Increasingly, customers prefer to use credit and debit cards to pay for goods and services. So if your business is based in the UK, it’s vital to accept payments on a card machine.
Whether you’re looking for a countertop or portable card reader, there are a wide range of options to choose from. Choosing the right one for your business will depend on several factors, including the volume of transactions you typically make and your priorities.
Zettle
Zettle is a UK-based card payment machine that works with both mobile and offline mode. It can be paired with a tablet stand, cash drawer, receipt printer and barcode scanner to create an in-store POS system, or it can be purchased on its own as a standalone device.
The bundled app offers most of the features you would expect in a POS system, including sales tracking, reporting and inventory management. It can also collect customer email addresses and integrate with accounting and e-commerce platforms.
It accepts a wide range of credit and debit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express, JCB, Diners Club, UnionPay and Discover. It also supports mobile wallets Apple Pay, Google Pay (formerly Android Pay) and Samsung Pay.
In-person card and contactless payments are charged at a flat rate of 2.29% plus $0.09, while keyed-in transactions have a higher processing fee of 3.49%. These fees are among the lowest in the industry, but if you sell a lot of small items online or by invoice, Zettle’s charges could be more expensive than its competitors.
If you’re looking for a more advanced solution, there’s a touchscreen card machine called Zettle Terminal. This comes with the POS software installed and a SIM card for mobile connectivity. It costs PS149 + VAT without a barcode scanner or PS199 + VAT with one.
This can be a good choice for a small food venue that wants to be able to take payments on the go. It’s easy to use, and has a decent battery life.
Another benefit is that Zettle is available as an EPOS system, meaning you can purchase the card reader and a docking station for a low-cost upfront cost or spread the expense over 24/36 months. If you’re a startup or small business that hasn’t secured an EPOS system yet, this can be a big saving.
The software also has a number of integrations with accounting and e-commerce tools, so you can track inventory, generate reports and manage staff productivity. It also lets you export data to QuickBooks Online and Shopify and BigCommerce.
Barclaycard Business
Barclaycard Business is a UK-based card payment machine provider that caters to a wide range of businesses. It offers a range of mobile and portable card machines, as well as a mobile app-based solution that works in a similar way to the likes of Square.
Its card machine deals are largely geared towards small-to-medium-sized businesses, including sole traders and freelancers. These deals have low transaction fees, and no monthly rental charges.
There are also some free add-ons that can help you take customer payments from your device on the go. These include the Barclaycard Anywhere app, which allows you to manage sales in real time and issue e-receipts from your smartphone or tablet.
The app lets you add multiple users to a single account and export data to make accounting easier. It also allows you to track stock and sales, making it a basic POS (point of sale) system.
You can also get a foreign currency account, which is ideal for international trading. This will help to reduce the cost of sending and receiving payments in up to 20 currencies.
If you need help with your account, you can contact customer support by phone or online through the website. However, you can expect long wait times if you need to speak to a live person.
It is worth mentioning that Barclaycard doesn’t reveal all its prices on the website, so you may have to ask for a quote. This isn’t a bad thing, as it means you can see which deals are best for your needs, and compare them with other companies.
As a card processing company, Barclaycard is well-known and a popular choice for UK retailers. Its main competitors include Worldpay and PayPal, but it is able to offer competitive pricing thanks to its own processing network.
The company offers a variety of different cards, including credit cards and charge cards. It also offers a range of merchant services, such as payment gateways and virtual terminals.
Barclaycard’s virtual terminal is a great option for businesses that trade on the internet, as it supports telephone and mail orders. The fees are fairly competitive, and the system is easy to set up and use.
Tyl by Natwest
Tyl is a payment partner for UK-based small and medium-sized businesses, providing simple and fair pricing with straightforward contracts backed by one of the UK’s biggest banks. The service is designed to help merchants get paid faster with a range of card machines and virtual payments, plus next-business-day settlement and business insights.
Tyl by NatWest offers a variety of card machines to rent, a virtual terminal, payment links and an online portal to receive payments. Founded in 2018 and backed by NatWest, it’s available to all business types and has no hidden fees.
Its card machines accept chip and PIN cards as well as contactless cards from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay. It also allows business owners to receive customer data such as email addresses and phone numbers to improve the service they provide to customers.
As part of its support for SMEs and micro businesses, Tyl by NatWest has recently introduced PAX, a pocket-sized terminal designed to meet the needs of smaller businesses, market traders and tradesmen on the move. The machine has been developed with the financial pressures small and micro businesses face at front of mind.
The PAX is available at no extra cost to NatWest customers, meaning that it can be used in conjunction with all of the business insights and rewards services offered by Tyl by NatWest. In addition, the device is compatible with both WiFi and 4G connections for a truly wireless experience.
In addition to the PAX, NatWest has launched a new loyalty app ‘Tyl Rewards’ that allows consumers to earn points when they spend at local independent businesses. The app is free to use and is a great way to encourage regulars to shop at their favourite places again, whilst earning rewards for doing so.
If you’re looking to accept payments via Tyl by NatWest, simply add a link to your invoices in FreeAgent that takes customers through to the Tyl website to make their payment. Once you’ve added a link, all sensitive card information is stored on the Tyl website, and 3D secure authentication helps to prevent fraud.
myPOS
myPOS is a UK-based provider of integrated and affordable Card Payment solutions for businesses. It offers free merchant accounts and an e-money account that consolidates payments from all channels – in-store, online and mobile – and settles them instantly into the business’s account. It also offers a range of business reporting tools and value-added services.
myPOS aims to make the whole process of accepting credit and debit cards simpler and easier for its customers, and there are many ways you can personalise your POS system. You can customize your menu board with function buttons to execute third-party apps, open a web browser or run user-defined reports. Moreover, you can use display buttons to dynamically show customer or item data during sales transactions.
The myPOS Smart N5 is an Android-based terminal that accepts contactless, Chip&PIN and Magstripe card payments and comes with a long-lasting battery and a durable design. It is compatible with myPOS AppMarket and allows you to customise your POS system with apps for electronic gift cards, remote payments and sales analytics.
To sign up for a myPOS card reader, you must fill out a registration form and provide a photo of yourself or another person who looks similar to yours to confirm your identity. This is a requirement from the EU Fourth Money Laundering Directive, and it can take up to five minutes.
Once this is completed, you will receive an email containing a link to the myPOS account dashboard. From there, you can view your business’s performance, manage your devices and cards and print sales reports.
In addition, you can activate myPOS’s virtual terminal in your business’s myPOS account for Mail Order and Telephone Order (MOTO) payments. This is available on any device, desktop or smartphone, and employees can be assigned permissions to access the virtual terminal.
myPOS has no monthly fees, but it does have a small transaction fee for every payment, which is 1.1% + 7p for consumer Visa, Mastercard, V Pay and Maestro cards issued in the UK or EEA and 2.85% for other commercial and non-EEA cards. This is a good deal for most UK-based merchants, but you will need to check your own card processing terms before signing up with any provider.
More Stories
The Easy and Convenient Way to Rent an iPhone
How to Become Successful with a Project Management Certification
From Broken to Beautiful: NYC Sidewalk Repair at Its Finest