© 2012 by Bart Smith, TheMarketingMan.com & Founder of MyMarketingCart.com, MyTrainingCenter.com, ReallyCheapNames.com & MyPaymentServices.com

A "virtual terminal" is an online credit card processing system, assigned to your merchant account, that allows you to log into your merchant account online and manually authorize, process, charge or even refund a customer's credit card payment using virtually any computer in the world.

Typically, offline businesses like retail stores, restaurants and other brick 'n' mortar outlets use a physical credit card transaction machine to process credit card orders by hand. With a virtual terminal, no equipment is required to process a credit card order by hand.

Simply log into your online merchant account, click on "Virtual Terminal", and enter the customer's credit card information by hand. Click the Submit button on that page and you're done! The customer's payment will be deposited in your bank account within 3 business days.

First, you have to apply online for a merchant account through MyMarketingCart.com. Once you are approved, you will have your own virtual terminal assigned to your merchant account. This will allow you to process credit cards manually online when you need to, in addition to other merchant processing tasks associated with having a merchant account.

It sounds simple, but learning how to use a virtual terminal can be quite different. That's why I created my virtual terminal video tutorials here at this site to teach you how to use your virtual terminal once you get it.