Take over the phone payments seamlessly with Shift4. MOTO payments made easy!
MOTO stands for mail order/telephone order. Put simply, MOTO payments are payments that are made over the phone; they’re also sometimes referred to as “card not present” payments. If you’ve ever provided your card details to a business via phone you’ve likely made a MOTO payment as a consumer!

To accept a MOTO transaction you have to have a MOTO-enabled EFTPOS machine such as a EFTPOS machine. Taking MOTO payments with Shift4 is easy. Here are the steps:
Click the “MOTO” button on the EFTPOS machine home screen then press “Purchase.”
The customer/cardholder must have a Visa, Mastercard or American Express card.
The customer will need to provide you with their card number, name on the card, expiry date and CVV/CVC number.
Enter the purchase amount and the card details on the terminal.
Payment made!
For some businesses in certain scenarios, MOTO will be the most efficient way a customer can pay. If this is the case, accepting MOTO payments can mean the difference between a sale or not! It can also speed up the process, reducing the need for invoices in a business. As a business owner, it’s worthwhile to accept payments in the way that customers like to pay, enabling a top-notch customer experience.
Accepting MOTO payments could save you the time and money involved in having to set-up an e-commerce platform and manage online payments.
Taking MOTO payments means payments are taken via your EFTPOS machine, similar to how in-store payments would be taken. In this way, MOTO payments can mean simplicity, processing all payments through one system. And better yet, no extra training needed for staff members!
MOTO payments are best suited to businesses that sell goods or services remotely and aren’t using e-commerce to process these transactions.
Mechanic taking a payment for new brakes while your customer is busy at work? We've got you sorted! Hairdresser needing to collect a deposit from a client for a new style? Our MOTO payment solution can help. Busy restaurant taking a phone payment for a delivery order? Look no further!

MOTO payments (and regular card payments) go through an “authorisation” process. Authorisation is built into all scheme credit and debit card transactions and checks:
The account number is valid
The card has not been reported lost or stolen
There are sufficient funds available to cover the transaction
Despite these checks, MOTO transactions generally have a higher risk of fraud than regular card present transactions because the card is not physically present. It’s important that you and your staff are trained to spot suspicious transactions - you can read our handy guide here.
With Shift4 there are no additional fees for taking MOTO payments! Sick of paying EFTPOS fees? Shift4 Zero Cost™ EFTPOS can eliminate your EFTPOS bills including any MOTO merchant fees.
A MOTO payment is a payment made over the phone. It is also called a “card not present” transaction. If enabled, these phone payments can be processed via your Shift4 EFTPOS terminal.
Let’s use this fictional example: Gracie calls Steve and says his car is repaired and ready for pick up. Steve wants to pick-up his car before opening hours but hasn’t yet paid for the service. To process payment without Steve needing to come into the store within opening hours, Gracie performs a MOTO transaction on her Smartpay terminal.
The transaction is processed over the phone and Steve picks up his car with no worries. Easy as!