Best credit card payment machines for small businesses and sole traders, reviewed

When was the past clip you paid for thing with cash? Outside of pouring pennies into self-service checkouts, it’s apt that your astir caller engagement with carnal currency was depositing day wealth consecutive into your slope account.

Just arsenic paper payments apt picture the immense method of your out-and-about expenditure, you tin expect this of your customers arsenic a caller oregon burgeoning business. In short, you request a recognition paper machine. But what are the options?

The determination to a cashless nine has been dilatory but steady, from the instauration of the chip-and-PIN paper to contactless payments, and today’s suite of integer banking and outgo solutions besides. Cash volition ne'er genuinely ‘go away’, arsenic tech-based outgo solutions inactive alienate definite bands of citizens who whitethorn not person entree to smartphones oregon banking solutions – but a ample bulk of america person already eschewed carnal banknotes successful favour of the convenience afforded by tapping away.

With paper and contactless payments present accounting for a bulk of transactions successful the UK, it besides becomes little apt that the mean lawsuit volition person carnal currency successful their pocket. As a tiny concern oregon sole trader, this is simply a large consideration. Whether you’re an unsigned set with a merch array astatine your latest gig, oregon an autarkic shaper astatine your archetypal creation market, you’ll find prospective customers with lone integrative to flash.

Getting a recognition paper instrumentality for your tiny concern is simply a small much progressive than buying a paper reader.

Digital payments via recognition paper machines are taxable to transaction fees, and galore paper readers are different linked to subscription fiscal oregon point-of-sale services.

The benignant of merchandise oregon work you stump for should beryllium connected the signifier of your business.

As a sole trader that lone needs to instrumentality payments occasionally, you mightiness beryllium amended served by a one-off acquisition paper reader, avoiding monthly costs astatine the disbursal of somewhat higher transaction fees.

If you’re taking payments daily, it whitethorn beryllium worthy going for a subscription work with a supplier that enables you to little wide operating costs.

Here, we’ve grabbed the champion examples from providers of each stripes, truthful you tin find the perfect recognition paper instrumentality for your small-business needs.

SumUp

Best: overall

SumUp is an aboriginal adopter of EMV paper scholar tech, having started retired successful 2012 and provided solutions for each mode of businesses and consumers successful each mode of markets. The SumUp Air is simply a supremely accessible merchandise successful the recognition paper instrumentality space, and an fantabulous outcry for tiny businesses oregon caller B2C freelancers arsenic a result.

For a start, the SumUp Air tin beryllium yours for a one-time-only instrumentality cost, arsenic opposed to an ongoing subscription. The escaped SumUp app, connected to the Air via Bluetooth, is your Point-of-Sale person – and each transaction made done has a 1.69 per cent transaction fee, which is amended than galore one-time-cost paper readers successful this space.

The SumUp Air is light, small, casual to use, and volition look flash successful beauteous overmuch immoderate environment. It’s pocket-friendly, its artillery beingness is considerable, and its per-transaction rates could surely beryllium worse; altogether, with its unthinkable one-off acquisition price, the Air is an perfect enactment for sole traders and recently trading tiny businesses.

myPOS

Best for: competitive transaction fees

The myPOS Go 2 is simply a standalone recognition paper instrumentality that provides overmuch of the aforesaid functionality advertised by subscription-model fiscal services providers. For instance, there’s a built-in SIM with escaped mobile information for taking payments without connecting to a maestro smartphone, and there’s immoderate nifty in-device options for switching users to marque tracking transactions easier.

It’s a lightweight reader, the comparatively inexpensive operation of which works successful its favour. Where galore next-generation card-reading devices person leant afloat into the smartphone-with-some-stuff-attached signifier factor, the myPOS Go 2 sticks to the acquainted signifier of paper machines of aged – with carnal buttons that supply a tactile effect some for you successful entering merchandise prices, and your customers successful confirming their transactions.

With debased transaction fees and no-cost instant receipt of funds, this is simply a phenomenal rival successful the paper scholar space.

SumUp

Best for: tiny shopfronts

The SumUp Solo is the mediate kid successful SumUp’s scope of POS devices, being a dock-able paper outgo terminal with immoderate plussed-up interior gubbins for much resilience and versatility. Where SumUp’s Air – arsenic an ‘entry level’ device, truthful to talk – is simply a low-cost, grab-and-co matter with indispensable app-connecting functionality, the Solo takes immoderate superior strides.

For one, the Solo receives its ain built-in SIM card, meaning you’re not reliant connected immoderate 1 smartphone oregon Bluetooth transportation successful bid to marque payments. The SIM paper and its unlimited information travel escaped with the Solo, which comes nether £100 arsenic a one-off outgo and inactive doesn’t necessitate you to motion up to immoderate subscriptions. The 1.69 per cent transaction interest is competitory for devices of its ilk. 

The Solo is simply a spot much power-hungry than its small sibling, but besides comes with a cradle that makes keeping it topped-up easy. If you’re moving a micro-pub oregon tiny shopfront, this could beryllium an elegant aboriginal solution.

Zettle

Best for: stallholding sellers

Zettle is 1 of the pre-eminent companies successful the user fin-tech space, having launched successful 2011 arsenic 1 of the first-ever businesses to harvester mobile card-reading with the powerfulness of the then-nascent smartphone. Having since been absorbed by PayPal, Zettle is present a supercharged solution for sole traders and tiny businesses, with a comparatively casual level for introduction too.

In bid to get a Zettle paper reader, you’ll request to make a concern relationship with PayPal. From here, though, you tin get a azygous Zettle Card Reader 2 for £29 level – which enables you to instrumentality swift paper payments connected the spell via Bluetooth transportation to PayPal’s POS app.

With a 1.75 per cent interest per paper transaction, this is simply a no-nonsense (and practically plug-and-play) recognition paper instrumentality enactment for sole-trading stallholders astatine the commencement of their journey.

Square

Best for: basic contactless functionality

Square’s basal recognition paper instrumentality is simply a pleasingly austere small slab of tech, sharing the indispensable signifier of its company’s sanction and keeping things precise overmuch connected the elemental side. The Square paper scholar is thing of a ‘dumb’ astute device, with nary surface oregon on-device instructions to travel prevention for the contactless outgo logo connected its face.

This is due to the fact that everything is handled by Square’s POS app, including ocular confirmation of wealth to beryllium paid and, if request be, the entering of a customer’s PIN. The Square paper scholar is simply a inexpensive and cheerful small tab, that’s casual to pouch and transportation astir oregon different tack to your selling aboveground of choice. 

Its per-transaction fees of 1.75 per cent are somewhat median, and immoderate users mightiness miss the screens possessed by different similarly-priced systems, but for elegant easiness of usage determination aren’t galore equals.

If you’re a sole trader connected the move, and your fees are often ad-hoc, this could beryllium the recognition paper instrumentality for you. 

myPOS

Best for: executive looks and functionality

The myPOS Pro is simply a juiced-up recognition paper instrumentality for superior concern folk. This sleek achromatic instrumentality is an Android-10-toting instrumentality with a immense touchscreen and immoderate unthinkable interior app functionality arsenic portion of its proprietary software.

The large gully for myPOS is that it offers immoderate charismatic prices contempt its one-off-payment model, with a 1.10 per cent +7p transaction interest – and zero fees for instant entree to your money. These boons tin beryllium enjoyed with the cheaper myPOS Go 2, but with that instrumentality you don’t get astute onboard apps, oregon a built-in printer for instant receipts.

These mightiness not beryllium worthy the other scratch to younger, scrappier sole traders, but if your tiny concern is reaching for the executive, this is your champion option.

Square

Best for: in-depth functionality without a subscription

Square’s Terminal is practically the other of Square’s flagship card-reading equilateral. Where the cheaper of Square’s recognition paper machines is simply a minimalist, screenless integrative cassette, the look of the Square Terminal is fundamentally each screen, mounted atop a hefty, robust portion that contains everything you could ever request astatine the constituent of sale.

The Square Terminal is simply a beauteous penny to buy, but that wealth buys you a hugely user-friendly astute instrumentality with immoderate highly useful small functions. For instance, the Terminal is its ain POS, being an Android instrumentality pre-installed with Square’s proprietary software; merchandise enactment and outgo tin each instrumentality spot connected the aforesaid device, and with accelerated responsiveness too. 

The Terminal does request Wi-Fi entree of immoderate kind, but if you’re having net gremlins during service, you’re capable to instrumentality outgo details offline for 24 hours successful Offline Mode. The built-in printer makes end-of-day reconciliation a breeze too.

Granted, it’s a small overmuch for galore to wage upfront, but if you’re a caller micro-business with a fewer years of trading to look guardant to, the precocious functionality of the Terminal (without the ongoing subscription costs required by galore of its competitors) makes this a worthy investment.

DOJO

Best for: fast-growing brick-and-mortar business

DOJO has accelerated go a favourite amongst larger and increasing businesses, arsenic shop-fronts and tiny hospitality chains proceed to question retired the champion deals for their ever-shifting monthly overheads. What DOJO offers is competitory lawsuit service, astute transaction pricing, and immoderate beauteous bully recognition paper machines to boot.

DOJO doesn’t really manufacture paper readers, but it does connection you entree to the bulky behemoth A920 paper scholar – a speedy, full-featured scholar which does everything you could ever request a paper scholar to do. It’s an Android-powered device, with a ample touchscreen and immoderate astute functionality some with respect to lawsuit options and end-of-day reads. 

You don’t get to bargain it outright, though; it comes arsenic portion of DOJO’s fiscal services contract, which locks you successful astatine 0.75 per cent +5p debit transaction fees and 1.2 per cent +5p recognition paper transaction fees, arsenic good arsenic a £10-per-month level interest and a £20-per-month terminal fee.

These costs surely don’t adhd up for the ad-hoc sole trader, but for a caller tiny concern with regular opening hours and aggregate staff, this operation of work and terminal portion could beryllium a practical, cost-effective lifesaver.

Epos

Best for: caller hospitality ventures

This isn’t conscionable a recognition paper machine, but a implicit point-of-sale solution – and the perfect 1 for a first-timer putting unneurotic a caller hospitality venture. Where you’re co-ordinating the mentation and merchantability of antithetic kinds of stock, peculiarly food, the basic-level tap-and-go paper readers simply aren’t going to chopped it. 

Epos Now’s offering bundles unneurotic a touchscreen paper instrumentality with a Lenovo tablet, almighty POS bundle and a thermal printer for checks oregon receipts – which unneurotic represent a formidable orders-and-payments system. The outgo of receiving and maintaining these machines is not inconsiderable, but their interconnectivity is important for thing similar a caller edifice concept, wherever connection betwixt table, tablet and room is key.

Barclaycard

Best for: cheap monthly payments with nary exit fees

Barclaycard’s Flex work puts this Move/5000 mobile paper scholar successful your hands – a highly susceptible handheld instrumentality with immoderate satisfying buttons, and supremely elemental modes of cognition to boot. It tin enactment successful astir immoderate environment, and has capable interior artillery to grip a veritable shedload of transactions without needing a recharge (up to 700, to beryllium much precise).

The instrumentality volition enactment online successful astir atmospheric conditions, and you tin get the wealth from transactions beauteous sharpish too. The machine, and Barclaycard’s relatively-low transaction fees of 1.6 per cent, are yours for £15 per period positive VAT – but you tin cancel whenever you privation astatine nary outgo to you. With exit fees being a large root of friction for galore tiny businesses looking to switch, this could good beryllium capable to merchantability the Flex program to you.