A credit card reader in the UK is the same hardware as a debit card reader: every terminal in this index takes both. What differs is the cost, because interchange on a UK consumer credit card is capped higher than on a debit card. Most providers blend the two into one advertised percentage, so the credit card element is paid for by everybody.
Blended or split, and which suits you
Zettle prints one flat rate for every major card including American Express, which is simple and fine for mixed traffic. myPOS prints separate rows by card origin, with domestic consumer cards at the lowest figure on this shelf and other categories priced up from there. A business whose customers overwhelmingly pay with UK debit cards saves real money on the split pricing and loses on the flat one.
Mobile readers and what mobile really means
Mobile is used two ways. A Bluetooth reader paired to a phone is mobile in the sense that it fits in a pocket and immobile in the sense that it stops working when the phone does. A reader with its own SIM is mobile in the useful sense. myPOS prices its standalone portable range from 39 pounds excluding VAT, and that premium is what buys independence from the phone.
Where the mobile processors differ
The app based providers here settle into an account they open for you, price with no monthly fee and no minimum term, and publish their rates. The traditional acquirers underwrite you, settle to your own bank, and mostly do not publish. Neither is better in the abstract; the app model is faster to start and the acquiring model is usually cheaper once your volume is large enough to be quoted for.
Questions people ask about credit card reader
Is a credit card reader different from a debit card reader?
No. The same terminal takes both. Only the cost differs underneath, because interchange is capped at a higher level for consumer credit cards than for debit cards in the UK.
What does a credit card reader cost in the UK?
Published hardware prices in this index run from 11 pounds plus VAT to 179 pounds excluding VAT. The account behind it costs between 0.79% and 1.75% of each sale on published rates, plus any fixed pence element.
Do mobile card processors charge more?
Not necessarily. Several of the lowest published rates here come from app based mobile providers. What they charge for instead is speed of settlement and add-on features, which are priced separately on their own schedules.