See how payments, settlement, refunds and reporting evidence connect around every booking.