Best card machine for cash-and-carry and wholesale UK 2026
See the pick and alternatives for cash-and-carry and wholesale below, then ask our card-payments broker partner for 2 to 3 matched quotes.
The best UK card machine for cash-and-carry and wholesale in 2026 is Dojo Go Max below about £40k a month; an interchange-plus terminal from Adyen or Worldpay above that, on Dojo below about £40k a month; Adyen or Worldpay (interchange-plus) above. Typical transaction size, cashflow and contactless use for this trade are in the table below, and the alternatives are listed after it.
MerchantHQ is owned and operated by Best Business Loans Ltd, directed by Oliver Mackman.
Our pick
Dojo Go Max below about £40k a month; an interchange-plus terminal from Adyen or Worldpay above that
Acquirer: Dojo below about £40k a month; Adyen or Worldpay (interchange-plus) above
Cash-and-carry counters take a lot of business and commercial cards. Commercial-card interchange is not capped in the UK, unlike the 0.2% debit and 0.3% credit caps on consumer cards, so those payments cost more to accept. At higher volume, interchange-plus pricing from Adyen or Worldpay shows that cost line by line, and UK rules allow a surcharge on commercial cards to recover it. Below roughly £40k a month on our estimate, a blended Dojo rate is simpler to run.
Read full Dojo Go Max reviewWhat cash-and-carry and wholesale card payments look like
- Cashflow shape
- Weekday-led with end-of-month invoice-pay-by-card surges. Account customers settle monthly; walk-in counter customers settle per visit.
- Typical transaction (our estimate)
- £80 to £800+
- Contactless use (our estimate)
- Lower, with larger payments by chip and PIN
- Recommended acquirer
- Dojo below about £40k a month; Adyen or Worldpay (interchange-plus) above
Transaction sizes and contactless use are our working estimates for sizing a quote, not published statistics. Your own card statements give the real figures.
Card machines compared for cash-and-carry and wholesale
Headline rate, hardware cost and contract at a glance, from our full terminal reviews.
| Rank | Terminal | Rate | Hardware | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Dojo Go Max Our pick | 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 |
| #2 | Stripe Reader S700 | 1.4% + 10p EEA cards, 2.9% + 10p non-EEA (Stripe standard Terminal pricing) | £229 excl. VAT | No contract (Stripe standard pay-as-you-go terms) |
Prices and rates checked on the provider's own page: Dojo pricing page (2026-09-25); Stripe UK pricing page (2026-10-02); SumUp card readers page (2026-09-25); Square Terminal page (2026-09-25); Zettle card reader page (2026-09-25).
Alternatives for cash-and-carry and wholesale
- Stripe Reader S700 (custom POS integrations)
- Worldpay terminals (legacy depot estates)
Watch outs specific to cash-and-carry and wholesale
- Commercial-card interchange is not capped; make sure the pricing model shows it rather than hiding it in a blended rate.
- B2B surcharging is permitted under UK rules (consumer-card surcharging is banned). Configure surcharging carefully to apply only to commercial cards.
- Account-customer credit terms and delayed-pay flows need card-on-file consent capture.
- Higher single-transaction values trigger SCA chip-and-PIN or 3DS more often.
- Some acquirers do not underwrite cash-and-carry MCC at no-contract pricing.
FAQs
What is the best card machine for cash-and-carry and wholesale in the UK?
The best UK card machine for cash-and-carry and wholesale in 2026 is Dojo Go Max below about £40k a month; an interchange-plus terminal from Adyen or Worldpay above that on Dojo below about £40k a month; Adyen or Worldpay (interchange-plus) above. Cash-and-carry counters take a lot of business and commercial cards.
Commercial-card interchange is not capped in the UK, unlike the 0.2% debit and 0.3% credit caps on consumer cards, so those payments cost more to accept. At higher volume, interchange-plus pricing from Adyen or Worldpay shows that cost line by line, and UK rules allow a surcharge on commercial cards to recover it. Below roughly £40k a month on our estimate, a blended Dojo rate is simpler to run.
How much does a card machine cost for cash-and-carry and wholesale?
Hardware runs from nothing (Tap to Pay on iPhone, on a phone you already own) to £229 + VAT (Stripe Reader S700), with SumUp Solo at £79 + VAT and Square Terminal at £149 + VAT. Published pay-as-you-go rates on UK cards are 1.69% at SumUp, 1.75% at Square and 1.75% at Zettle, with no monthly fee; contract providers quote a blended or bespoke rate and usually charge monthly terminal rental instead. Your blended monthly cost depends on card volume and average transaction size, so model it on your own numbers with our fees calculator rather than relying on a flat figure.
What is the average transaction size in this trade?
£80 to £800+, on our working estimate. Your own card statements give the real figure, and it matters because percentage fees and fixed per-transaction fees weigh differently on small and large payments.
How much contactless use is typical for cash-and-carry and wholesale?
Lower, with larger payments by chip and PIN, on our working estimate. Your own card statements show the real split between tap and chip and PIN, which is worth checking before you choose between a phone-paired reader and a standalone terminal.
What should I watch out for when choosing a card machine for cash-and-carry and wholesale?
Commercial-card interchange is not capped; make sure the pricing model shows it rather than hiding it in a blended rate. Also check the contract length, exit fees, chargeback handling and how quickly money settles into your account.
How we rank
Rankings are built by desk research from each provider's published rates, upfront costs, contract lengths and settlement terms, held in a dated record per terminal (last-reviewed date shown on this page) and re-checked when published pricing changes. We do not hands-on test every device; specs are taken from provider documentation and cited. No provider pays for inclusion or position. MerchantHQ is an introducer. 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. See our methodology and how we are funded.
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