To take card payments you need an account with a provider and a way to present the card: a reader, a terminal, or a recent phone with tap to pay. The phone route needs no hardware at all, which makes it genuinely free to start. What is never free is the percentage, which runs from 0.79% to 1.75% on published UK rates.
The free route, honestly described
Tap to pay turns a supported phone into a contactless reader with no hardware to buy, so the setup cost is nothing. The account still charges its rate on every sale, and some providers price tap to pay on its own row rather than at the headline rate. Free means free of hardware, not free of cost, and any page saying otherwise is selling something.
What you need before the first sale
Identity documents for the people who own and control the business, a settlement destination, and about twenty minutes. App based providers open an account after checks and post hardware within days. Traditional acquirers underwrite first, which takes longer and usually produces a better rate once your volume justifies the work.
Getting the first day right
Run a small test sale and refund it before a customer is standing in front of you. Check the receipt route, email or print, and check where the money lands. Then look at the first settlement to confirm the rate you were quoted is the rate you were charged, because that is the only test of a quote that counts.
Questions people ask about take card payments
Can I take card payments for free?
You can start without buying hardware by using tap to pay on a supported phone. The transaction rate still applies, and some providers charge a different rate for tap to pay than for a physical reader.
How quickly can I start taking card payments?
With an app based provider, usually within days of passing identity checks. With a traditional acquirer, longer, because your business is underwritten before an account is opened.
Do I need a business bank account?
You need somewhere for the money to settle. Some providers open an account for you as part of the service; traditional acquirers settle to a UK business bank account in the merchant's name.