Mobile card payment means one of two things: a phone acting as the reader through tap to pay, or a standalone terminal with its own SIM. The first needs no hardware and accepts contactless only. The second costs from 39 pounds excluding VAT and takes chip and PIN as well, which is what makes it work for larger sales.
Phone only, and where it stops
Tap to pay turns a recent phone into a contactless reader. It cannot take a chip and PIN card, so any sale above the contactless ceiling or any card that asks for verification is lost. For a coffee round that is fine. For a tradesperson invoicing several hundred pounds at the door it is a problem every week.
What it costs, row by row
Tide prints a separate tap to pay rate beside its card reader rate in the same table. Lopay's published fee schedule adds a per transaction charge for tap to pay on top of the account rate. So phone acceptance is convenient rather than automatically cheapest, and the right comparison is the tap to pay row rather than the headline percentage.
Working outdoors and out of signal
Both routes need a mobile connection. A stall in a market hall with poor coverage will fail on either, and the answer is to test at the site before the first trading day. Some terminals support an offline mode that stores a sale for later authorisation, which shifts the risk of a decline onto you and is worth understanding before switching it on.
Questions people ask about mobile card payment
How much does mobile card payment cost per sale?
The same published in-person rates apply, from 0.79% to 1.75%, except where a provider prices tap to pay separately. Tide prints a distinct tap to pay rate and Lopay adds a per transaction charge for it.
Can I take card payments on my mobile phone alone?
Yes, on a supported recent phone through a provider offering tap to pay. It is contactless only, so there is no chip and PIN fallback for larger sales.
What happens if there is no signal?
Neither a phone nor a SIM terminal can authorise without a connection. Test the sites you trade at, and ask your provider whether an offline mode exists and what risk it puts on you.