Complete POS Solutions for Modern Businesses

In-person payments are card-present. The card is read by chip or contactless tap, which gives the issuer cryptographic proof that the physical card or device was used. Online payments are card-not-present, so they rely on tokenization, authentication such as 3D Secure and fraud scoring instead.

The result is that risk, cost and dispute handling differ by channel. Card-not-present transactions typically carry higher fraud risk and often higher fees, though pricing depends on your agreement. If you sell in both channels, using one platform keeps reporting, refunds and customer records consistent. Read online vs in-person payment processing for a deeper comparison.

EMV chip cards generate a unique cryptogram for each transaction, which makes counterfeit card fraud harder than with magnetic stripes. Contactless uses the same principle over a short-range tap, and mobile wallets add device authentication and tokenized card data, so the real card number is not shared with the terminal.

Offline mode lets some terminals store transactions when the network is down and submit them later. This is useful but carries risk, because the authorization happens after the customer has left. Vendors typically set limits on how many offline sales or what amount can be stored. Ask what those limits are, who is responsible if a stored sale is declined and how long a terminal can stay offline.

A POS is more useful when it feeds the rest of the business. Inventory counts should update as sales happen, reports should break down sales by product, location, staff member and payment type, and exports should work with your accounting tool. Without those links, staff re-enter data and errors creep in.

Before choosing, list what the POS must connect to: ecommerce platform, accounting software, loyalty tools and any industry-specific software. Check whether integrations are built in or require third parties, and what each costs. The integrations directory lists connections Everpay supports, and our POS buyer's guide lists the questions to ask vendors.