Taking card payments over the phone: send a payment link instead

The short answer

A new business will struggle to get set up for phone payments, because providers see them as a fraud risk.
A card number read out over the phone has no security checks, so you carry the full risk if the customer disputes it.
Send a payment link instead. The customer pays through their own bank's check, and it takes seconds while they are still on the call.

Tony Berry has spent 16 years in card payments and runs Payment Guru and Tip4 from Kent. We asked him what he tells a business that wants to take card payments over the phone. His answer is below, in his own words, from a voice note he recorded in October 2026.

He started with a warning:

"Taking card payments over the phone is something to be done very, very cautiously at the moment."

Published 5 November 2026. Checked against UK Finance, FCA and legislation.gov.uk sources on 5 November 2026.

Can a new business take card payments over the phone?

Usually not, and the reason is not the one owners expect.

"Quite openly, if the business is a new business and they want to take card payments over the phone, then they are very unlikely to find support. The reason being is because of potential fraud.

"It's not likely fraud from the customers, in fact. The inherent risk is in the process. The business has to consider the industry that they are in, and whether it's one that could be misleading customers. They also have to be very careful how they present themselves anywhere in a public space."

There is one case where a provider will understand why the phone is needed.

"If a business, however, knows their customer base is of a certain demographic, leaning towards of course older demographics, then there's an understanding as to why that would be a phone payment."

What is the risk to the business?

The word is chargeback. A phone payment has none of the checks that protect a card tap. Chargebacks are also one of the reasons providers label some businesses high risk, which Tony covers in high risk payment gateways.

"But a phone payment is very much qualified as non-secure, so the business is at full chargeback risk. There is no security on a conventional phone payment."

What does Tony do instead?

A payment link. The customer gets a text or email, opens it, and pays through their own bank's check.

"So for that reason we generally push out payment links. This is a secure transaction, verified by 3D Secure codes, and that means the transaction is upgraded to be secure. And for that reason it's largely protected against fraud."

It does not cover everything.

"It doesn't cover everything, though. Problems with the delivery of goods or services still make up a huge amount of potential fraud risk."

He insists on it, and it has cost him.

"So we insist on payment links with most people now. If it's an established business that wants to take phone payments, they're more than welcome to consider it, but it does mean it's quite a big risk for them.

"I very much have lost sales because I've insisted on this approach, but I would argue that this is the right thing to do, and it's safer for the business. I would rather protect customers and give them something that solves problems."

Is a payment link slower for the customer?

Not by much, if the customer has a wallet set up.

"But yeah, if it's done the right way, it's actually good for the customer. And it's just as good for the merchant.

"The payment link can be sent while you're still on the phone, and it's very, very quick. And if the customer has Apple Pay or Google Pay set up, it should be very slick on their end."

And where it is slower, that is the point.

"But yes, it can be a slight friction point. But if it does cause friction, that friction could well be blocking a potential chargeback, and that's a positive."

The rules, with sources

How much card fraud there is. UK Finance's Annual Fraud Report 2026, published 12 June 2026, says criminals stole £1.28 billion through payment fraud in 2025, up 4% on 2024. The report breaks card fraud down by type, including remote purchase fraud, where the card is not present. A phone order is a remote purchase. Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026.

Why a link is "upgraded to be secure". UK law requires a payment provider to apply strong customer authentication when a payer initiates an electronic payment, with an extra check that ties the payment to the amount and the payee. A payment link runs that check, usually as a code or an approval in the customer's banking app, which is what Tony means by 3D Secure. A card number read out over the phone and keyed in by your staff is not initiated by the payer, so it does not get that check. Sources: Payment Services Regulations 2017, regulation 100 and the FCA page on strong customer authentication.

What a chargeback is. The customer's bank reverses the payment under the card scheme rules, and the money comes out of your account. The Financial Ombudsman says a customer usually has around 120 days to raise one about goods or services, counted from the date they expected to receive them, which is why Tony says delivery problems stay a risk even with a secure payment. Source: Financial Ombudsman, problems with goods and services bought using a card.

On "very unlikely to find support". That is Tony's experience of placing new businesses, not a published rule. We could not find a UK source that counts how many new merchants are refused telephone payments. Acquirers set their own underwriting rules and do not publish refusal rates.

Quick answers

Is it legal to take a card payment over the phone?
Tony: "If it's an established business that wants to take phone payments, they're more than welcome to consider it, but it does mean it's quite a big risk for them."

Can a new business take card payments over the phone?
Tony: "If the business is a new business and they want to take card payments over the phone, then they are very unlikely to find support. The reason being is because of potential fraud."

Why is a phone payment risky for the business?
Tony: "A phone payment is very much qualified as non-secure, so the business is at full chargeback risk."

What is the safer way to take a payment from a customer who is not in front of you?
Tony: "We generally push out payment links. This is a secure transaction, verified by 3D Secure codes, and that means the transaction is upgraded to be secure."

Does a payment link slow the customer down?
Tony: "The payment link can be sent while you're still on the phone, and it's very, very quick. And if the customer has Apple Pay or Google Pay set up, it should be very slick on their end."

Does a payment link stop all fraud?
Tony: "It doesn't cover everything, though. Problems with the delivery of goods or services still make up a huge amount of potential fraud risk."

Next step

I get it. Your customers ring up, they have their card in their hand, and you want to take the money there and then. Being told to text them a link feels like one more step. But Tony has turned away sales rather than set a business up to carry every chargeback itself, so when he says link first, it is not a sales line.

Send Tony last month's card statement and tell him how your phone orders work now. Who rings, how often, and what you sell. He will tell you whether a link, a virtual terminal or a straight phone facility fits, and what each one would cost you in fees and in risk. For how those fees are made up, see how much is a card machine? If what you have is right, he will say so.

This will not suit everyone. If your callers are mostly older customers without a smartphone, Tony says a provider will understand why you need the phone, and he will help you make that case. The payment links page shows how the link reaches the customer.

Send a statement for a free review · Call 020 3535 6085

About Tony Berry

Tony runs Payment Guru and Tip4 from Kent. He has worked in card payments for over 16 years and set up Payment Guru to find businesses the right card processing, terminals and payment tools, and Tip4 to do tipping and tronc. He is the person who answers the phone. Payment Guru on LinkedIn

‍

Taking card payments over the phone: why Tony says send a link instead