Bank card reader means two quite different things. To a business it usually means a reader supplied by a bank owned acquirer such as Tyl by NatWest, Lloyds Cardnet or Barclaycard. Those price and contract differently from the payment apps, and only one of the three prints a transaction rate on its own page.
What the bank owned acquirers publish
Tyl by NatWest prints two rates below a stated annual card turnover and says the price becomes custom above it. Barclaycard prints an introductory monthly service fee and then a stated monthly figure, with no transaction rate at all. Lloyds Cardnet prints a minimum monthly charge and illustrates its rate in a worked example. Three banks, three different amounts of disclosure.
EMV, and why every reader supports it
EMV is the chip card standard that chip and PIN runs on, named after the three schemes that created it. Every certified terminal supports it, which is why EMV appears in specifications as a given rather than a differentiator. A reader that did not support it could not be certified and could not be sold for card present acceptance in the UK.
4G readers and where they earn their price
A 4G reader carries its own mobile data rather than borrowing wifi or a phone. It costs more and it is the only kind that works reliably at a market, in a vehicle or on a doorstep. Zettle prices its wifi and 4G terminal separately from its Bluetooth reader, which is the clearest published illustration of what that independence costs.
Questions people ask about bank card reader
Are bank card readers more expensive?
Not necessarily on rate, but they publish less. Of the three bank owned acquirers here, only Tyl by NatWest prints a transaction rate, and it stops publishing above a stated turnover threshold.
What does EMV mean on a card reader?
That the reader supports the chip card standard behind chip and PIN. Every certified UK terminal does, so it is a requirement rather than a feature.
Do I need a 4G card reader?
Only if you take payments away from wifi. It costs more than a Bluetooth reader and is the only option that works independently of a phone or a network.