A card reader is the device that captures a customer's card and passes the payment to an acquirer for authorisation. It does not hold your money, set your price or decide whether the payment succeeds. Everything commercial happens in the account behind it, which is why two identical looking readers can cost very different amounts to run.
What is in the box and what is in the contract
The box holds a reader certified to one provider's platform. The contract holds the rate, the monthly fee, the settlement timing and the term. Buyers routinely compare boxes and sign contracts, which is the wrong way round: published hardware here spans 11 to 179 pounds, and the account spans 0.79% to 1.75% of everything you will ever take.
Why drivers and mobile trades choose differently
They need a connection that does not depend on a phone, a battery that lasts a shift and a low fixed charge per transaction because the sales are small. That combination rules out the cheapest pocket readers and points at standalone terminals from 39 pounds excluding VAT. It also makes the per transaction pence a bigger factor than the percentage.
What a reader cannot fix
A bad rate, a long contract or slow settlement. If your money arrives three days later than it should, no hardware change will help. Those are account questions and belong in the comparison before you look at a single device.
Questions people ask about what's a card reader
What is a card reader in simple terms?
The device that reads a customer's card and sends the payment for authorisation. The account behind it, run by an acquirer, is what decides your cost and when you get paid.
Is a card reader different for a taxi?
The requirements are, though the hardware category is the same. A driver needs a machine with its own mobile connection, a long battery and a low fixed charge per transaction.
Do I need a card reader at all?
Not if your sales are small, contactless and occasional, in which case tap to pay on a recent phone will do. A reader earns its price when you need chip and PIN or a second device.