A Card-Present (CP) transaction is any payment where the customer’s physical card (or a digital wallet on their phone) is present at the point of sale and is electronically read by a payment device. This includes inserting a chip card, tapping a contactless card, or using a mobile wallet like Apple Pay. These transactions are considered more secure and therefore have lower processing fees.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Is a Tap to Pay payment considered a Card-Present transaction?
Yes. Even though the card isn’t inserted, the device is electronically reading the card’s secure information in person, so it qualifies as a Card-Present transaction. - Why are CP transactions cheaper and more secure?
They are more secure because security features like the EMV chip or the tokenization in a digital wallet can be used to verify the card’s authenticity and create a unique transaction code. This reduced risk of fraud results in lower interchange fees from the card networks. - What type of transactions can I process with Charge for Stripe?
Charge for Stripe allows you to process both Card-Present transactions (via Tap to Pay) and Card-Not-Present transactions (via manual card entry).
Related terms: