Card machine costs in the UK, on what providers actually print

Printed in-person rates

Each figure is the provider's own printed rate for a UK consumer card at the counter, with the day it was read. A provider that prints no rate is shown with that fact. The cost of a PDQ machine itself is the “Hardware from” figure, where the provider prints one.

Four kinds of card machine, and what each is for

1. Mobile card reader A mobile card reader is the cheapest way into card payments: a handheld device that pairs with a phone or tablet over Bluetooth and charges a percentage of each sale with no monthly fee.
2. Countertop card machine A countertop card machine is the fixed unit beside the till, wired to the network or a phone line.
3. Portable card machine A portable card machine is the unit that leaves the counter: table service, a trade counter, a market stall, a van.
4. EPOS till system An EPOS till system is the software layer above the card machine: the menu or the stock file, the staff logins, the reporting and, in hospitality, the table plan and the kitchen printer.

Printed rates by machine type

• Mobile card reader 9 providers
• Countertop card machine 9 providers
• Portable card machine 8 providers
• EPOS till system 10 providers