To accept card payments you need an acquiring account and a terminal certified to it. One account covers debit, credit and contactless, and every terminal in this index takes all three. The choice is not between debit and credit acceptance but between an app based provider that opens in days and a traditional acquirer that underwrites you first.
Two routes to accept credit card payments as a small business
App based providers open an account after identity checks, post a reader and have you trading within days, on a published rate and no minimum term. Traditional acquirers underwrite your business, issue a merchant ID, install or post a terminal and quote a bespoke rate against a term. The second is slower and usually cheaper once your volume is large enough to be worth quoting for.
Accept debit card payments and credit on one account
There is no separate account or machine for debit cards. What differs is the underlying cost: UK interchange is capped lower on consumer debit than on consumer credit, and most providers blend the two. If your customers pay overwhelmingly by debit card, a provider that prices the categories separately can be materially cheaper than a blended rate.
Receiving card payments: what to have ready before you apply
Identity documents, business details, a settlement account, your annual card turnover and your average transaction value. Traditional acquirers will also want your merchant category. Having those to hand turns a two week back and forth into a single conversation, and lets you ask each provider the same question in the same terms.
Questions people ask about accept card payments
What do I need to receive card payments?
An acquiring account, a certified terminal or a phone that supports tap to pay, and somewhere for the money to settle. Identity checks apply in all cases and underwriting applies with traditional acquirers.
Can I accept credit card payment without a machine?
Yes. A recent phone with tap to pay can take contactless payments with no hardware, and an aggregated provider can put you under its own acquiring, so you need neither a terminal nor a merchant account of your own to start. Card acceptance on a phone is contactless only, and it is not automatically the cheapest route: Tide prints a separate tap to pay rate beside its card reader rate, and Lopay's published schedule adds a per transaction charge for tap to pay on top of its account rate.
Is American Express among the cards accepted, and does it cost extra?
Usually. Most providers here price American Express above their headline rate, with Lopay adding a stated percentage point and myPOS printing a separate row. Zettle is the exception on this shelf, printing one flat rate for major cards including American Express.