PDQ is British retail shorthand for a card payment terminal, the machine on the counter that takes a chip and PIN or contactless payment. It is not a brand and not a technical standard, and no acquirer sells a product called a PDQ machine. If you are shopping for one you are shopping for a card terminal and an acquiring account, and the account is where the money goes.
Why the word survives
PDQ entered UK retail vocabulary decades ago and stuck, in the way that hoover and biro stuck. It is still the word a publican or a shop manager uses, which is why providers' sales teams answer to it while their own websites say card machine or payment terminal. If a quote arrives headed card terminal, it is the same thing you asked for. Whether the quote calls it a PDQ device, a PDQ payment machine or a terminal, the hardware is tied to one provider's account, so the price that matters is the account it comes with.
How much is a PDQ machine to buy in the UK?
Countertop and portable terminals on this index are published between 39 and 179 pounds excluding VAT where they are sold outright, and rented monthly where they are not. At the low end myPOS prints its Go 2 portable machine at 39 pounds excluding VAT, and Elavon's Start Simple plan prints a 5 pound one-off device cost. Elavon prints per terminal monthly rentals on its Business Booster plan of 15 pounds for a countertop model and 18 pounds for a mobile one, alongside a lower transaction rate, which is the classic rental trade off. A PDQ machine price on its own therefore says little until the account behind it is priced too.
PDQ charges on small business takings: the running cost is the real price
A terminal bought for 89 pounds on a 1.75% account costs more in its first six months of trading at 3,000 pounds a month than the machine did. Published rates on this shelf run from 0.79% to 1.75%, so the spread on the same takings is roughly 29 pounds a month. The cheapest PDQ rates printed here are Lopay's 0.79% for UK consumer Visa and Mastercard and Revolut Business's 0.8% plus 2p in person. Beside the rate sit the value added services some providers price separately: Lopay's add-on schedule prices tap to pay, payment links and accounting integration, and Teya's schedule prices ATM withdrawals, transfers and cash deposits. Choose the account first and let the terminal follow it.
Compare PDQ machine prices on the account, not the box
A PDQ machine for sale on its own is rarely the whole offer, because a terminal from one provider will not work on another's account. A fair PDQ machine price comparison therefore sets three printed figures side by side for each provider: the hardware price or monthly rental, the monthly account fee, and the in-person rate with any fixed pence per transaction. Tyl by NatWest prints 1.39% plus 5p for personal cards, myPOS prints from 1.10% plus 7p with no fixed monthly cost, and SumUp prints 1.69% with no monthly fee. Several of the best known acquirers publish no rate at all and quote after a call, so they can only be compared once each has priced the same takings.
Questions people ask about pdq machine
What does PDQ stand for?
There is no single official expansion. The trade generally reads it as process data quickly, and it has been used in UK retail for so long that the origin is largely folklore. What matters commercially is that PDQ machine, card machine and card terminal describe the same device.
How much does a portable PDQ machine cost?
myPOS prints its Go 2 standalone portable machine at 39 pounds excluding VAT, sold outright with no fixed monthly cost. Elavon rents a mobile terminal at 18 pounds a month on its Business Booster plan. A portable machine with its own SIM works anywhere with mobile coverage, which is what the extra cost buys.
Are PDQ machines rented or bought?
Both, and the split follows the provider type. App based providers sell the terminal outright and charge no monthly fee. Bank owned acquirers and resellers more often rent it monthly, with the rental printed against each model where they publish at all.
Are PDQ machines for small businesses worth it, or will a phone do?
If your customers pay contactless and your average sale is small, a phone with tap to pay may be enough. A dedicated terminal earns its place where you need chip and PIN, where staff should not be using the owner's phone, and where the machine must work away from wifi on its own SIM.
Can I hire PDQ machine units for a short season?
Rental here is priced monthly against a minimum term rather than by the week, so a seasonal trader normally ends up paying for the term whether or not the stall is open. A rolling account with no monthly fee and a reader bought outright fits a season better, and costs nothing in the closed months.
What is the cost of PDQ machine hire against buying one outright?
Rental spreads the hardware and often buys a lower transaction rate, but commits you to a minimum term, a notice period and an exit charge set in the merchant agreement rather than on the pricing page. Buying costs once and usually leaves the rate higher. Over a full term the rate is the larger number, so price both on your own takings before the hardware.
How to get a PDQ machine for a new business?
Choose the account first, then apply: the provider checks the identity of the people who own and control the business and takes the business and settlement details, and traditional acquirers also ask for annual card turnover, average transaction value and merchant category. App based providers then post the machine within days; if you want to buy PDQ machine hardware outright, they are the usual route.