Virtual terminal
Take card and ACH payments from any browser — for less
Key in payments on your computer, tablet, or on your mobile phone. No POS hardware required
Best for Affordable Payment Processing
Best Budget Friendly Alternative
Best for Small Business
Best for Overall Payment Processor
Best for Lowest Processing Rates
Best for Custom Rates
Best for Affordable Payment Processing
Best Budget Friendly Alternative
Best for Small Business
Best for Overall Payment Processor
Best for Lowest Processing Rates
Best for Custom Rates
Everything you need to get paid remotely
Built for businesses that need flexibility. Key in a phone order, bill a due invoice, or take pre-authorizations — all from one secure screen.
Charge cards on file
Save up to 10 tokenized cards per customer for instant repeat billing.
Collect overdue invoices
Pull up any due invoice and process it instantly using saved payment info.
Hold funds (Pre-auth)
Place a hold before a job's final scope is known, then capture it within seven days.
ACH payments made easy
Already have a signed authorization? Charge now. Need one? Request it from the customer first, right from the terminal.
Take partial payments
Collect a deposit or installment as a custom amount or percentage.
Two ways to get paid. Always take the cheaper one.
Most processors treat card and bank payments as separate products—or don't offer keyed ACH at all. Helcim runs both from the exact same screen, so you can optimize every transaction
See what you'd saveRate
2.90% + 30¢
Average
Best for
Fast, everyday charges
On a $5,000 invoice
~$115
Funds arrive
Next business day
Rate
0.5% + 25¢
capped at $6
Best for
Large invoices
On a $5,000 invoice
$6
Funds arrive
2-3 business days
Don't take our word for it. See it in action.
Explore the Virtual Terminal yourself. Start a transaction, add a customer, and see how easy it is to switch between payment types
How Helcim compares
See the difference before you switch
Helcim
Virtual Terminal
Typical flat-rate processor
Bank / legacy gateway
Monthly fee
$0
$0 — $30
$30+
Contract required
No
Sometimes
Usually
Card + ACH in one terminal
Yes
Rarely
Rarely
Rate drops with volume
Automatic
Sometimes
Rare
Reporting & customer tools
Included
Often Extra
Often Extra
From businesses that sell over the phone, online, and by invoice
We only do online and direct sales with no face-to-face, so their Virtual Terminal was a perfect solution. Quick, easy, good reporting, good fee structure.
Sequoia Publishing Inc.
Zero monthly charges. A sale off-season, my once-a-year booth — my terminal is ready to go, no hassle.
Robin Glass Art
Very happy with the low transaction fees and the web-based interface for batches, invoicing, and phone payments.
AirClix Photographic Scanning Services
One account.
Every tool included.
Your Virtual Terminal isn't a standalone gateway you pay extra to bolt on — it shares the same customer vault, invoicing, and reporting as the rest of your Helcim account, at no added cost. Give staff their own logins with role-based access.
Frequently asked questions
No. Any device with an internet connection works — desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone.
Yes — that's the point. Charge a card, or take an ACH bank payment (EFT/PAD in Canada), from the same terminal. Pick whichever costs less on each transaction.
Card networks price keyed-in cards higher since the cardholder isn't present to verify identity — that's a network rule, not a Helcim fee. ACH moves bank-to-bank with no card network involved, so it's priced at 0.5% + 25¢, capped at $6.
Interchange-plus pricing, no monthly/PCI/contract fees, and a rate that drops automatically as your volume grows.
A hold on funds before the final amount is set — useful for deposits or variable-scope jobs. Capture it within seven days.
Key in their card or bank details, or pull up an existing customer or unpaid invoice.
Yes — signing up gives you a merchant ID and you can start taking payments right away.
Yes. AES-256 encryption, fully PCI compliant.
No. Because Virtual Terminal payments are keyed in by you (the merchant) rather than selected by the customer on a checkout page, they aren't eligible for automated surcharging or convenience fees. If you want to pass on fees, we recommend sending an Invoice or Payment Link instead.
Turn any browser into a payment terminal
Card and bank payments, transparent rates, no monthly fees, no contract