Best Card Machine for a New Business in the UK
Start with a pay-as-you-go reader: SumUp at 1.69% flat, or Square/Zettle at 1.75% flat. There is no credit or underwriting barrier, no trading-history requirement, no monthly fee and no contract. You can be taking cards the week you open.
Plan to re-quote the market once card takings pass roughly £2,300 a month: that is where a monthly plan such as Dojo's Fix (£39.99 a month) starts beating a flat 1.69% to 1.75%.
Rates checked: 27 August 2026
Why pay-as-you-go wins for startups
A brand-new business has two problems a contracted acquirer cares about: no trading history and unpredictable volume. Acquirers underwrite each application for a dedicated merchant account, and without trading history they may decline, quote cautiously, or ask for more paperwork. Pay-as-you-go providers sidestep all of it: SumUp, Square and Zettle aggregate businesses under their own merchant account, so there is no individual underwriting barrier and most sign-ups are approved the same day.
Just as important: with no contract, a pay-as-you-go reader is a free option on your own future. If the business pivots, seasonal trade dips, or you close, there is no notice period and no exit fee. A 12-36 month acquirer contract signed before you know your real card volume is a bet you do not need to make on day one.
The startup view: pay-as-you-go vs contracted acquirer
| Pay-as-you-go (SumUp, Square, Zettle) | Contracted acquirer | |
|---|---|---|
| Trading history needed | No: sign up online, usually approved same day | Underwritten per business; new businesses may be declined or quoted cautiously |
| Transaction fee | SumUp 1.69%, Square 1.75%, Zettle 1.75%, all flat | E.g. Dojo's Fix plan: £39.99/month covering card turnover up to £3,999/month, then 1% flat above £4,000/month (under £100k/year card turnover); custom quote above |
| Monthly fee | £0 | Typically £10-£60; Dojo's Fix plan is £39.99/month all-in, with the terminal bought upfront from £179 |
| Upfront cost | Buy the reader outright, £0 setup fee | Setup fees £0-£200 depending on acquirer |
| Contract | None | Often 12-36 months; Dojo's Fix is a 12-month price-locked plan with a 30-day no-commitment trial |
| Cheapest when | Card takings under ~£2,300/month | Card takings above ~£2,300/month (Dojo Fix); traditional rental deals need ~£4,000-£5,000/month |
Figures are providers' published or typical advertised pricing, checked 27 August 2026. Above £100,000 a year in card turnover Dojo quotes per business, and we have seen quotes as low as 0.29% for high-turnover businesses; always confirm with a current quote.
Worked example: a café's first year
Assumptions: a new café opens taking £3,000 a month by card, growing to £8,000 a month by month twelve. Costs below are pure arithmetic on the stated rates.
Months 1-6: pay-as-you-go
- SumUp at 1.69%: £3,000 × 1.69% = £50.70/month, no monthly fee
- Square or Zettle at 1.75%: £3,000 × 1.75% = £52.50/month
- On paper Dojo's Fix plan is already cheaper here (£39.99 a month against £50.70), but a contracted acquirer underwrites each application, and a café with no trading history may be declined or quoted cautiously. The no-commitment reader gets you trading in week one; re-quote once you have months of card history to show
Month 12: takings hit £8,000/month
- SumUp at 1.69%: £8,000 × 1.69% = £135.20/month
- Dojo's Fix plan (£8,000 a month is £96,000 a year, just under the £100,000 ceiling): £39.99 + 1% × (£8,000 − £4,000) = £39.99 + £40 = £79.99/month, an effective rate of about 1.0%
- The terminal is a one-off purchase from £179 going direct (£0 upfront with no monthly rental through MerchantSwitch), so no monthly hardware line enters the sum; past £100,000 a year the pricing moves into custom-quote territory
The quoted rate depends on your turnover, average transaction value and card mix. By month twelve the café has real trading history to negotiate with, which is exactly the leverage it lacked on day one.
That is the whole strategy: start flat-rate, and re-quote the market when you cross roughly £2,300 a month. The full arithmetic behind that crossover is on our UK card machine rates page, and switching provider typically takes 1-4 weeks when the time comes. There is no notice period or exit fee on the pay-as-you-go side.
Which reader to start with
On price alone, SumUp wins at 1.69% flat. Square (1.75%) earns its extra 0.06% if you want its free EPOS ecosystem; Zettle (1.75%) suits businesses already settled into PayPal. See our cheapest card machine breakdown for the head-to-head.
MerchantSwitch is a free comparison service; we are paid by providers when we successfully match a business. We are an introducer, not a lender or acquirer, and we are not regulated by the FCA.
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