Card present
Also called CP, in person payment
A card present transaction is one where the physical card or the customer’s device is used at the point of sale, such as contactless, chip and PIN, or Tap to Pay. Card present payments carry lower fees than online payments because fraud risk is lower.
The card is authenticated by the chip or the device, and the cardholder is normally verified by PIN or biometrics, so the issuer has strong evidence the genuine customer was there.
That evidence shifts liability. In most card present disputes the issuer bears fraud losses rather than the merchant.
This is the entire reason in-person rates are lower than online rates on every provider’s price list.
Why it matters to you
If you can take the payment face to face rather than over the phone, do. It is cheaper and you are far less exposed to chargebacks.
Work out what you’re actually paying.
Whatever your statement calls it, the only figure that matters is total cost divided by total takings. Our calculator works that out from your own numbers.
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