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Cheapest Card Processing UK 2026: Lowest Rates Compared
Tide 0.79% + 3p on £12.99/month plan is the lowest published in-person rate. SumUp 1.69% PAYG wins at low volume. Both beat Square 1.75% at every tier.
Fees verified against provider websites, May 2026. Tide plan rate on Sell In-Person (£12.99/month). SumUp plan rate on Payments Plus (£19/month). Always confirm current terms before signing.
BusinessExpert may earn a commission if you sign up through links on this page. Tide, SumUp and Square are affiliate partners. Our editorial recommendations are based on verified pricing and features, not commission rates.
Card processing cost has two components: the transaction rate and any monthly plan fee. The cheapest total depends on your monthly card volume. At low volume, PAYG with no plan is cheapest. At higher volume, the plan rate pays back enough to justify the monthly fee. The break-even points below are calculated from verified published rates.
Cheapest card processing rates compared
Fees verified against provider websites, May 2026. Plan rates require the stated monthly subscription.
Cheapest card processing picks by volume
Cheapest at low volume (under £2,000/month): SumUp Air
At £1,000/month, SumUp PAYG costs £16.90. Square costs £17.50. The difference is small, but SumUp is consistently cheaper at PAYG. SumUp’s £14.99 reader also costs £4 less than Square’s £19. For a low-volume sole trader who wants the absolute cheapest start, SumUp wins at both entry points.
Cheapest at medium to high volume (above £2,000/month): Tide Card Reader
Tide’s Sell In-Person plan at £12.99/month gives 0.79% + 3p per transaction. Break-even against SumUp PAYG is at around £1,850/month. At £5,000/month, Tide total cost is £52.50 (£39.50 + £12.99 plan) vs SumUp PAYG £84.50 or Square PAYG £87.50. Tide saves £32–£35/month at £5,000/month.
Best for: Tide business account holders taking regular in-person payments — plan rate (0.79% + 3p) makes sense above roughly 80–100 transactions/month at average ticket sizes
Watch out: No Amex acceptance and 3-day standard settlement are hard stops for many businesses
Not ideal if: Businesses whose customers regularly pay by Amex, or any business not banking with Tide
Transaction fee1.39% + 5p PAYG / 0.79% + 3p on Sell In-Person plan
Monthly fee£0 PAYG or £12.99 +VAT/month (plan, rising to £17.99 from Apr 2026)
Best for: Market stalls, mobile traders, pop-ups, and small retail or food businesses wanting zero monthly fees and no contracts. The Zettle Terminal is the strongest mobile hardware pick in the UK due to built-in 4G at no ongoing cost.
Watch out: Money lands in PayPal first — one extra transfer step before cash reaches your bank account
Not ideal if: Businesses wanting settlement direct to a bank account — PayPal transfer step adds a day to cash position
Transaction fee1.75% flat (all cards incl. Amex)
Monthly feeNone
Hardware cost£29 +VAT (Reader 2); £149 +VAT (Terminal with 4G)
SettlementMinutes to PayPal; 1–2 days to bank account
ContractNo contract
Amex acceptedYes
Not ideal if: Businesses wanting settlement direct to a bank account — PayPal transfer step adds a day to cash position
Watch out: Money lands in PayPal first — one extra transfer step before cash reaches your bank account
Minutes-to-account settlement into PayPal — the fastest non-myPOS option here
1.75% flat including Amex — matches Square on the in-person rate
Useful for businesses with an existing PayPal invoicing or e-commerce flow
Money sits in PayPal, not a business bank account — one more transfer step before cash is usable
POS app is thinner than Square’s — fine for simple retail, weaker for hospitality
No volume discount structure exists
Zettle Terminal with built-in 4G at no ongoing SIM cost — the strongest mobile hardware pick in the UK
Free POS app: inventory, product catalogue, discounts, tipping and receipts
Minutes-to-account settlement into the linked PayPal balance
These calculations use verified PAYG and plan rates, May 2026:
SumUp Payments Plus (£19/month, 0.99%): break-even vs PAYG 1.69% at £2,714/month in card sales.
Tide Sell In-Person (£12.99/month, 0.79% + 3p): break-even vs PAYG 1.5% + 10p at approximately £1,850/month.
Square Plus (£29/month, 1.75%): does not reduce transaction rate. No break-even on rate — plan adds features only.
Above £5,000/month: Tide Sell In-Person is cheapest at ~£52.50 total. SumUp Payments Plus costs ~£68.50. Square PAYG costs £87.50. The gap grows with volume.
Beyond the rate: what else matters
Hidden fees
Some providers add fees that are not in the headline rate. Check for: authorisation fees (Dojo charges £0.05/transaction), refund fees (Dojo charges £0.50/refund), monthly minimum processing fees, PCI compliance fees. SumUp, Square, Tide, and Zettle do not charge these on their published PAYG or plan prices.
Settlement speed
SumUp settles next day at 7am. Square settles in 1–2 working days. Tide settles next working day. Zettle settles to PayPal in minutes. Fast settlement reduces working capital needs for businesses with tight cashflow.
Final verdict: which is the cheapest card processor?
There is no single cheapest provider — it depends on your monthly card volume. Below about £1,850/month, SumUp Air on PAYG (1.69%, £14.99 reader) is the cheapest way to take card payments, with no plan fee and no commitment. Above that, Tide’s Sell In-Person plan (0.79% + 3p for £12.99/month) is the lowest published in-person rate in the UK and pulls further ahead the more you process — saving £32–£35/month against PAYG rivals at £5,000/month.
Square is the pick if you value its free POS app over the last fraction of a percent, and Stripe is cheapest for online domestic cards at 1.5% + 20p. Whatever your volume, model your actual card sales against the plan fee before signing — the headline rate alone rarely tells you the cheapest total.
The bottom line
SumUp Air for the cheapest PAYG under ~£1,850/month; Tide Card Reader for the lowest rate above it; Square for POS features; Stripe for the cheapest online cards.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest transaction rate for card payments in the UK?
Tide Card Reader on the Sell In-Person plan at 0.79% + 3p is the lowest published in-person transaction rate on a no-contract PAYG or plan option. SumUp Payments Plus at 0.99% is second. Both require a monthly subscription; PAYG starts at 1.69% (SumUp) or 1.5% + 10p (Tide).
Are there card readers with no monthly fee?
Yes. SumUp, Square, Zettle, and myPOS all offer PAYG card readers with no monthly fee. Rates are higher on PAYG than on a plan, but there is no commitment and no minimum.
Does the cheapest rate mean the lowest total cost?
Not always. A 0.79% rate with a £12.99 plan costs more per month than 1.69% PAYG below £1,850/month. Always model your actual card volume against the plan fee before committing.
Fees verified against provider websites, May 2026. This is editorial content, not regulated financial advice.
Methodology and disclosure
How we worked out the cheapest option. The lowest headline rate is rarely the cheapest in practice, so we compared total cost: the PAYG rate, any monthly plan fee, hardware price, contract, and settlement speed. What you actually pay depends on your monthly card volume.
Break-even matters more than the rate. Where a plan cuts the rate, we worked out the volume at which it pays back — roughly £1,850/month for Tide and £2,714/month for SumUp Payments Plus. Below those points, you are cheaper on PAYG.
What we verified. We checked every rate, plan fee, and hardware cost against each provider’s own UK pricing pages in May 2026. Promotions change often, so confirm the current terms before you sign — and model your own volume against the plan fee first.
What this guide does not do. We have not run every reader through long-term field testing, and this is editorial content, not regulated advice. These providers are not deposit-takers, so money you hold with them is not protected by the FSCS.
Affiliate disclosure. Tide, SumUp and Square are affiliate partners. If you sign up through a link on this page, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend. See our editorial policy.
