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Teya MOTO and Pay by Link: How Card-Not-Present Payments Work

Need to take card payments over the phone or send a payment link? Teya supports both MOTO (manual card entry) and Pay by Link. Here is how each works, what they cost, and when to use them.

18 May 2026
4 min read
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Teya MOTO and Pay by Link: How Card-Not-Present Payments Work

Not all payments happen face to face. Whether you are taking bookings over the phone, invoicing clients remotely, or sending payment requests, you need a way to accept cards when the physical card is not present. Teya offers two primary methods for this: MOTO (Mail Order and Telephone Order) and Pay by Link.

What Is MOTO?

MOTO stands for Mail Order and Telephone Order. It covers any transaction where you manually key in the customer's card details because the card is not physically at your till: over the phone, via a form, or by similar remote method.

This is technically called a card-not-present (CNP) transaction.

How Teya MOTO Works

MOTO payments on Teya can be processed in two ways:

  1. Via a MOTO-enabled smart terminal: On a Teya Pro, MOTO mode can be activated. You enter the card number, expiry date, and CVV manually. No physical card needs to be present.

  2. Via a virtual terminal: A browser-based tool accessible from any device, allowing you to enter card details on screen. Contact Teya or your account manager to enquire about virtual terminal access.

MOTO functionality requires activation on your account. It is not enabled by default. If you need to take telephone payments, speak to your account manager before you begin trading.

MOTO Surcharge

Card-not-present transactions carry a higher rate than face-to-face transactions because they carry higher fraud risk (no chip-and-PIN or contactless authentication).

Teya applies a surcharge on top of your standard rate for MOTO transactions:

  • Standard merchants: standard rate plus 1.0 percentage points
  • Hotel and accommodation merchants (MCC 7011): standard rate plus 1.5 percentage points

So if your standard blended rate is 1.59%, MOTO transactions cost 2.59% for most merchants, or 3.09% for hotel and accommodation merchants.

April 2026 Update

Teya confirmed the availability of Teya Manual Entry (their MOTO product) in their April 2026 product release. If you were previously uncertain whether Teya supported MOTO, this confirms that it does.

What Is Pay by Link?

Pay by Link allows you to generate a unique payment link and send it to your customer via email, SMS, WhatsApp, or any messaging channel. The customer clicks the link, enters their card details on a Teya-hosted secure page, and the payment is processed.

How Teya Pay by Link Works

The merchant generates a payment link in the Teya app or dashboard, specifying the amount. The link is sent to the customer. The customer completes payment on a Teya-hosted page. Funds settle to your account on the normal settlement cycle.

Pay by Link Pricing

Pay by Link transactions are processed at the same card-not-present rate as MOTO. No additional fee applies for using the Pay by Link mechanism itself.

April 2026 Enhancements

Teya's April 2026 product release added several improvements to Pay by Link:

  • Custom expiry dates on payment links (set the link to expire after a chosen period)
  • Custom branding (add your business logo to the payment page)
  • Link cancellation (cancel a sent link before it is used)

These features make Pay by Link more suitable for professional client-invoicing workflows where you need to control when and how links can be used.

MOTO vs Pay by Link: Which to Use?

ScenarioRecommended Method
Customer calls to pay over the phoneMOTO (keyed on terminal or virtual terminal)
Sending an invoice remotelyPay by Link
Taking a deposit for a future bookingPay by Link
Customer not available in personEither
Recurring payments from the same customerMOTO (card on file, where Teya terms permit)

Security and Fraud Considerations

Because card-not-present transactions do not require chip-and-PIN authentication, they carry higher chargeback and fraud risk. Teya applies 3D Secure authentication where possible on Pay by Link transactions to reduce this risk. If you process a high proportion of MOTO transactions, speak to your account manager about fraud monitoring and dispute management best practices.

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This content is published by Klipy UK, a Teya-authorised reseller of payment solutions. The views expressed are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice. All content is the intellectual property of Klipy UK. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

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