A chip & PIN card reader is a card terminal with a keypad. All the current UK hardware in this index has one, so the real choice is not whether the device supports PIN entry but how it connects, whether it prints, and what the account behind it charges. Chip and PIN machine prices start at 11 pounds plus VAT and rise with connectivity and screen.
Why all chip and PIN terminals have a keypad now
Contactless has a per transaction ceiling and a cumulative limit before verification is required, so a device without a keypad cannot complete a large or a flagged sale. Card schemes also require a verification fallback. That is why even the smallest readers here carry a PIN pad: on any card reader, chip and PIN is the fallback, and a tap only device is a curiosity rather than a category.
Chip and PIN card machine models: what separates one from another
Connection first: Bluetooth to a phone, wifi to a network, or a SIM of its own. For mobile chip and PIN, a chip and PIN mobile card reader is the first or the last: a Bluetooth chip and PIN reader borrows the phone's signal, the SIM kind carries its own, and a wireless chip and PIN terminal on wifi works wherever the shop's network reaches. Then whether it prints a receipt, how long the battery lasts through a shift, and whether it can stand alone without a paired device. Zettle prices its Bluetooth reader, its wifi and 4G terminal and its store kits separately for exactly these reasons.
Chip and PIN machines for small business: choose by where the customer pays
A small business chooses between three chip and PIN solutions, and where the customer pays decides which. At a counter with wifi, a terminal on the shop's own network is enough. Beside a till app on a phone or tablet, a Bluetooth reader will do: Tide prints its Nano from 11 pounds plus VAT. Away from any counter, the machine needs its own SIM: myPOS prints its standalone Go 2 at 39 pounds excluding VAT. Whichever it is, a chip n pin card reader, as it is often written, takes the same cards and PIN as the dearest terminal here.
Certifying a chip and PIN device: why you cannot mix and match
A card reader is certified against the acquirer's platform, which is why a reader bought from one provider will not work on another provider's account. Second hand hardware from a different provider is therefore worthless to you, and a provider that gives you a free terminal is also giving you a reason to stay. Ask what the hardware is worth if you leave.
Questions people ask about chip and pin readers
Chip and PIN machine cost: how much is one to buy?
The cost of chip and PIN machines in this index runs from 11 pounds plus VAT for Tide's Nano to 179 pounds excluding VAT for the myPOS Ultra, with most Bluetooth readers between 29 and 69 pounds. The hardware is only part of the price: what the account behind it charges is the rest of the choice.
How much are chip and PIN machines to run each month?
From nothing to a minimum charge, on published prices. SumUp, myPOS and Elavon's Start Simple plan each print a zero pound monthly fee, Lloyds Cardnet prints a minimum monthly charge of 10 pounds, and Teya charges 29.99 pounds in a month when card turnover is under 2,500 pounds. The rate on each sale sits on top, from 0.79% on Lopay's Essential account to 1.75% at Zettle and Elavon.
Can I use any card reader with any provider?
No. Readers are certified to a specific acquirer's platform. If you switch provider you switch hardware, which is one of the switching costs the Payment Systems Regulator identified in its card acquiring market review.
Are chip card readers the same as chip and PIN readers?
Yes. Every reader in this index reads the card's chip, takes a PIN on its own keypad and accepts contactless, so a chip card reader and a chip and PIN reader are one device under two names. What separates one model from another is the connection, the printer and the account behind it.
Is a chip and PIN credit card reader different from a debit one?
No. The same chip and PIN reader takes credit and debit cards, and the customer enters a PIN in the same way on either. What differs is the cost underneath: the Interchange Fee Regulation, as it applies in the UK, caps interchange at 0.3% of the transaction on a consumer credit card and 0.2% on a consumer debit card, so a provider that prices by card type charges more on the credit card sale.
Do chip and PIN devices need to be PCI certified?
The hardware must meet the card schemes' security requirements, and your business separately has PCI DSS obligations for how you handle card data. Some providers charge a monthly PCI compliance fee; Tyl by NatWest lists one among its charges. Ask whether it applies to you.
What is the cheapest chip and PIN terminal?
Tide's Nano at 11 pounds plus VAT is the lowest printed price for a chip & PIN terminal here, followed by Elavon's five pound one-off device cost on its entry plan and Zettle's reader from 29 pounds excluding VAT for new business users.