Card Machine With Manual Card Number Entry

Yes, most UK card machines support manual card number entry (MOTO, Mail Order Telephone Order) for taking card details over the phone or from a written form. Rates are higher (2.5 to 3.5 per cent versus 0.5 to 1.75 per cent for tap-and-pay) because no card is physically present. Chargeback risk is also higher because the merchant cannot prove the cardholder authorised the transaction. Useful for deposits, callout bookings, repeat customer top-ups and remote sales.

What this means for your business

MOTO transactions are processed differently from card-present transactions. The merchant keys in the card number, expiry, CVV (the three or four digit security code) and the cardholder address postcode. The acquirer runs Address Verification Service (AVS) and CVV2 checks at authorisation. A successful authorisation does not protect against a chargeback, the cardholder can still dispute the transaction by claiming they did not authorise it.

Pricing reflects the risk. Tap-and-pay and chip-and-PIN transactions cost 0.5 to 1.75 per cent depending on acquirer and volume. MOTO transactions typically cost 2.5 to 3.5 per cent, sometimes higher for facilitators. The premium is the acquirer's pricing of the elevated chargeback exposure. Some acquirers segment MOTO into a separate merchant ID or sub-account so the higher-risk transactions do not affect the main rate.

Use MOTO selectively. Useful for: deposit-at-booking on appointments and callouts (where the deposit value is small enough to absorb the higher rate), repeat-customer top-up sales (where you trust the customer and have their order history), and remote sales where the customer cannot reach a physical terminal. Avoid MOTO for: first-time customers with no order history, high-value transactions where chargeback exposure is significant, and any transaction where the customer is reluctant to provide CVV (this is a strong fraud signal).

Key points

MOTO supports manual card entry where no card is physically present
Rate is typically 2.5 to 3.5 per cent, sometimes higher for facilitators
CVV2 and AVS checks run at authorisation but do not protect against chargeback
Most major UK acquirers issue a virtual terminal alongside the physical card machine
Useful for deposits, callout bookings, repeat-customer top-ups and remote sales
Avoid for first-time customers and high-value transactions
Some acquirers segment MOTO into a separate merchant ID so the higher risk is ring-fenced

Common pitfalls

Using MOTO for a first-time high-value customer, this is the highest chargeback risk combination
Storing card details after the transaction, this breaches PCI-DSS unless a tokenisation system is in place
Forgetting to capture the postcode for AVS, this weakens dispute defence
Mixing tap-and-pay and MOTO transactions on the same rate, the acquirer will reprice if MOTO volume becomes material

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