When was the last time you paid for something with cash? Outside of pouring pennies into self-service checkouts, it’s likely that your most recent engagement with physical cash was depositing birthday money straight into your bank account.
Just as card payments likely describe the vast method of your out-and-about expenditure, you can expect this of your customers as a new or burgeoning business. In short, you need a credit card machine. But what are the options?
Cash is(n’t) king
The move to a cashless society has been slow but steady, from the introduction of the chip-and-PIN card to contactless payments, and today’s suite of digital banking and payment solutions besides. Cash will never truly ‘go away’, as tech-based payment solutions still alienate certain bands of citizens who may not have access to smartphones or banking solutions – but a large majority of us have already eschewed physical banknotes in favour of the convenience afforded by tapping away.
With card and contactless payments now accounting for a majority of transactions in the UK, it also becomes less likely that the average customer will have physical cash in their pocket. As a small business or sole trader, this is a major consideration. Whether you’re an unsigned band with a merch table at your latest gig, or an independent maker at your first art market, you’ll find prospective customers with only plastic to flash.
Welcome to the (card) machine
Getting a credit card machine for your small business is a little more involved than buying a card reader.
Digital payments via credit card machines are subject to transaction fees, and many card readers are otherwise linked to subscription financial or point-of-sale services.
Best credit card machines for small businesses at a glance:
The kind of product or service you stump for should depend on the shape of your business.
As a sole trader that only needs to take payments occasionally, you might be better served by a one-off purchase card reader, avoiding monthly costs at the expense of slightly higher transaction fees.
If you’re taking payments daily, it may be worth going for a subscription service with a provider that enables you to lower overall operating costs.
Here, we’ve grabbed the best examples from providers of all stripes, so you can find the ideal credit card machine for your small-business needs.
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SumUp Air
Best: overall
SumUp is an early adopter of EMV card reader tech, having started out in 2012 and provided solutions for all manner of businesses and consumers in all manner of markets. The SumUp Air is a supremely accessible product in the credit card machine space, and an excellent shout for small businesses or new B2C freelancers as a result.
For a start, the SumUp Air can be yours for a one-time-only device cost, as opposed to an ongoing subscription. The free SumUp app, connected to the Air via Bluetooth, is your Point-of-Sale friend – and each transaction made through has a 1.69 per cent transaction fee, which is better than many one-time-cost card readers in this space.
The SumUp Air is light, small, easy to use, and will look flash in pretty much any environment. It’s pocket-friendly, its battery life is considerable, and its per-transaction rates could certainly be worse; altogether, with its incredible one-off purchase price, the Air is an ideal option for sole traders and newly trading small businesses.
Buy now £34.99, Amazon
myPOS Go 2
Best for: competitive transaction fees
The myPOS Go 2 is a standalone credit card machine that provides much of the same functionality advertised by subscription-model financial services providers. For instance, there’s a built-in SIM with free mobile data for taking payments without connecting to a master smartphone, and there’s some nifty in-device options for switching users to make tracking transactions easier.
It’s a lightweight reader, the relatively inexpensive construction of which works in its favour. Where many next-generation card-reading devices have leant fully into the smartphone-with-some-stuff-attached form factor, the myPOS Go 2 sticks to the familiar form of card machines of old – with physical buttons that provide a tactile response both for you in entering product prices, and your customers in confirming their transactions.
With low transaction fees and no-cost instant receipt of funds, this is a phenomenal competitor in the card reader space.
Buy now £46.80, myPOS
SumUp Solo
Best for: small shopfronts
The SumUp Solo is the middle child in SumUp’s range of POS devices, being a dock-able card payment terminal with some plussed-up internal gubbins for more resilience and versatility. Where SumUp’s Air – as an ‘entry level’ device, so to speak – is a low-cost, grab-and-co affair with essential app-connecting functionality, the Solo takes some serious strides.
For one, the Solo receives its own built-in SIM card, meaning you’re not reliant on any one smartphone or Bluetooth connection in order to make payments. The SIM card and its unlimited data come free with the Solo, which comes under £100 as a one-off payment and still doesn’t require you to sign up to any subscriptions. The 1.69 per cent transaction fee is competitive for devices of its ilk.
The Solo is a bit more power-hungry than its little sibling, but also comes with a cradle that makes keeping it topped-up easy. If you’re running a micro-pub or small shopfront, this could be an elegant early solution.
Buy now £93.99, Amazon
Zettle Card Reader 2
Best for: stallholding sellers
Zettle is one of the pre-eminent companies in the consumer fin-tech space, having launched in 2011 as one of the first-ever businesses to combine mobile card-reading with the power of the then-nascent smartphone. Having since been absorbed by PayPal, Zettle is now a supercharged solution for sole traders and small businesses, with a relatively easy platform for entry too.
In order to get a Zettle card reader, you’ll need to create a business account with PayPal. From here, though, you can get a single Zettle Card Reader 2 for £29 flat – which enables you to take swift card payments on the go via Bluetooth connection to PayPal’s POS app.
With a 1.75 per cent fee per card transaction, this is a no-nonsense (and practically plug-and-play) credit card machine option for sole-trading stallholders at the start of their journey.
Buy now £69.99, Amazon
Square Card Reader
Best for: basic contactless functionality
Square’s basic credit card machine is a pleasingly austere little slab of tech, sharing the essential form of its company’s name and keeping things very much on the simple side. The Square card reader is something of a ‘dumb’ smart device, with no screen or on-device instructions to follow save for the contactless payment logo on its face.
This is because everything is handled by Square’s POS app, including visual confirmation of money to be paid and, if need be, the entering of a customer’s PIN. The Square card reader is a cheap and cheerful little tab, that’s easy to pocket and carry around or otherwise tack to your selling surface of choice.
Its per-transaction fees of 1.75 per cent are somewhat median, and some users might miss the screens possessed by other similarly-priced systems, but for elegant ease of use there aren’t many equals.
If you’re a sole trader on the move, and your fees are often ad-hoc, this could be the credit card machine for you.
Buy now £17.10, Amazon
myPOS Pro
Best for: executive looks and functionality
The myPOS Pro is a juiced-up credit card machine for serious business folk. This sleek black device is an Android-10-toting machine with a huge touchscreen and some incredible internal app functionality as part of its proprietary software.
The big draw for myPOS is that it offers some attractive prices despite its one-off-payment model, with a 1.10 per cent +7p transaction fee – and zero fees for instant access to your money. These boons can be enjoyed with the cheaper myPOS Go 2, but with that device you don’t get smart onboard apps, or a built-in printer for instant receipts.
These might not be worth the extra scratch to younger, scrappier sole traders, but if your small business is reaching for the executive, this is your best option.
Buy now £179.00, myPOS
Square Terminal
Best for: in-depth functionality without a subscription
Square’s Terminal is practically the opposite of Square’s flagship card-reading equilateral. Where the cheaper of Square’s credit card machines is a minimalist, screenless plastic cassette, the face of the Square Terminal is essentially all screen, mounted atop a hefty, robust unit that contains everything you could ever need at the point of sale.
The Square Terminal is a pretty penny to buy, but that money buys you a hugely user-friendly smart device with some extremely handy little functions. For instance, the Terminal is its own POS, being an Android device pre-installed with Square’s proprietary software; product selection and payment can all take place on the same device, and with fast responsiveness too.
The Terminal does need Wi-Fi access of some kind, but if you’re having internet gremlins during service, you’re able to take payment details offline for 24 hours in Offline Mode. The built-in printer makes end-of-day reconciliation a breeze too.
Granted, it’s a little much for many to pay upfront, but if you’re a new micro-business with a few years of trading to look forward to, the high functionality of the Terminal (without the ongoing subscription costs required by many of its competitors) makes this a worthy investment.
Buy now £134.00, Amazon
DOJO For Business, with A920 Card Reader
Best for: fast-growing brick-and-mortar business
DOJO has fast become a favourite amongst larger and growing businesses, as shop-fronts and small hospitality chains continue to seek out the best deals for their ever-shifting monthly overheads. What DOJO offers is competitive customer service, smart transaction pricing, and some pretty good credit card machines to boot.
DOJO doesn’t actually manufacture card readers, but it does offer you access to the bulky behemoth A920 card reader – a speedy, full-featured reader which does everything you could ever need a card reader to do. It’s an Android-powered device, with a large touchscreen and some smart functionality both with respect to customer options and end-of-day reads.
You don’t get to buy it outright, though; it comes as part of DOJO’s financial services contract, which locks you in at 0.75 per cent +5p debit transaction fees and 1.2 per cent +5p credit card transaction fees, as well as a £10-per-month platform fee and a £20-per-month terminal fee.
These costs certainly don’t add up for the ad-hoc sole trader, but for a new small business with regular opening hours and multiple staff, this combination of service and terminal unit could be a practical, cost-effective lifesaver.
Buy now £20.00, DOJO
Epos Now Android Tablet POS Bundle
Best for: new hospitality ventures
This isn’t just a credit card machine, but a complete point-of-sale solution – and the ideal one for a first-timer putting together a new hospitality venture. Where you’re co-ordinating the preparation and sale of different kinds of stock, particularly food, the basic-level tap-and-go card readers simply aren’t going to cut it.
Epos Now’s offering bundles together a touchscreen card machine with a Lenovo tablet, powerful POS software and a thermal printer for checks or receipts – which together constitute a formidable orders-and-payments system. The cost of receiving and maintaining these machines is not inconsiderable, but their interconnectivity is crucial for something like a new restaurant concept, where communication between table, tablet and kitchen is key.
Buy now £149.00, Epos
Barclaycard Flex Mobile Card Reader
Best for: cheap monthly payments with no exit fees
Barclaycard’s Flex service puts this Move/5000 mobile card reader in your hands – a highly capable handheld device with some satisfying buttons, and supremely simple modes of operation to boot. It can work in most any environment, and has enough internal battery to handle a veritable shedload of transactions without needing a recharge (up to 700, to be more precise).
The device will work online in most atmospheric conditions, and you can get the money from transactions pretty sharpish too. The machine, and Barclaycard’s relatively-low transaction fees of 1.6 per cent, are yours for £15 per month plus VAT – but you can cancel whenever you want at no cost to you. With exit fees being a major source of friction for many small businesses looking to switch, this could well be enough to sell the Flex plan to you.
Buy now £15.00, Barclaycard
Verdict
For our money and as an all-rounder, the SumUp Air has won out. Its form factor lends it well to all manner of different situations, and it straddles the line between portability and functionality incredibly well – all for a low initial outlay and some agreeable transaction terms.
