Card Machines and Terminals: UK Buyers Guide (2026)
Square Reader (£19) and SumUp Air (£15) are the default for UK businesses taking card payments for the first time: lowest hardware cost, no contract, 1.69–1.75% flat rate. Dojo and negotiated-rate terminals suit higher volumes.
- £19 +VAT reader • 1.75% flat rate • free Square POS app.
- No contract, no monthly fee — live and taking payments the same day.
- Covers portable, countertop, and online in one account.
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Card Readers and Portable Payment Terminals
Portable card readers connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth and accept Chip+PIN, contactless, and mobile wallets. Hardware costs £19–£49 outright; no contract is required.
The decision is between flat-rate providers (Square at 1.75%, SumUp at 1.69%) and volume-priced providers (Dojo, Takepayments) where rates drop below 1% above £5,000/month. If you’re under £3,000/month, flat rate wins. We’ve run the numbers on both models across multiple volume bands.
- Best Card Machines for Small Businesses — our main comparison of portable readers, ranking by rate, hardware cost, and contract terms
- Best Card Readers for iPhone and Android — mobile-specific guide for businesses using a phone as their primary device
- Revolut Reader Review
- Tide Card Reader Review
POS and ePOS Card Payment Systems
If you need a till, stock control, or table service, a POS or ePOS system makes more sense than a standalone card reader. POS systems combine payment hardware with inventory and reporting software. ePOS is the tablet-based, cloud-connected version — no fixed till required.
Free-tier POS from Square, SumUp, and Loyverse covers basic retail at no monthly cost. For hospitality, you’ll need table management and kitchen display: Lightspeed, Epos Now, and TouchBistro all deliver this, but we’ve found pricing varies significantly on the same feature set.
- Best ePOS Systems — full comparison covering Epos Now, Square POS, SumUp, Lightspeed, and Shopify
- Best Free POS Systems — genuinely free software tiers with no monthly fee
- Best POS for Retail — inventory-first systems for shops and market stalls
- Best POS for Restaurants — table management, kitchen display, and cover tracking
- POS vs ePOS: What’s the Difference?
Understanding Card Machine and Terminal Costs
Card machine costs have three components: hardware, transaction fees, and any monthly service charge. Entry-level card readers cost £19–£49 outright. Transaction fees range from 1.69% flat (SumUp) to under 1% on volume plans.
Monthly fees kick in on contracted plans: Dojo charges £39.99/month; Takepayments is variable. These become cost-effective above £3,000–£5,000/month in card turnover. That’s the crossover point we use in our comparisons.
If you’re not sure which model fits your volume, Card Processing Fees Explained has worked examples at each turnover band.
Choosing the Right Card Payment Hardware
Your card payment hardware should match how and where you take payments. Three categories cover most UK businesses:
- Mobile card reader (Square Reader, SumUp Air): pairs with a smartphone via Bluetooth. Best for sole traders, market sellers, and anyone without a fixed till point.
- Portable terminal (myPOS Go 2, Dojo Go): standalone device with its own connectivity, no phone needed. Best for hospitality and mobile trades where a separate device is more professional.
- Countertop terminal (Barclaycard, WorldPay): plugged-in device for a fixed till point. Best for shops, clinics, and any business with a permanent checkout.
Card Machine and Terminal Provider Reviews
Our individual provider reviews cover hardware specs, transaction rates, contract terms, and real-world reliability. We check reader pairing stability and settlement speed — two things that matter when you’re taking payments in front of a customer.
- Square Review
- SumUp Review
- myPOS Review
- Dojo Review
- Takepayments Review
- Epos Now Review
- Lightspeed Review
- YumaPOS Review
Sources: Hardware prices and transaction rates verified against each provider’s public pricing pages, May 2026.
Affiliate disclosure: BusinessExpert may receive referral fees from providers linked on this page. This does not affect editorial rankings or recommendations.
We compared card machine and terminal providers for UK businesses, checking published hardware costs, transaction rates, contract terms, and connectivity options. Verified May 2026.
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