"Online payment fees come from...credit card points/benefits."
I think this is part of the picture but not explicit enough. You could ask "but why should there be points and benefits when it's just a shell game?"
What I've seen claimed is that the underlying incentive for such programs is that having fees and benefits is a way of avoiding directly charging for credit with interest that is subject to truth-in-lending regulation.
I would be careful about claiming crypto can be cheaper when some part of the fees on credit cards is just interest by another name and not really transaction fees.
I think this is part of the picture but not explicit enough. You could ask "but why should there be points and benefits when it's just a shell game?"
What I've seen claimed is that the underlying incentive for such programs is that having fees and benefits is a way of avoiding directly charging for credit with interest that is subject to truth-in-lending regulation.
I would be careful about claiming crypto can be cheaper when some part of the fees on credit cards is just interest by another name and not really transaction fees.