Alternatives to Tyl by NatWest: 5 Better-Fit UK Card Machines in 2026
If you are looking at alternatives to Tyl by NatWest, the usual reason is one of two things: headline rates often only available to existing NatWest business banking customers, or the fact that Tyl by NatWest is the wrong fit for non-NatWest customers. The five UK card machines below solve one or both of those problems. Dojo Go Max is our strongest-fit alternative (rate: 1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above); contract: 12 months minimum). SumUp Solo runs with no contract if lock-in is the blocker. The rest of this page is the 5-card shortlist, then a short "when to stick with Tyl by NatWest" block for balance, then how we picked, then FAQs. Rates, contracts and hardware prices come from the same terminal data as our full reviews.
Top 5 alternatives to Tyl by NatWest
| Alternative | Rate | Hardware | Contract | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Dojo Go Max | 1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above) | £149 upfront on a launch offer (£229 full price) or £25 a month | 12 months minimum | Hospitality (restaurants, pubs, cafés) |
| 2. SumUp Solo | 1.69% per transaction | £79 + VAT list price (SumUp often discounts it) | No contract | Sole traders, mobile traders, market stalls |
| 3. Square Terminal | 1.75% per transaction (UK) | £149 + VAT | No contract | Independent retail |
| 4. Tide Card Reader | 1.5% per transaction (UK) | £49 hardware | No contract | Existing Tide Business banking customers |
| 5. Worldpay terminals (legacy estate) | Negotiated per merchant; blended or interchange-plus | Rental (typical), £15 to £30 per terminal per month | 12 to 60 months | Existing Worldpay merchants on a fair-priced contract |
1. Dojo Go Max
1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above) · £149 upfront on a launch offer (£229 full price) or £25 a month · 12 months minimum
Dojo Go Max is the strongest UK card terminal for hospitality and retail at £10k+ monthly card volume in 2026.
- Same-next-day settlement (unusual in UK).
- Robust hardware tested across hospitality.
- 12-month minimum contract.
2. SumUp Solo
1.69% per transaction · £79 + VAT list price (SumUp often discounts it) · No contract
SumUp Solo is the strongest no-contract UK card terminal for sole traders, mobile businesses and sub-£15k monthly card volume in 2026. £79 + VAT hardware at list price, 1.69% per transaction on pay-as-you-go, no contract, no monthly fee, free 4G SIM.
- No contract, no monthly fee.
- Single transparent rate (1.69%).
- 1.69% is uncompetitive at higher volumes.
1.75% per transaction (UK) · £149 + VAT · No contract
Square Terminal is the strongest all-in-one no-contract UK card terminal for independent retail and small hospitality in 2026. £149 + VAT hardware with built-in receipt printer, 1.75% per transaction, no contract, no monthly fee.
- Strong POS app and reporting.
- No contract, no monthly fee for hardware.
- 1.75% UK rate is high vs Dojo blended.
1.5% per transaction (UK) · £49 hardware · No contract
Tide Card Reader is the in-app card-acceptance product for Tide Business banking customers. Cheapest mainstream UK rate at 1.5% per transaction.
- Cheapest UK mainstream rate at 1.5% per transaction.
- Tight integration with Tide Business banking and bookkeeping.
- Locked to Tide as the underlying acquirer / banking partner.
Negotiated per merchant; blended or interchange-plus · Rental (typical), £15 to £30 per terminal per month · 12 to 60 months
Worldpay's terminal estate covers a long tail of older Verifone and Ingenico hardware plus newer PAX deployments. Pricing is rarely competitive vs the modern fintech acquirers.
- Well-supported across UK retail and hospitality.
- Specific integrations with legacy POS systems.
- Pricing rarely competitive vs Dojo, SumUp, Square.
When to stick with Tyl by NatWest
Tyl by NatWest is still the right choice for NatWest Business banking customers and £20k+ monthly volume. The two strongest reasons buyers stay: tied to NatWest banking relationship; integration helps reconciliation, and pricing competitive at higher volumes. If your business sits inside NatWest Business banking customers, switching is friction without upside. The alternatives above are for buyers who hit a real blocker on Tyl by NatWest, not for buyers who are just shopping rate.
Read the full Tyl by NatWest review for the year-one cost model, hardware detail and full verdict.
How we picked these alternatives
Each shortlist starts from a hand-curated seed of the 4 most-considered alternatives for the source terminal in UK 2026 buyer journeys, then tops up to 5 with the next-highest-rated terminal in our database that shares at least one best-fit cluster with the source. The intent is to keep the shortlist semantically meaningful: an alternative to a sole-trader reader is another sole-trader reader, not an enterprise platform.
Ratings, rates, contracts and hardware costs are pulled from the MerchantHQ terminals dataset. Headline rates are verified against each acquirer's public pricing; bespoke rates apply above roughly £20k monthly card volume so always verify the live commercials before signing.
MerchantHQ is owned and operated by Best Business Loans Ltd (16833937), directed by Oliver Mackman. Editorial methodology: how we score UK card terminals.
FAQ
What is better than Tyl by NatWest in 2026?
Dojo Go Max is the strongest-fit of the five alternatives to Tyl by NatWest. Rate: 1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above). Contract: 12 months minimum. Hardware: £149 upfront on a launch offer (£229 full price) or £25 a month. The honest caveat: "better" depends on your card volume and trade. For NatWest Business banking customers, Tyl by NatWest still holds up.
Is there a free alternative to Tyl by NatWest?
SumUp Solo runs with no contract; hardware is £79 + VAT list price (SumUp often discounts it). No UK card terminal is truly free once you account for the transaction rate, but SumUp Solo at 1.69% per transaction has the lowest commitment of the five alternatives on this page. Best fit: sole traders, mobile traders, market stalls.
What is the cheapest alternative to Tyl by NatWest?
Of the alternatives that publish a percentage rate, Dojo Go Max starts lowest (1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above); hardware £149 upfront on a launch offer (£229 full price) or £25 a month; contract 12 months minimum). Alternatives priced per merchant are not directly comparable until you have a quote.
Cheapest on rate is not always cheapest on year-one cost once you factor in hardware, monthly fees and ecosystem lock-in (12-month minimum contract). Use the MerchantHQ quote tool for a modelled comparison against your actual volume.
Which alternative is best for NatWest Business banking customers?
Dojo Go Max is the strongest pick on the shortlist for NatWest Business banking customers. Its main strength: same-next-day settlement (unusual in UK); the main watch-out: 12-month minimum contract. The card above has the detail.
Should I switch from Tyl by NatWest?
Switch if you are hitting headline rates often only available to existing NatWest business banking customers or if non-NatWest customers. Stay if your business is in NatWest Business banking customers and the current contract is reasonable. MerchantHQ runs switching support across 40+ UK card-payment providers.
Quote enquiries go to one card-payments broker, Merchant Advice Service, which pays us a fee for each introduction; acquirers do not pay us commission on quote enquiries. That fee never affects a ranking.
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Get matched →Last updated: . Written by Adam Parker for Best Business Loans Ltd (16833937).