Keyed TransactionManual Card Entry & MOTO Payments
Keyed Transaction Definition & Guide
A keyed transaction is any payment where card details are manually typed — a manually keyed card number, expiration date, and CVV — into a terminal, virtual terminal, or payment form rather than read from the physical card. Even if the customer is standing in front of you, manually entering the card number classifies the transaction as card-not-present — which means higher interchange rates, greater chargeback risk, and no EMV liability shift protection.
Keyed entry is legitimate and common for phone orders, mail orders, and remote billing situations. A MOTO transaction (mail order/telephone order) is the most common form — card details collected by phone or mail and keyed in by staff. The cost is the trade-off. According to the Federal Reserve’s interchange fee data, card-not-present rates consistently run above card-present equivalents across all card types.
When you swipe, dip, or tap a card, the terminal reads it electronically and the transaction qualifies as card-present. When you type the card number in manually — keyed in from a phone order, invoice payment, or written note — the terminal has no way to verify the card is genuine. That uncertainty is what drives the higher rate.
Card-not-present keyed transactions are treated identically to online orders by the card networks. The same fraud risk, the same interchange premium, the same chargeback rules — regardless of whether the customer is on the phone with you or ordering through your website.
Interchange rates are set partly based on fraud risk. When a card is physically read, the card network has strong verification. When card details are typed manually, there is no such verification. Card networks charge a higher keyed entry interchange rate to compensate the issuing bank for that elevated risk.
The difference is meaningful. A standard consumer Visa card-present transaction runs around 1.51% + $0.10 interchange. The same card keyed manually runs 1.80% + $0.10 or higher — and premium rewards cards keyed manually run higher still. Under interchange-plus pricing, this difference is visible on every statement line item. Under flat-rate pricing, it is buried in a blended rate.
You cannot change the fact that a keyed entry is classified as card-not-present. But collecting the right data reduces cost and chargeback exposure:
- AVS (Address Verification Service) — Always collect and submit the billing zip code and street address. A strong AVS match can help qualify at a better interchange tier and reduces chargeback liability.
- CVV — Collect the card security code for every keyed transaction. A CVV match signals additional verification and reduces fraud risk.
- Complete cardholder data — Name, billing address, and phone number create an audit trail that strengthens your position in a chargeback dispute.
The CFPB’s guidance on card-not-present transactions notes that merchants bear greater responsibility for verifying cardholder identity in remote transactions — AVS and CVV data is the primary mechanism for meeting that standard.
Without a physical card being read, fraud risk increases significantly. Card networks charge a higher keyed entry interchange rate for manual entries to compensate issuers for that elevated risk. The cardholder is not physically verified, which means stolen or fabricated card data is harder to detect at the point of entry.
MOTO stands for mail order/telephone order — card details collected by phone or mail and keyed in manually by staff. A MOTO transaction is a subset of card-not-present keyed transactions. All MOTO transactions are keyed, but not all keyed transactions are MOTO — an invoice payment entered online is keyed but not MOTO.
Yes. Always collect and submit the billing address and CVV for every manual entry. A strong AVS and CVV match can help qualify the transaction at a better interchange tier and reduces fraud liability in a dispute.
Yes — for phone orders, mail orders, and situations where the card cannot be physically presented. Collect full AVS data, obtain proper authorization, and keep records. Manual entry is a legitimate payment method with a defined cost structure.
Keyed Transactions Cost 50-150 Basis Points More Than Card-Present. Your Mix Determines the Damage.
Send us your last processing statement. We will calculate the share of your volume running keyed versus card-present, verify whether AVS verification is qualifying you for the better rate, and show you what a fair effective rate looks like at your volume.
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