Compare Card Machine Fees
What UK providers advertise, what actually ends up on a merchant statement, and a calculator to put your own turnover against the published rates.
Estimate your monthly card fees
| Provider | Advertised rate | Estimated monthly cost on £10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| SumUp (pay-as-you-go)1.69% per in-person transaction | 1.69% | £169 |
| SumUp (Payments Plus, £19/mo)0.99% domestic cards; premium/international/Amex stay at 1.69% | 0.99% | £118 |
| Square (free plan)1.75% per in-person UK card transaction | 1.75% | £175 |
| Zettle1.75% per in-person transaction | 1.75% | £175 |
| Dojo (via CapExpand)Quoted individually - from 0.29% on debit for higher-volume businesses, subject to Dojo approval | Quote-based | Get your price breakdown |
Estimates use each provider's advertised in-person rate for UK consumer cards (checked August 2026, sources below) and assume all turnover is at that rate. Premium, international and business cards usually cost more, and quote-based providers price each business individually - so treat this as a starting point, not a final comparison. Estimated monthly cost = turnover × rate + any plan fee.
Two ways card machines are priced
Pay-as-you-go readers (SumUp, Square, Zettle) publish one flat rate, charge no monthly fee on their basic plans, and sell the hardware outright. That simplicity suits low card volumes: there is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay in a quiet month.
Contract providers (Dojo, Worldpay, Barclaycard, Takepayments, Lloyds Cardnet and the other acquirers) price each business individually. Percentage rates are usually lower than the flat-rate readers - Dojo quotes start from 0.29% on debit for higher-volume businesses, subject to approval - but the offer comes with a contract, and the extras in the table below decide whether the lower rate actually saves money.
The crossover point depends on turnover. At a few hundred pounds of card sales a month, a flat 1.69%-1.75% costs very little in cash terms. As turnover grows into the thousands, each 0.1% is real money - £10 a month per £10,000 of card sales - and quote-based pricing usually starts to win.
The fees that don't make the adverts
Statements from contract providers often carry charges beyond the headline rate. None of them are improper - but each one moves your effective rate, so they are worth asking about before signing.
| Fee | What it is | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Authorisation fee | A pence-per-transaction charge (often 1p-3p) added on top of the percentage rate. | Multiply by your monthly transaction count - on small average sales it can outweigh the headline rate. |
| PCI compliance fee | A monthly or annual charge for card-data security compliance, sometimes with a separate non-compliance penalty. | Ask whether it is included, and what the non-compliance charge is if you miss the annual questionnaire. |
| Minimum monthly service charge (MMSC) | A floor on what you pay in fees each month, whether or not you take enough card payments to reach it. | Matters most for seasonal businesses - quiet months still get billed the minimum. |
| Terminal rental | A monthly charge for the machine itself, common on contract providers. | Compare against buying a reader outright (£19-£149 from the pay-as-you-go providers). |
| Early termination fee | A charge for leaving a fixed-term contract before it ends. | Ask for the exact figure and the notice period before signing anything. |
More detail on each of these: authorisation fees explained and what to do when card machine fees look too high.
The one capped fee
Every card payment includes an interchange fee paid to the card issuer, and UK regulation caps it at 0.2% for consumer debit cards and 0.3% for consumer credit cards. Everything else in your rate - the acquirer's margin, card scheme fees, service charges - sits on top of that capped base and is set by the market. That gap between a 0.2% floor and a 1.75% headline rate is why quoted rates vary so widely, and why it pays to compare before signing.
Common questions
What does a card machine cost per transaction in the UK?
Pay-as-you-go readers advertise flat rates: SumUp charges 1.69% (or 0.99% on domestic cards with its £19/month plan), while Square and Zettle both charge 1.75% for in-person UK card payments (rates checked August 2026). Contract providers such as Dojo, Worldpay and Takepayments quote each business individually, usually with lower percentage rates but with monthly fees and a contract attached.
Why is my effective card machine rate higher than the headline rate?
Headline rates usually apply to standard UK consumer cards only. Premium, business and international cards cost more, and extras such as authorisation fees, PCI compliance fees, minimum monthly service charges and terminal rental all add to the bill. Dividing total monthly charges by card turnover gives the effective rate, which is the only number worth comparing.
Are card machine fees capped in the UK?
Only one component is capped. The interchange fee - the part that goes to the card issuer - is capped at 0.2% for consumer debit and 0.3% for consumer credit cards under the Interchange Fee Regulation. Acquirer margins, scheme fees and service charges on top of interchange are not capped, which is why quoted rates vary so much between providers.
How do I find out what I currently pay?
Your monthly merchant statement lists every charge. Divide the total charged by your card turnover for the month to get your effective rate. If you would rather not do the maths, our free fee check reads your statement and shows the breakdown in pounds.
Want the maths done on your real statement?
Send us a recent merchant statement and we'll work out your effective rate and show what a Dojo quote would look like against it. Free, and no obligation either way.
Sources
- SumUp UK pricing - rates checked August 2026
- Square UK pricing - rates checked August 2026
- Zettle UK pricing - rates checked August 2026
- Interchange Fee Regulation - consumer debit 0.2% / credit 0.3% caps