Virtual Terminal – Paystack Support

What is Virtual Terminal?

Paystack Virtual Terminal is a simple way to accept in-person payments at scale and with almost zero hardware costs. Setting up a Virtual Terminal for your business is entirely free. All you need to do is log into your Paystack Dashboard, create as many Virtual Terminals as you need, and instantly deploy them to your sales agents.

Only Registered Businesses in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Côte d'Ivoire can use Virtual Terminals. Kindly note that the virtual terminal poster designs differ per country.

What are the transaction charges for Paystack Virtual Terminal?

The transaction charges for using the Terminal vary according to the payment channel used by the customer.

Payment Channel	Fee
Nigeria	Transfer: 1% capped at NGN 300
	USSD: 1.5% + NGN 100 capped at NGN 2,000. NGN 100 waived for transactions under NGN 2,500
	Local Cards: 1.5% + NGN 100 capped at NGN 2,000. NGN 100 waived for transactions under NGN 2,500 International cards: 3.9% + NGN 100
Ghana	Cards, Mobile Money and Apple Pay: 1.95%
Kenya	M-PESA: 1.5%
	Cards (KES) Local cards: 2.9%, International cards: 3.8% Cards (USD) All cards: 3.8%
	Apple Pay: 3.8%
South Africa	Local Cards: 2.9% + ZAR 1. ZAR 1 fee waived for transactions less than ZAR 10 (excl. VAT). EFT: EFT transactions are charged at 2% with no flat fee (excl. VAT). International cards: 3.1% + ZAR 1 (excl. VAT). Apple Pay: 2.9% + ZAR 1 (excl. VAT).
Côte d'Ivoire	Mobile Money: 1.95% (excl. VAT) Local Cards: 3.2% (excl. VAT) International Cards: 3.8% (excl. VAT) Apple Pay: 3.8% (excl. VAT)

How to create a Virtual Terminal

Creating a virtual terminal from your dashboard is easy and completely free of charge. The steps are explained below in more detail, but here's a quick video illustrating the process from start to finish.

Step one: Go to the Virtual Terminal page on your Dashboard and click on ‘Create Virtual Terminal.’

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Step two: You’ll need to name the Virtual Terminal and provide at least one or up to five active WhatsApp numbers to receive payment notifications from this Virtual Terminal.

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Step three: Click ‘Create’ to generate the new Virtual Terminal.

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For Nigerian businesses, a bank account number will be generated for your virtual terminal. The account name will appear as “the first thirteen characters of your business name/the name you provided for your Virtual Terminal.”

Step four: Click on the created Virtual Terminal to find more information, like the Virtual Terminal ID, status, your Virtual Terminal poster, Transactions tab to show all the payments made to your Virtual Terminal, and Notifications tab to view real-time notifications received by the WhatsApp numbers assigned to it.

You can download either light or dark versions of the Virtual Terminal poster from the Dashboard by clicking on the image of the poster you want. You’ll get a PNG file to print and display in your store.

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Customers can access the Virtual Terminal payment page by scanning the QR code on the poster. You’ll also find a link at the page's top-left corner, where you can test the payment page.

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Which payment channels are supported on Virtual Terminal?

Virtual Terminal supports all the payment channels available on the Paystack Checkout form in Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria, including cards, M-PESA, Mobile Money, bank transfers, USSD, EFT and Apple Pay.

How many Virtual Terminals can I create?

You can create as many as your business needs for free.

Can I customise my Virtual Terminal poster?

This feature is currently unavailable but will be released in the future.

In which countries can I use Terminal?

Currently, only registered businesses in Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria can use Virtual Terminal.

Can I get a Physical Terminal / POS as well?

Yes, you can, but only if you're a Nigeria-based business. You can request a Physical Terminal / POS device from your Paystack Dashboard. You can also display your Virtual Terminal on a physical terminal. If you would like to do this, kindly send us a request via terminal@paystack.com or support@paystack.com.

Will my sales agents see the total amount received by my business?

No. While frontline staff or sales agents will receive a WhatsApp notification to confirm that a payment was successful, they won't be able to access any other payment information unless you give them access to the Paystack Dashboard.

Are there other ways to receive instant notifications besides WhatsApp (e.g. via SMS)?

Currently, Virtual Terminal only sends payment notifications to WhatsApp.

Can I change the WhatsApp number assigned to a Virtual Terminal?

Yes, you can delete a WhatsApp number and add a new one.

Can I, the business owner, also receive the transaction notifications?

Yes, you can add your WhatsApp number to any Virtual Terminal to receive transaction confirmation notifications simultaneously as your sales agents. Your Paystack Dashboard also gives you a real-time look at all the transactions across all Terminals.
You can also monitor all your payments from the Paystack Merchant App (iOS and Android).

Can I delete a Virtual Terminal?

You can't delete a virtual terminal, but you can deactivate it. Once this is done, customers will be unable to pay you through that virtual terminal. The virtual account number for the Nigerian-based businesses would also not work for transfers after deactivating a virtual terminal.