# Card present / card not present

https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/card-present/

*Last updated: 2026-08-03*

Whether the card or phone was physically at the terminal. Card-present acceptance carries less fraud risk and generally costs less than card-not-present acceptance, which covers online and in-app payments. It is the single largest structural driver of what a merchant pays.

## Why it matters to a merchant

The distinction quietly sets a merchant's cost and their risk at the same time. Card-not-present business is priced differently and carries dispute liability the counter does not — which is why a shop that starts taking orders over the phone or by message has changed its risk profile without changing anything it would think to tell its provider about.

## Related terms

*At the counter*

- [EMV](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/emv/)
- [Contactless](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/contactless/)
- [Merchant-presented QR / consumer-presented QR](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/merchant-presented-qr/)
- [Smart terminal](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/smart-terminal/)
- [MCC (merchant category code)](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/mcc/)
- [Magnetic stripe](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/magnetic-stripe/)
- [Consumer-presented QR](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/consumer-presented-qr/)
- [MID (merchant ID)](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/mid/)
- [Tap to phone (SoftPOS)](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/tap-to-phone/)
- [CVM (cardholder verification method)](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/cvm/)
- [Tip adjust](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/tip-adjust/)

- [All 74 terms](https://www.uniwebpay.com/glossary/)

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