Three Ways Businesses Are Using ‘Pay by Link’ to Keep Payments Secure & Simple

A simple solution for taking card payments instantly with no hardware required. So you need a way to charge your customers, but you don’t have time for invoicing, in-person payments aren’t possible, and setting up a payment gateway is too costly. What’s the solution? Meet Zeller Virtual Terminal . A secure, convenient and cost-effective way to process payments either by accepting your customer’s card details over the phone, or by sending them a payment link. This new feature is the latest addition to Zeller’s robust suite of payment solutions and gives businesses even more flexibility to tailor payments to their needs. Read on to discover what a virtual terminal is, who it’s designed for and how to use it with Zeller. What is a virtual terminal? A virtual terminal does the job of an EFTPOS machine , virtually. It is a web-based tool that allows you to process payments made over the phone (as well as mail order, fax, or email) by manually entering a customer’s card details into the browser of a computer or mobile device. In the case of Zeller Virtual Terminal, merchants can also send customers a secure payment link where they can enter their card details themselves. It therefore enables businesses to transform their desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet into a payment system, without the need to purchase a physical EFTPOS machine. Why use a virtual terminal? A virtual terminal is a highly useful solution for situations where card-not-present payments need to be made instantly, or for businesses looking for a cost-effective way to accept payments electronically. The beauty of this solution is that all you need is your own device and a browser – no other hardware is required. What’s more, unlike an EFTPOS machine or payment gateway that will incur an upfront cost or monthly fees, a virtual terminal is a very cost-effective way to take payments, where only a small per-transaction fee will be charged. Plus, if you’d like to reduce your costs to zero, Zeller gives you the option of passing on the transaction fee to your customer through surcharging . Whether your business is still in its infancy and you aren’t ready to invest in a long-term solution, whether you need need a backup option to be able to take payments when your EFTPOS machine is in use, or whether you just want to save on costs: there are a number of reasons why a virtual terminal is a great solution. Which types of businesses use virtual terminals? New businesses Businesses just getting off the ground may not yet have the capital or the volume of customers to justify buying an EFTPOS terminal or investing in a payment gateway. A virtual terminal is a great interim solution that helps you build your revenue without the costly outlay. Food venues offering phone orders or taking event bookings At busy restaurants or cafes where customers can place orders or paid reservations over the phone, typing customer details into an EFTPOS machine isn’t always practical. Having a virtual terminal means that the EFTPOS machine can be freed up for in-person purchases, while another staff member can manage the phone payments via their preferred device. Freelancers, consultants or professional service providers While invoicing is a common payment method used by the likes of accountants, bookkeepers, graphic designers, or architects, it doesn’t have to be the only option. Giving customers another, immediate way to pay with virtual terminals means clients can settle up instantly, doing away with administrative and cash flow hassles caused by late payments. Mobile businesses For businesses that move from one location to another, a virtual terminal is a great alternative to having to carry around a physical EFTPOS machine. Gardeners, mobile pet groomers, event caterers or repair technicians can simply send their customers an SMS or payment link that can be settled up on the spot. Retailers or wholesalers Companies offering wholesale or custom orders may require immediate payment for their goods, but are unlikely to have a shopfront where they can take an in-person payment. A virtual terminal lets them accept payment remotely so they can ship the items quickly. Social media influencers With a virtual terminal, influencers communicating with their clients through social media channels don’t need to take their work onto a different platform. Instead they can simply copy a payment link and share it via direct message on Instagram or TikTok. How does Zeller Virtual Terminal work? Accessed from Zeller Dashboard, anyone who has a free Zeller Account will have access to the feature. Before getting started, you’ll need to enable Virtual Terminal from Site Settings on your Dashboard. Each transaction will incur a 1.75% + 25 c fee, which can be passed onto the customer through surcharging. Manually accepting a payment Once logged in, simply click on ‘Virtual Terminal’ on the left hand side panel, and start entering in the relevant details. If you have multiple business locations, these will be listed under ‘Site’. Select the Site you wish to take the payment for, enter the value, select the contact you wish to charge or create a new contact, add any notes about the transaction then click, ‘Continue to Payment’. Fill in your customer’s card details then click ‘Pay’. Once the payment has been processed, you will have the option of sending your customer a digital receipt via email or SMS. Sending a payment link If you would prefer to send your customer a link to enter their card details themselves, from Zeller Virtual Terminal, click ‘Send Payment Link via Email’ or ‘Send Payment Link via SMS’. Enter the mobile number or email address of the customer and click ‘Send Link’. Alternatively you can click ‘Copy Link’ and share the link with your customers in a direct message on social media or via Whatsapp or iMessage for example. The link is secure and will direct customers to a page where they can enter their card details and proceed with the payment. Once the payment has been processed, customers will have the option to download a copy of the receipt. Surcharging Zeller Virtual Terminal gives merchants the option to fully or partially pass on the transaction fee (1.75% + 25c) to customers through surcharging . To enable or manage this function, go to Sites and toggle surcharging off or on. When toggled on, you will be given the option of nominating a percentage of the fee to surcharge. Connecting payments to contacts When you use Zeller Virtual Terminal , Zeller Invoices , or Zeller EFTPOS Terminal , each transaction processed can be assigned to a singular contact to help you track unpaid balances, view payment history and manage relationships with your customers. If you take payments through a combination of Zeller’s payment methods, the Zeller Contact Directory allows you to select a contact and see any previous transactions or outstanding payments across all payment methods. So, whether you choose to use Virtual Terminal alone, or in combination with EFTPOS and Invoices, contact linking ensures your records are always simple to manage and up to date. At Zeller, we understand that all businesses are different. That’s why we’re dedicated to bringing you tailored solutions to help manage your finances. Keep up to date with all the latest product releases, features and enhancements by signing up to the Zeller Newsletter .

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, with streetscapes around the country adorned by oversized candy canes, inflatable Santas, and enough tinsel to tickle a reindeer’s nose. Naturally, all this fun, festive frivolity comes with increased consumer spending, and businesses can sometimes experience payment bottlenecks if they’re not prepared. 1. Take payments down the queue with Tap to Pay. Got a smartphone? Great, you’ve got a mobile POS terminal. Simply open up the Zeller App on your smartphone, hit the hamburger in the top left corner (the three stacked lines), enable ‘Tap to Pay’, follow the prompts, and you’re ready to accept contactless payments. Tap to Pay with Zeller App can be handy in so many scenarios. For example, if you’re running a one-off stall selling Christmas hampers at your local farmers market, you can accept payments directly on your phone. No EFTPOS terminal needed — it’s that easy.. Another example could be a fishmonger with a steadily growing queue of people lining up to buy fresh seafood for Christmas Day. While one staff member takes orders and accepts payments at the counter using  Zeller Terminal, another can walk down the line using Tap to Pay with Zeller App on a smartphone as a secondary POS. By reducing customer wait time, you’re helping to ensure fish-fans don’t get salty and move on to a quieter nearby competitor. 2. Lock in bookings or large orders with Zeller Invoices. Sending professional invoices has never been easier. Let’s say you run a restaurant and have just received a booking request for a large Christmas party. To accept a deposit payment to secure the booking, you’d open Zeller Dashboard, whip up an invoice in a few clicks (including detailing the payment terms), create a new contact, and send the invoice for the client to arrange pre-payment quickly and securely with their credit card. Or perhaps you’re a bakery taking Christmas pudding orders. You can fire off the invoice in a few clicks, and then be automatically notified when your customer completes their order payment. And if your customer was slow to pay, they’d automatically receive reminder emails to prompt them. We’re proud to say that 75% businesses using Zeller Invoices get paid in under 24 hours. 3. Take card payments over the phone and send payment links with Virtual Terminal. Zeller Virtual Terminal allows you to manually enter a customer’s card details they’ve given you over the phone, or send them a secure payment link via email or SMS, right from Zeller Dashboard. But what if you don’t have their email address or phone number? What if you’ve been communicating with your customer purely on social media? No worries, Virtual Terminal can handle that too. Let’s say you’re a handmade jewellery creator crafting cute Christmas-themed earrings for customers on Instagram and Facebook Marketplace. You would take an order via your DMs, add the payment details into Zeller Virtual Terminal in a few taps, click ‘Copy Link’ and shoot your customer the payment link back via DM. Quick, easy and efficient, the way it should be. So whether you’re a sole trader, a medium sized business or even running a bigger operation, hopefully this article has given you some fresh ideas on taking payments this Christmas and beyond. If you have any questions on any of these additional payment options available to you, log in to your Zeller Dashboard to try them out, or give our local team a call on 1800 935 537 and we’ll step you through the process.

From promoting an offer on the screen of Zeller Terminal to adding a QR code onto your receipts, or customising the colour of your invoices: Zeller ensures your brand is central to the payment process. When we think of brands, naturally some of the most prominent come to mind: Nike, Ikea, McDonalds. However, a strong brand doesn’t necessarily mean a big one. Small businesses are able to derive just as much benefit from a recognisable brand identity as major international companies, it’s all a question of scale. The beauty of building your brand as a small business is that you don’t have to go to huge lengths to achieve it, you just have to be consistent. Emphasising your brand at every customer touch point – whether it’s a simple logo printed on your napkins or the colour of your bathrooms – can leave a lasting impression. In this article, we offer you three innovative ways to integrate your brand into the payment process to engage customers with your business right until they finalise their transaction. 1. Add a Custom Screensaver to Zeller Terminal. Even when Zeller Terminal goes to sleep, it keeps working for your business. Thanks to this new update, you can now set a custom screensaver that will appear on your Terminal screen when it’s not in use. While customers wait for you to scan their items or pull up their order on your point-of-sale, it is the perfect opportunity for you to engage them with your brand. Whether you’ve got a new offer to promote, need to remind customers to place their Christmas orders, or want to highlight a new product or item on the menu: the large, digital screen on Zeller Terminal is the perfect place to do it. Any image can be uploaded, as long as it is sized correctly (320 x 496 px). By incorporating a QR code into the image you can invite customers to sign up to a newsletter, referral program, or competition. This is a great way of bolstering your mailing list with people you know have already interacted with your business. However you choose to use Custom Screensavers on Zeller Terminal, it’s a great way to maintain brand consistency throughout your premises. When you upload a screensaver via Zeller Dashboard, there’s no need to update each Terminal individually, it will automatically update to all the Terminals operating within the site you have selected. By featuring your logo, as well as colours and fonts consistent with your style, a slogan or key message; you will emphasise your brand identity just before your customers walk out the door. To upload a Custom Screensaver: Open the Zeller Dashboard and navigate to Sites Locate and click the site to see its settings Click the Appearance tab Upload your logo Select a background colour (Zeller will automatically recommend some colours based on your logo) Click Save All Zeller Terminals within the site will display the image when in sleep mode 2. Use receipts to engage your customers. Whether they’re printed or sent digitally as an email or SMS , receipts can be used in clever ways to help drive return business or help your customers connect with you. With Zeller, you can add a custom image at the top of the receipt, where a simple logo and/or QR code will catch people’s eye. Below this, you can add in your business details, so your customers know how to contact you, as well as your social media handles. In the case of digital receipts – these are live links that will take customers directly to your social profiles. There are two spaces, above and below the purchase details where you can add a message of 500 characters or less. You could include a brief history of your business, details of a competition you’re running, or a message or slogan that aligns with your brand. Much more than a simple proof of purchase, receipts are an innovative marketing tool that can be leveraged to instil your brand messaging. 3. Align your invoices to your brand identity You don’t necessarily need a shop front to create a strong brand. Having a clear, identifiable web presence will set you apart from your competitors, and ensure your business is the first that comes to mind when your service is required. Or even when it’s not! Your online presence doesn’t end at your website. Every interaction with your customer is an opportunity to remind them of your brand, and invoices are no exception. Zeller Invoices provides you with the best of both worlds: the ability to create and send invoices quickly, but also the flexibility to customise them to align with your brand. With different colours and layouts to choose from, space for your logo and a custom message, your clients will be able to instantly recognise your business and your service. Not only does this make it easier (and therefore faster) for your clients to pay you, but they’ll associate the service with your brand, and are much more likely to return to you next time. Bringing your brand to life across the payment process is just one of the many ways Zeller lets you tailor your financial solution. With many different ways to take payments, make payments and manage your money, Zeller’s tools are designed with the flexibility and versatility to adapt to your business. Find out for yourself by signing up for a free Zeller Account today or by contacting our Sales Team to learn how Zeller could be a great fit for your business, and your brand.