E-Commerce vs. In-Person Processing Fees: Why Card-Present Businesses Have the Biggest Opportunity

Not all card transactions cost the same. In-person (card-present) transactions are cheaper to process than online (card-not-present) transactions — but they still cost 2%–3%. Network Offset Pricing works best for in-person businesses because of how the two-price display works at the point of sale.

Card-Present vs. Card-Not-Present Rates

Online transactions cost more because of higher fraud risk. The 0.3%–0.5% difference matters at scale.

Why In-Person Businesses Have the Advantage

Network Offset Pricing works by displaying two prices — cash and card — before the customer transacts. In a physical business, this is natural: the menu, price tag, or payment screen shows both options. The customer sees, chooses, pays.

For online businesses, the model requires both prices displayed on the product page or checkout screen. It works, but in-person businesses have the most seamless implementation.

The Opportunity for Omnichannel Businesses

If you have both in-person and online revenue:

• In-person transactions: Full Network Offset Pricing with cash/card display
• Online transactions: Card price applies to all online orders (where cash isn't an option)
• Phone orders: Both prices can be quoted verbally

The in-person channel is where the biggest savings opportunity lives — and for most brick-and-mortar businesses, it's where 70%–90% of revenue occurs.

Tyler B. focuses on the intersection of e-commerce and in-person payment processing. A former product manager at a payment gateway startup, he writes about technology trends, digital payment adoption, and the evolving merchant tech stack.

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The first step to reducing your processing costs is understanding exactly what you are paying today. Request a free statement analysis and we will show you a side-by-side comparison of your current costs versus what you could save with Network Offset Pricing.