Best Merchant Account Providers UK 2026: Compare Fees, Card Machines & Payment Services Quick answer
The best merchant account provider depends on how much you process, how customers pay and whether you need card machines, online payments, virtual terminals, EPOS or custom transaction rates.
Our starting shortlist for 2026 is:
Provider Best for Current pricing signal
Worldpay Established SMEs and higher turnover
1.50% Simplicity tariff on qualifying Visa/Mastercard
Elavon Retail, hospitality and growing SMEs
From 0.99% on eligible personal cards; plans from £15/month
Tyl by NatWest Smaller established businesses
1.39% + 5p on eligible UK/European personal cards
Dojo Hospitality and regular card turnover
Published blended pricing for smaller merchants
takepayments SMEs wanting support-led merchant services
Tailored quote
Square Start-ups and small businesses
1.75% in person, £0 monthly processing fee
SumUp Sole traders and growing small businesses
1.69% PAYG or 0.99% eligible domestic cards for £19/month
Our view:
Very small/irregular turnover: start with Square or SumUp.Regular SME turnover: compare merchant-service quotes against SumUp Payments Plus.Higher turnover: request custom pricing from several acquiring providers.B2B/commercial-card-heavy businesses: compare card-specific rates carefully.
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How Do We Work?
Our comparisons are researched and reviewed by the Compare Your Business Costs editorial team using provider information, pricing data and UK business buying criteria. See how Compare Your Business Costs works .
Authored by: Ally Cox – Business Technology & B2B Services Specialist, 10+ years’ experience.
Reviewed by: James Ward – Telecoms Specialist, 12+ years’ experience.
Last Updated: September 2026
Key Takeaways
There is no universal best merchant account provider.
Worldpay currently publishes a 1.50% Simplicity tariff on qualifying Visa/Mastercard transactions.
Elavon currently publishes 0.99% rates on eligible personal cards, with terminal plans from around £15/month.
Tyl currently charges 1.39% + 5p for qualifying UK/European personal cards for smaller merchants.
Square currently charges 1.75% for UK in-person cards with no monthly processing subscription.
SumUp currently offers 1.69% PAYG or 0.99% on eligible domestic cards for £19/month.
Traditional merchant pricing can become more attractive as turnover grows, but the crossover point varies.
Card mix matters: business and international cards can cost more.
Online, manual and telephone payments often have different fees from card-present transactions.
The best comparison is your effective processing rate, not the headline percentage.
What Is a Merchant Account? A merchant account is part of the infrastructure that allows a business to accept card payments.
It is commonly used alongside:
card machines
online payment gateways
virtual terminals
telephone payments
EPOS systems
With a traditional merchant-services setup, an acquiring provider handles the card transaction and settles the funds into your business bank account.
Do You Actually Need a Traditional Merchant Account? Not necessarily – businesses can also use payment service providers such as:
Square
SumUp
PayPal
Stripe
These providers bundle more of the payment infrastructure into one service.
Merchant Account vs Payment Service Provider
Traditional merchant account / acquirer Payment service provider
Examples
Worldpay, Elavon, Tyl
Square, SumUp, PayPal, Stripe
Pricing
Fixed, blended or bespoke
Often simple flat-rate
Monthly fees
Common
Often £0 or optional
Contract
More common
Usually more flexible
Setup
More underwriting
Usually quicker
Best fit
Regular / higher turnover
Low / variable turnover
Our View: Compare the Payment Outcome The technical distinction matters.
But the business question is simpler:
“What will it cost us to process our actual payment mix each month?”
That should drive the decision.
Best Merchant Account Providers UK 2026 1. Worldpay Worldpay remains one of the largest merchant-service providers serving UK businesses and their current Simplicity tariff includes:
1.50% on qualifying Mastercard and Visa transactionsno authorisation fee on that tariff
no minimum monthly service charge
next-business-day settlement
Worldpay also provides custom pricing for businesses needing a more tailored structure.
Best For
established SMEs
retail
hospitality
multi-terminal businesses
higher card turnover
Our View on Worldpa y
Worldpay is one of the strongest providers to benchmark once your turnover is high enough that transaction-rate negotiation matters.
But check:
terminal rental
contract length
promotional pricing
non-Visa/Mastercard fees
See our Worldpay Merchant Services review .
2. Elavon Elavon currently publishes unusually clear SME pricing and current examples include:
Tetra Desk: £15/monthTetra Move: £18/monthpersonal Visa/Mastercard: 0.99% on relevant plansbusiness cards: 1.99%non-EEA cards: higher rates
Best For
retail
hospitality
growing SMEs
businesses with regular UK consumer-card volume
Our View on Elavon
Elavon is particularly compelling when most customer payments are domestic consumer cards.
The 0.99% headline rate becomes less representative when commercial or international-card usage is high.
See our Elavon Merchant Accounts review .
3. Tyl by NatWest For eligible businesses with up to £50,000 annual card-payment value, Tyl currently publishes:
1.39% + 5p for UK/European personal cards1.99% + 5p for other cards
Larger businesses receive custom pricing.
Best For
small retailers
cafés
salons
smaller established SMEs
Our View on Tyl
The percentage looks attractive, but the fixed:
5p per transaction
means average transaction value matters.
A café processing £4 transactions should model Tyl differently from a shop processing £80 transactions.
See our Tyl by NatWest Merchant Services review .
4. Dojo Dojo is particularly relevant to hospitality and retail businesses wanting:
modern terminals
fast settlement
integrated payments
more flexible merchant pricing
Current public pricing includes a blended rate for smaller merchants, with custom pricing for higher-turnover businesses.
Best For
restaurants
cafés
pubs
salons
retailers
Our View on Dojo
Dojo is a strong comparison where payment speed, hospitality integrations and settlement matter alongside the transaction rate.
See our Dojo Card Machine review .
5. takepayments takepayments is aimed at SMEs that want:
card machines
tailored pricing
support-led onboarding
online and remote payments
It currently promotes a 12-month card-machine contract and next-working-day settlement on eligible transactions.
Best For
cafés
salons
retail
restaurants
service businesses
Our View on takepayments
The important consideration is the full merchant-service quote, including any separate acquiring arrangement.
See our takepayments Merchant Services review .
6. Square Square is not a traditional dedicated merchant account provider.
But it is one of the most important alternatives to compare.
Current pricing includes:
UK in person: 1.75%UK online: 1.4% + 25pmanual / Virtual Terminal: 2.5%standard monthly POS fee: £0
Businesses processing more than £200,000 annually may qualify for custom pricing.
Best For
start-ups
sole traders
small shops
cafés
pop-ups
Our View on Square
Square is one of the easiest benchmarks because its pricing is transparent and fixed costs are low.
At higher turnover, compare its 1.75% rate against negotiated merchant-service quotes.
See our Square Card Machine review .
7. SumUp SumUp currently offers three pricing routes:
PAYG: 1.69%, £0/monthPayments Plus: 0.99% eligible domestic consumer cards, £19/monthTailored: bespoke pricing for qualifying businesses processing around £10,000+ per month
Best For
sole traders
small businesses
mobile businesses
growing SMEs
Our View on SumUp
SumUp has blurred the line between PAYG card reader and lower-rate merchant pricing.
Payments Plus makes it highly relevant once turnover becomes regular.
See our SumUp Card Machine review .
What About Barclaycard & Lloyds Cardnet? Barclaycard and Lloyds Cardnet remain established names in UK merchant acquiring.
They can be relevant where businesses want:
bank-backed merchant services
multiple terminals
larger payment estates
custom pricing
Because pricing is often quote-led, compare them on the same transaction profile as other providers rather than using generic fee ranges.
What About Clover? Clover is more than a merchant account and it combines:
POS hardware
software
payments
apps
It is particularly relevant to:
retail
hospitality
businesses wanting POS + payments together
Which Provider Is Best for Your Business?
Business type Providers to compare first
Sole trader
Square, SumUp
Small retailer
Square, Tyl, Elavon, Dojo
Café
Dojo, Tyl, Square, Elavon
Restaurant
Dojo, Worldpay, takepayments, Elavon
Pub / bar
Dojo, Worldpay, Elavon
Salon
Square, SumUp, Tyl, Dojo
B2B services
Worldpay, Elavon, Stripe, PayPal
High-volume retailer
Worldpay, Elavon, Barclaycard, Lloyds
Online-first business
Stripe, PayPal, Worldpay
Our View: Turnover Alone Is Not Enough The old approach of saying:
under £5k = PSP
£5k–£10k = merchant account
£10k+ = custom pricing
is too simplistic.
The real crossover depends on:
percentage rate
fixed transaction charges
monthly fees
card mix
average transaction value
Example: Same Turnover, Different Cost Two businesses both process:
£20,000/month.
Business A
4,000 transactions averaging £5.
Business B
200 transactions averaging £100.
If a provider charges a fixed:
5p per transaction
that adds:
£200/month to Business A
£10/month to Business B
Transaction count matters just as much as turnover.
How to Calculate Your Effective Merchant Rate Use: all monthly payment costs ÷ monthly card turnover × 100
Example
Monthly turnover:
£25,000
Costs:
transaction charges: £260
terminal rental: £20
authorisation fees: £15
other charges: £5
Total:
£300
Effective rate:
1.20%
That is the number to compare with another provider.
Merchant Account Fees to Compare Ask about:
consumer debit-card rate
consumer credit-card rate
commercial-card rate
international-card rate
authorisation fee
terminal rental
PCI fee
minimum monthly fee
gateway fee
virtual-terminal fee
chargebacks
refunds
settlement fees
setup
cancellation
Card Mix Matters Traditional merchant pricing can vary considerably according to whether the card is:
UK consumer debit
UK consumer credit
commercial
international
American Express
A headline “from 0.99%” rate may not apply to every transaction.
Our View: B2B Businesses Need Extra Care A business selling primarily to other companies may receive a large proportion of:
corporate cards
commercial debit cards
That can make consumer-card pricing a poor benchmark.
In-Person vs Online vs Phone Payments Different sales channels usually have different pricing.
Square, for example, currently charges:
1.75% UK in person
1.4% + 25p UK online
2.5% manually entered
So a business taking:
counter payments
telephone deposits
online orders
should model each channel separately.
Merchant Account Contracts Traditional merchant services may involve:
merchant agreement
terminal-hire agreement
gateway contract
These may not all have the same term.
Ask :
What is the minimum term?
What notice is required?
Does it auto-renew?
What happens to the terminal?
What does early exit cost?
Settlement Speed Settlement affects cash flow.
Worldpay currently advertises next-business-day settlement on relevant card-machine packages.
Other providers also promote next-day or faster access, so check:
which transaction types qualify
banking cut-off times
whether weekends count
whether faster settlement costs extra
Merchant Accounts & EPOS If you use EPOS, check whether the card terminal integrates directly.
Integrated payments reduce:
manual entry
till discrepancies
reconciliation errors
See our EPOS Systems guide .
Merchant Accounts for Retail Retailers should compare:
countertop terminal cost
consumer vs commercial-card rates
EPOS integration
multiple-terminal pricing
settlement
Merchant Accounts for Hospitality Restaurants, cafés and pubs should prioritise:
portable terminals
fast payment acceptance
tipping
EPOS integration
next-day settlement
Merchant Accounts for Online Businesses Online-first businesses should compare:
gateway fees
online transaction percentage
fixed per-transaction fees
international cards
fraud tools
developer integrations
Stripe and PayPal may be more relevant than a traditional physical card-machine package.
High-Risk Merchant Accounts Some sectors face:
higher fees
longer underwriting
rolling reserves
more restrictive terms
If your business is classified as higher risk, compare specialist providers rather than assuming standard SME pricing applies.
See our High-Risk Merchant Accounts guide .
How to Compare Merchant Account Quotes
Ask each provider to price the same:
monthly turnover
transaction count
average transaction value
card mix
number of terminals
online / phone-payment volume
Our View: Use Your Current Merchant Statement If you already take cards, send providers your recent statement and ask:
“What would this exact month have cost with you?”
This is far more useful than asking:
“What is your lowest transaction rate?”
Common Merchant Account Mistakes
choosing the lowest headline percentage
ignoring fixed transaction charges
ignoring commercial-card rates
ignoring terminal rental
comparing in-person rates with online fees
not checking contract length
assuming all settlement is next day
using turnover alone to pick a provider
staying on an old rate after turnover grows
What to Ask Before Signing
What is the UK consumer debit rate?
What is the consumer credit rate?
What is the commercial-card rate?
What is the international-card rate?
Is there a fixed authorisation fee?
What does terminal rental cost?
What PCI fees apply?
Is there a minimum monthly charge?
What gateway charges apply?
How much does Virtual Terminal cost?
When do we receive funds?
What contract term applies?
What does early exit cost?
Can you price our current merchant statement?
Our Verdict: Which Is the Best Merchant Account Provider? There is no single best merchant account provider for every UK business.
Our starting recommendations are:
New / low-volume business: Square or SumUpGrowing SME: SumUp Payments Plus, Tyl, Elavon, DojoRetail: Elavon, Tyl, Worldpay, DojoHospitality: Dojo, Worldpay, takepayments, ElavonHigh turnover: Worldpay, Elavon, Barclaycard, Lloyds + multiple custom quotesOnline-first: Stripe, PayPal, WorldpayB2B: compare commercial-card rates above all else
The best merchant account is the one that gives you the lowest effective cost while still fitting your terminals, payment channels, settlement needs and contract preferences.
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Frequently Asked Questions What is the best merchant account provider in the UK?
It depends on the business. Worldpay, Elavon, Tyl, Dojo and takepayments are strong merchant-service comparisons, while Square and SumUp are important alternatives for smaller businesses.
Which merchant account has the lowest fees?
No provider is universally cheapest. Elavon currently publishes 0.99% on eligible consumer cards, while other providers use blended or custom pricing. Total cost depends on monthly fees and card mix.
Is Square a merchant account?
Square is a payment service provider rather than a traditional dedicated merchant account, but businesses use it for the same core purpose: accepting card payments.
Is SumUp a merchant account?
SumUp is a payment service provider rather than a traditional merchant acquirer. It currently offers PAYG, subscription and tailored payment pricing.
When should I switch from Square or SumUp to a merchant account?
There is no fixed turnover level. Compare the effective cost once your turnover becomes regular enough that a lower negotiated rate could offset monthly or terminal fees.
How much does a merchant account cost?
Costs can include transaction fees, terminal rental, authorisation fees, PCI charges, gateway fees, chargebacks and other service charges.
Can merchant fees be negotiated?
Often, yes. Higher-turnover merchants are commonly offered bespoke pricing, particularly where they can provide a recent merchant statement.
Do I need a merchant account to accept cards?
No. Payment service providers such as Square and SumUp allow businesses to accept cards without separately arranging a traditional merchant account.
Which merchant account is best for restaurants?
Restaurants should compare Dojo, Worldpay, takepayments and Elavon, focusing on portable terminals, EPOS integration, tipping, settlement and total processing cost.
Which merchant account is best for retail?
Retailers should compare Elavon, Tyl, Worldpay, Dojo and other acquiring providers alongside Square where POS flexibility matters.
Which merchant account is best for ecommerce?
Online businesses should compare Stripe, PayPal, Worldpay and other payment gateways based on online fees, developer tools, international payments and fraud controls.
What is an effective merchant rate?
It is your total monthly card-payment cost divided by monthly card turnover, multiplied by 100.
Related Merchant Account Guides
Hi, I’m Ally Cox , a senior copywriter and blogger at CompareYourBusinessCosts.co.uk, the UK’s trusted platform for comparing business services.over a decade of experience in the B2B sector, I specialise in simplifying complex topics like leased lines, VoIP, business energy, HR and payroll solutions, accounting software, and EPOS systems .HR, copywriting, and business operations- from clocking-in systems to card machines and office technology .informed, confident decisions when choosing products and services that improve efficiency and save money.
