Credit card processing services cover the acquiring account, the routing of your transactions to the card schemes and the settlement of your money. Eleven of the thirty two UK providers read for this index publish an in-person rate; ten publish none and route to a quote. That single fact shapes how any shortlist can be built.
A credit card processing comparison built on published rates
Of the thirty two UK providers read for this index, eleven print an in-person rate on their own pages. Those printed rates run from 0.79% at Lopay for UK consumer Visa and Mastercard to 1.75% at Zettle, Square and Elavon's Start Simple plan, with a median of 1.5%. Several add a fixed charge per transaction: 7p at myPOS, 5p at Tyl by NatWest, 2p at Revolut Business. Barclaycard's page answers its own rate heading with customised pricing, and Paymentsense now asks for turnover before it shows a figure, so those services can only enter a comparison once they have quoted your own takings.
What credit card payment processing for small business includes
Underwriting, a merchant agreement, authorisation and clearing, settlement to your account, chargeback handling and support. Some providers add PCI compliance management, fraud tools and faster settlement as priced extras. The percentage you pay covers the first list; the second is usually itemised on a fee schedule rather than the pricing page.
Debit and credit are priced from different caps
UK interchange is capped lower on consumer debit cards than on consumer credit cards, and commercial cards sit outside both. Providers that blend the categories advertise one number; providers that publish rows by card type let a debit heavy business see the cheaper figure. myPOS prints four rows by card origin; Viva.com states the interchange it applies for domestic debit and credit.
Getting a comparable quote from a provider that publishes nothing
Supply the same three figures to each: twelve month card acceptance, average transaction value and merchant category. Those are what Paymentsense's own pricing tool now asks for, and what a consultant will ask for anyway. With them in hand, an unpublished provider can be placed on the same spreadsheet as a published one.
Questions people ask about credit card processing services
Which credit card processing companies publish their rates in the UK?
Eleven of the thirty two read for this index print an in-person rate on their own pages, including SumUp, Zettle, Square, myPOS, Viva.com, Lopay, Tide, Elavon, Tyl by NatWest, Shopify POS and Revolut Business.
Is debit card processing cheaper than credit?
Underneath, yes, because UK interchange is capped lower for consumer debit. Whether you see that depends on whether your provider prices the categories separately or blends them.
What should a processing quote include?
The in-person rate for UK consumer debit and credit, the rate for commercial and non UK cards, any fixed pence element and authorisation fee, the minimum monthly charge, the term and the early termination charge.
What do credit card payment processing services include as standard?
Underwriting, a merchant agreement, authorisation and clearing, settlement to your account, chargeback handling and support. The percentage covers that list. PCI compliance management, fraud tools and faster settlement are priced extras at some providers, so check which side of the line each one sits on before comparing two rates.