Card terminal UK 2026: every UK card terminal compared
A card terminal is a physical device that reads a customer's card or phone wallet in person and authorises the payment with their bank. The strongest UK card terminals in 2026 are Dojo Go for £10k+ monthly volume, SumUp Solo for no-contract sub-£10k, Square Terminal for integrated retail POS, Stripe Reader S700 for omnichannel sellers, and Tap to Pay on iPhone for zero-hardware mobile traders. This hub compares every UK card terminal by hardware type, acquirer and rate model.
Hardware types
- Countertop terminals. Fixed-position hardware for retail counters and bar tops. Often plug-in, sometimes WiFi-only.
- Portable terminals. Battery + 4G or WiFi. Walk to the table, accept payment there. Standard for hospitality.
- Mobile readers. Compact Bluetooth-paired readers that work with a phone or tablet app. Cheapest entry hardware.
- Tap to Pay on iPhone. No separate hardware. Compatible iPhone reads the card or Apple Pay directly. Covered separately at /tap-to-pay-iphone/.
- Integrated POS terminals. Card terminal plus full point-of-sale till and software. Locked to specific acquirers.
Acquirers
The acquirer is the institution that actually moves money from the customer's bank to yours. UK SMB acquirers include Dojo, SumUp, Square, Zettle (PayPal), Stripe, Tide, Worldpay, Barclaycard, Elavon and a long tail of specialist players for high-risk verticals. The hardware you pick often dictates the acquirer.
Rate models
- Blended rate. One single rate per transaction (e.g. 1.7%). Simple but masks interchange-plus benefits for higher volumes.
- Interchange-plus (IC++). Card-network interchange fee + scheme fee + acquirer markup. Transparent but harder to budget. Worth it above ~£20k monthly card volume.
- Pay-as-you-go. Per-transaction rate, no monthly fee, no contract. Sweet for low-volume and seasonal businesses.
UK card terminals at a glance
Strongest UK card terminal per use case, scored against blended rate, contract length, settlement schedule and hardware fit. Full hands-on detail in our card terminal reviews.
| Use case | Card terminal | Rate from | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
| £10k+ monthly volume | Dojo Go | 1.4% blended | 12 to 18 months |
| Sub-£10k, no contract | SumUp Solo | 1.69% | None |
| Integrated retail POS | Square Terminal | 1.75% | None |
| Omnichannel (in-person + online) | Stripe Reader S700 | 1.5% + 5p | None |
| No hardware | Tap to Pay on iPhone | Varies by acquirer | Varies |
| PayPal-linked seller | Zettle Reader 2 | 1.75% | None |
| Banking with Tide | Tide Card Reader | 1.5% | None |
| £50k+ enterprise estate | Worldpay / Adyen | Interchange-plus, negotiated | 12 to 36 months |
Read the reviews
Detailed hands-on card terminal reviews at /reviews/. Head-to-head card machine comparison matchups. By trade at /trade/. By high-risk vertical at /high-risk/.