UK card-payment provider index 2026: the 43 providers we compare
The 43 providers in our Card Acquirer Index, covering mainstream acquirers, bank acquirers, online payment gateways and high-risk specialists. Rate, settlement, contract and channels per provider. MerchantHQ compares these providers; quote enquiries go to our card-payments broker partner, which works to return 2 to 3 matched quotes.
Mainstream acquirers (17)
Modern fintech and SMB acquirers operating in the UK.
| Provider | Channels | Headline rate | Settlement | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK hospitality and retail strong. Same-day settle competitive. | in-person | 1.2% blended below £100k a year in card turnover, custom above Checked 25 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Same-day or next-day | 12 months |
| No monthly fee. Free 4G SIM on SumUp Solo. Most permissive new-merchant onboarding. | in-person | 1.69% pay-as-you-go, 0.99% on Payments Plus (£19 a month) Checked 23 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day (same-day on SumUp One) | No contract |
| Built-in POS, receipt printer, Square Online for ecommerce. | omnichannel | 1.75% in-person, 1.4% + 25p online (UK cards) Checked 23 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day (same-day for extra fee) | No contract |
| Cheapest hardware entry point: the card reader (now sold as the PayPal Reader) is £29 + VAT for your first reader as a new business user, then £69 + VAT for each extra reader. | in-person | 1.75% on all cards, including Amex Checked 23 September 2026 on the provider's own page | 1 to 2 business days | No contract |
| Best UK developer ecosystem. Stripe Billing for SaaS recurring. | omnichannel | 1.5% + 20p online (standard UK cards), 1.4% + 10p in-person (EEA cards) Checked 23 September 2026 on the provider's own page | 2-day to 7-day rolling for new accounts | No contract |
| Conditional on Tide Business banking. The card reader is £49 on pay-as-you-go, less on Tide's paid plans. | in-person | 1.5% + 5p per card-reader payment (pay-as-you-go) Checked 23 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Same-day to Tide Business account | No contract |
| Multi-currency settlement. Lowest UK headline rate conditional on Revolut Business plan. | omnichannel | 0.8% to 1.0% on higher plans | Same-day to Revolut Business account | Plan subscription required |
| Formerly SaltPay. Card machine plans from £14.99 per month with a free Teya Business Account; £29.99 monthly fee applies below £2,500 card turnover. | omnichannel | Bespoke (blended, tiered or interchange++) Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next-day by 9am incl. weekends; instant to Teya Business Account | Rolling monthly, no lock-in |
| Direct UK acquirer. Enterprise + high-volume. Best SCA exemption flagging. | omnichannel | Bespoke interchange-plus Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Bespoke schedule | Custom |
| UK ISO selling card terminals on commission. Long contracts historically. | in-person | 1.40% on debit and credit cards, 1.99% on business cards (in person and online) Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| UK ISO. Hardware-led SMB sales channel. | in-person | Bespoke per merchant Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| Quote-led UK ISO selling card machines (PDQ machines, on Castles hardware: Saturn Android smart terminal and countertop) plus online payments, virtual terminal, pay by link and phone payments. Owned by PayPoint plc since February 2021; card acquiring sits with partner acquirers (EVO Payments relationship since 2015). Advertises no minimum monthly service charge, no PCI compliance or non-compliance fees, and switching-cost contributions. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant, quote-led (Price Challenge against your current bill) | Next banking day, set by the acquiring partner | Flexible lengths, on quote |
| UK acquirer with strong high-risk-vertical underwriting appetite. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| UK card-machine manufacturer; hardware partnered with multiple acquirers. | in-person | Bespoke per partner | Per acquirer | Per acquirer |
| EU-headquartered (Bulgaria) with UK passport. Instant payout. | omnichannel | From 1.10% + 7p (UK consumer cards, in person); higher for other card types and online Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Instant to MyPOS account | No contract |
| UK-passported acquirer; mid-market focus. | omnichannel | Bespoke Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day | 12 months |
| GoDaddy website + payment bundle. Best for GoDaddy ecommerce builders. | omnichannel | 1.5% + 25p online, 1.75% in-person | Next business day | No contract |
Bank acquirers (8)
UK bank-operated merchant services.
| Provider | Channels | Headline rate | Settlement | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One of the longest-established UK card acquirers, so a lot of merchants are on older contracts and terminals. If you are one of them, check your current terms before the renewal date. | omnichannel | Bespoke, blended or IC+ above £100k Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| Conditional on existing NatWest Business banking. | in-person | 1.39% + 5p standard; bespoke for higher volume Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Same-day to NatWest account | 12 to 18 months |
| UK incumbent bank acquirer. Strong corporate / B2B coverage. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| Owns Opayo (formerly Sage Pay) gateway. US Bancorp subsidiary. | omnichannel | From 0.99% on the Always Open plan, plus a £25 monthly gateway fee Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day | 36 months |
| Lloyds Banking Group merchant services. UK bank-grade. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| Now operated by Global Payments under HSBC brand. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day | Custom |
| Santander UK bank acquirer. Bank-customer-only typically. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day | 12 to 24 months |
| Powers HSBC Merchant Services and many UK bank-acquirer partnerships. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
Online payment gateways (7)
Card-not-present specialists for ecommerce, subscription billing and donations.
| Provider | Channels | Headline rate | Settlement | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK payment gateway rather than a card acquirer: it is mostly sold through partners, and the card acquiring behind it is done by whichever acquirer the partner uses. | online | Bespoke per partner Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Set by the acquirer behind each partner | Agreed with each partner |
| Native Shopify gateway, powered by Stripe. In-person card payments through Shopify POS are 1.7% on the same plans. | online | 2% + 25p Basic, 1.7% + 25p Grow, 1.5% + 25p Advanced (online, standard cards) Checked 23 September 2026 on the provider's own page | T+3 typical | Shopify monthly plan |
| Offers PayPal Pay in 3 at checkout. Widely recognised by UK shoppers, which can help conversion on smaller or newer shops. | online | 2.9% + 30p (UK commercial transactions) Checked 23 September 2026 on the provider's own page | PayPal account, 1-3 day to bank | No contract |
| BNPL Pay-in-3, Pay-in-30. Strong abandoned-cart recovery. | online | Bespoke per merchant Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | 1 to 14 days | No contract |
| UK-specific gateway, Elavon-owned. | online | Bespoke, typically 1.5% to 2.5% | Via Elavon merchant agreement | 36 months |
| Netherlands-headquartered (Amsterdam), strong local-payment-method coverage (iDEAL, Bancontact, SOFORT). UK domestic consumer cards are cheapest; European and other cards cost more (up to 3.25% + 20p). | online | From 1.20% + 20p (UK domestic consumer cards) Checked 23 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Next business day | No contract |
| B2B mass-payment platform, not a card acquirer. Marketplace seller payouts and supplier payments. | online | Bespoke per merchant Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Multi-currency, schedule per merchant | Custom |
Alternative payment methods (2)
Buy-now-pay-later and bank-debit / open-banking rails. Not card acquirers; listed for completeness.
| Provider | Channels | Headline rate | Settlement | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK buy-now-pay-later (Pay-in-4), not a card acquirer or gateway. Strong young-consumer adoption. | online | Merchant fee plus per-transaction fee (varies by plan) Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | 1 to 2 days | No contract |
| Bacs Direct Debit and open banking, not a card acquirer. Often cheaper than card fees for recurring payments, since the fee is capped rather than percentage-only. | online | 1% + 20p, capped at £4 (Standard plan, UK Direct Debit) Checked 23 September 2026 on the provider's own page | T+3 Bacs | No contract |
High-risk specialists (9)
Acquirers who underwrite the verticals mainstream UK acquirers decline.
| Provider | Channels | Headline rate | Settlement | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBD, vape, online gambling, adult. | online | From 1.79% Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Set per merchant, usually with a rolling reserve | Custom |
| EU-headquartered high-risk specialist with UK passport. | online | Bespoke, typically 2.5% to 5% | Set per merchant, usually with a rolling reserve | Custom |
| US-headquartered high-risk broker, UK passport. Adult, firearms, CBD. | online | Bespoke, typically 2.5% to 6% Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Set per merchant, usually with a rolling reserve | Custom |
| High-risk broker. Online dating, subscription, adult, supplements. | online | Bespoke, typically 2.5% to 5% | Set per merchant, usually with a rolling reserve | Custom |
| High-risk specialist underwriter. | online | Bespoke Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Set per merchant, usually with a rolling reserve | Custom |
| CBD, vape, firearms, online gambling. | online | Bespoke Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Set per merchant, usually with a rolling reserve | Custom |
| High-risk online and recurring billing. | online | Bespoke, typically 3% to 6% Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Set per merchant, usually with a rolling reserve | Custom |
| High-risk specialist, online-led. | online | Bespoke Checked 24 September 2026 on the provider's own page | Set per merchant, usually with a rolling reserve | Custom |
| High-risk specialist, adult and subscription. | online | Bespoke | Set per merchant, usually with a rolling reserve | Custom |
Why list every acquirer publicly?
MerchantHQ publishes the full list so you can see which providers we compare, and check each one's published rate, settlement and contract terms for yourself. Being listed here is never paid for.
Specialist high-risk acquirers (HighRisk-Pay, SecurionPay, Easy Pay Direct, T1 Payments and others) work under separate underwriting. High-risk quote enquiries go to the same broker partner as every other enquiry, with the risk classification stated upfront.
The same list is published as a structured, sortable UK Card Acquirer Index and as a read-only JSON API and MCP server for agents, under a Creative Commons Attribution licence.
Last updated: . Rates and pricing are taken from each provider's published information. Where a row shows a checked date, that is the date we last checked the provider's own pricing page; rows without one show terms as recorded in 2026 and have not been re-checked since.
Payments review: Derren Powell, payments and fintech specialist, formerly Vice President, Business Development (Merchants) at Mastercard. Independent reviewer; the MerchantHQ editorial team retains control of the final content.