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.
Card reader options: a pocket reader, a standalone machine or tap to pay
A pocket reader pairs with your phone: Tide lists the Nano from 11 pounds plus VAT and Zettle starts at 29 pounds excluding VAT for new business users. A standalone machine has its own screen and connection: myPOS prices the Go 2 at 39 pounds excluding VAT. Tap to pay needs no reader at all on a supported phone, and Tide prints it at 1.5% plus 11p with no monthly fee, or 0.89% plus 3p on its 17.99 pounds a month plan. Which option suits depends on where you sell and how small your sales are.
Why the best card reader for taxi drivers is chosen 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.
Other questions people ask
Card reader meaning: 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 taxi card reader different?
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.