Best Card Machines for Small Businesses in 2024

It’s never been more important for small businesses to find a cheap way to take card payments with card-present transactions increasing every year in the UK. So, we’ve put more than 20 top card machines to the test and found that the takepayments plus, Tide Card Reader Plus, and Barclaycard POS System, are the three best card readers for small businesses.

The takepaymentsplus is lightweight and has flexible payment options that can be adjusted to your business’s size, while the Tide Card Reader Plus comes with no monthly fees and detailed reporting features.

The Barclaycard POS System, on the other hand, is a great all-in-one mini card reader and EPOS system, and is perfect for small businesses that bank with Barclays. Keep reading to find out more about each of the six card machines that made our list:

With the cost of doing business rising in the UK, finding an affordable card machine deal is more important than ever. We can help with that – simply tell us what your business needs and we’ll match you with suitable providers. They’ll be in contact with obligation-free quotes that are tailored to you.

Answer the question below to get started:

The Best Card Machines for Small Businesses: Overview

Take a look at the below table for a quick summary on the best card machines for small businesses, and read on for our detailed reviews:

1. takepaymentsplus: Best for Businesses that Need a Flexible Payment Solution

takepayments offers customised, quote-based pricing, and its takepaymentsplus card machine doubles as a mini EPOS device, making it a great option for small businesses looking for a flexible solution.

Key takeaways

• Portable card machine
• 12 month contract
• Transfers funds the next day
• 10-hour battery life
• Wifi/Bluetooth connectivity

Payments accepted

The takepaymentsplus accepts chip and pin and contactless payments from Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, AMEX, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

Why we recommend the takepaymentsplus

The takepaymentsplus is very lightweight, despite its size, making it a great option for countertop use, as well as for taking orders at tables, or on the shop floor, depending on the type of business you run.

takepayments operates on a bespoke pricing model, with the takepaymentsplus card machine costing from £25 per month to rent. Monthly fees and transactions fees are negotiated based on your business’s needs. While it can be annoying not to know exactly how much you’ll be charged, providers like takepayments that offer custom pricing do often give better deals to small businesses than zero-contract providers with fixed fees.

When it comes to its technical features, the takepaymentsplus doubles up as a mini handheld EPOS device. This means you’ll be able to add products with set prices, and sort them into categories, speeding up the checkout experience, and enabling detailed reporting on sales.

We found the takepaymentsplus very easy to use, especially when it came to taking orders. Its interface is bright and uncluttered, and the device opens directly onto the checkout, enabling quick processing.

We especially liked that the takepaymentsplus could accommodate a variety of payments preferences, offering customers a great deal of flexibility. For example, we had the option of logging orders as card or cash payments, and to print physical receipts, with a built-in printer, or send digital ones vis SMS or email.

Reasons to avoid the takepaymentsplus

The takepaymetnsplus isn’t a good option for merchants looking for a compact or low-hardware, like tap and pay on a smartphone, since takepayments doesn’t offer a smartphone app, through which this type of feature is enabled. To avoid paying for hardware and accept payments with a smartphone app, we recommend Zettle or SumUp.

takepayments also doesn’t sell its takepaymentsplus card machine outright, and you’ll have to pay a recurring monthly fee to keep using it. If you’d rather pay a one-off fee for your card machine, and own it forever, we recommend Square, SumUp, or Zettle. All of these providers have clear, fixed pricing, are zero-contract, and sell card machines for a one-off fee.

2. Tide Card Reader Plus: Best for Data Driven Businesses

The Tide Card Reader Plus gives businesses access to a plethora of reporting tools, allowing you to view sales history by item, card type, and even employee. Paired with a Tide business bank account, it’s a great option for data hungry small businesses.

Key takeaways

• Mobile card machine
• Zero contract
• Transfers funds in 1-3 business days
• All day battery life
• Wifi and 4G connectivity
• Sales reporting by card type and employee

Payments accepted

The Tide Card Reader Plus accepts chip and pin and contactless payments from Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

Why we recommend the Tide Card Reader Plus

Like the takepaymentsplus, the Tide Card Reader Plus doubles up as a mini EPOS device, only without the monthly fees. Businesses will pay a one-time fee of £99 + VAT for the card machine, zero monthly account fees, and a fixed transaction fee of 1.5%, which, for a fixed fee is on the low side. This makes Tide an affordable option for small businesses that want to set up quickly with minimal spending and no contract.

The Tide Card Reader Plus offers good value for money, since businesses can input products and prices for quick checkout, and access detailed sales report either from the card machine or the Tide app. The reader also has a built-in printer, 4G connectivity, and a long battery life, meaning it can be used in a variety of sales scenarios, from food trucks to shop floors.

In terms of ease of use, we found processing a payment very easy with the Tide Card Reader Plus, but we had a lot more trouble with the refund process. Refunds can only be issued via the Tide app, instead of the card reader, which made for a fiddly process.

Reasons to avoid the Tide Card Reader Plus

Using the Tide Card Reader Plus requires merchants to have a Tide business bank account. So, if you already have a business bank account and aren’t looking to switch to Tide, we don’t recommend its card reader. A provider such as takepayments allows you to bank with a variety of providers, offering you more flexibility.

We’ve also gone over how issuing a refund with Tide is a bit of a complicated process. This might not be an issue if you operate a cafe or takeaway business, where refunds requests are quite rare, but if you sell goods, we’d recommend you choose a provider with a simple refund process, like Square.

3. Barclaycard POS System: Best for Businesses that Bank with Barclays

If you already use Barclays services, you might find it easier to get a card machine straight from them, rather than switching to an entirely new service. A trusted provider, Barclaycard’s POS System card machine comes with 24/7 fraud monitoring, making it an extremely safe solution.

Key takeaways

• Mobile card machine
• 12 month contract
• Transfers funds the next business day
• All day battery life
• Wifi and 4G connectivity

Payments accepted

The Barclaycard POS System accepts chip and pin and contactless payments from Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, American Express, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

Why we recommend the Barclaycard POS System

The Barclaycard POS System is a handheld EPOS device and card machine, that can store a large number of items, and be used to manage inventory.

At £29 per month, it’s one of the pricier card readers on our list, but it offers excellent protections and incentives for small businesses that sell high value goods or have a high transaction volume. Its 24/7 fraud monitoring means you’ll be notified immediately if a suspicious transaction occurs. Issuing a refund also requires the input of the a transaction ID number or customer card details. While a little time consuming, this is a common security feature that ensures refunds are processed correctly.

Barclaycard offers variable, quote-based transaction fees for businesses with high sales volumes, while does with lower volumes can benefit from a reasonable 1.6% transaction fee, making it suitable for both new and established sellers.

When it comes to using the device, we found it relatively easy. All we needed to do to process a payment was locate the item being purchased in the device’s inventory, and select it. However, the Barclaycard POS System wasn’t as responsive as other card machines we tested, which might be an issue for businesses prioritising speed, such as cafes.

Reasons to avoid the Barclaycard POS System

Since the Barclaycard POS System requires merchants to have a Barclays business bank account, it’s not a good option for those who don’t want to switch to Barclays. takepayments should be your go-to for a range of banking options.

The Barclaycard POS System, while a fully-fledged EPOS system in its own right, also doesn’t integrate with third-party EPOS systems, nor does Barclaycard provide these. If you want access to a wide range of EPOS hardware, not just a handheld device, we’d recommend Square or takepayments.

4. Zettle Card Reader 2: Best for New Businesses

The Zettle Card Reader 2 is a great option for new businesses. It’s affordable, at £29 + VAT, comes with no monthly fees, and is easy to set up, since it’s offered by PayPal, and only requires a PayPal business account.

Quick takeaways

• Mobile card machine
• No fixed-term contract
• Transfers funds in 1-2 working days
• 8-hour battery life (100 transactions)
• Bluetooth connectivity

Payments accepted

The Zettle Card Reader 2 accepts Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, AMEX, JCB, UnionPay, Diners Club, Discover, Visa Electron, V pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

Why we recommend the Zettle Card Reader 2

The Zettle Card Reader 2 is a fast way to start selling in-person if you’re a new business, since it simply requires a PayPal business account. In fact, you don’t even need to purchase the card reader to start taking payments, since the Zettle app enables tap to pay on smarthphone.

With no monthly fees, and a fixed-rate transaction fees of 1.75% (in line with the UK average), you’ll know exactly what you’ll be paying every time you process a card payment with the Zettle Card Reader 2. It doesn’t have the cheapest transaction fees on the market, but it’ll work well for small businesses that process less than £2,000 in card payments a month.

We liked how lightweight this card machine was, and the fact that it includes a simple pin-pad, making it a great option for selling on-the-go. The reader itself is linked to the Zettle app (accessed via smartphone or iPad), which meant we could easily charge people what we wanted directly from their or we could manually add the price in ourselves.

The Zettle Card Reader 2 can be used with Zettle’s free EPOS app, which we found extremely simple to use. We had no trouble entering our inventory onto the app, and charging for different items or adding discounts. We also liked that the Zettle Card Reader 2 can be paired with a variety of third-party EPOS systems, such as Lightspeed or Goodtill. This gives you the flexibility of expanding your toolkit for taking payments while still benefiting from the Zettle Card Reader 2’s ergonomic design.

Reasons to avoid the Zettle Card Reader 2

Zettle’s transaction fees are quite high, at 1.75%, so if you sell at a high volume, you’ll lose out on a lot of profit. High volume sellers will do better to go with a provider that offers variable or negotiable transaction fees, based of your sales volume, like takepayments or Barclaycard.

The Zettle Card Reader is also quite a low-touch option, with no extra features like a built-in printer. If you want a card machine with a printer that’s still light, we’d recommend the takepaymentsplus.

What do users think of it?

Hannah Bailey of Batch1 told us she likes Zettle Card Reader’s 2 portability. “If you have someone on the other side of the desk that’s chatting to you, you can quickly take a sale of someone who just wants to be in and out.”

Meanwhile, Sugar & Style’s Jessica Bedoya praised the reader’s ease of use. “If you do the wrong thing, you just swipe and delete it. It’s very user-friendly, very straightforward, especially for someone that’s new [to it].”

For personalised recommendations and prices, tell us about your needs and you’ll be matched with suitable card machine providers. Get started by answering the question below:

5. Square Terminal: Best for Businesses Looking for an All-in-one Platform

The Square Reader is the best card machine for businesses looking for an all-in-one platform. Square offers payment processing, ecommerce website building, and POS systems, all with no monthly fees.

Quick takeaways

• Mobile card machine
• No fixed-term contract
• Transfers funds the next business day
• All day battery life
• Wifi and Ethernet connectivity

Payments accepted

The Square Terminal accepts Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, AMEX, Visa Electron, Vpay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

Why we recommend the Square Terminal

The Square Terminal comes with no monthly fees, and a fixed rate 1.75% transaction fee, in line with the UK average, making it an affordable option.

At £149 + VAT, this card machine may seem expensive, but this is a one-time fee, and Square offers interest free financing for £13 + VAT per month over 12 months to make the purchase more manageable.

Plus, for your money, you’ll get a mini handheld EPOS device with a built-in receipt printer, which gives you access to Square’s free EPOS app, accessible on smartphone, tablet, and desktop.

Of course, you can also access Square’s full system from the Terminal, which we found to be the most intuitive of all the ones we tested, tied with takepayments. The Square Terminal has a large display, allowing us to operate efficiently and serve customers faster than with smaller devices. We particularly loved how we could easily switch between the product and price input screen, since all major tabs are lined up at the bottom of the screen.

With a Square account, you’ll also be able to build an ecommerce store for free, and accept payments online, making Square one of the most well rounded and affordable providers on the market.

Square also has more advanced paid versions of its ecommerce website builder and EPOS system, so it’s a system that can grow along with your business.

Reasons to avoid the Square Terminal

The Square Terminal is on the chunky side, and is quite wide, so it’s definitely more suited to countertop use, rather than for taking orders while on-the-go. That being said, Square does sell a compact card machine, called the Square Reader, for £19 + VAT. So, if you need a compact card machine but are interested in Square, you could go for the Reader over the Terimnal.

If not, SumUp and Zettle are two other affordable, zero-contract options that also offer compact card machines.

The Square Terminal also isn’t a viable option if you plan on using a separate EPOS system to Square’s, since it only integrates with the Square EPOS system. If you want more flexibility with who your EPOS provider is, we recommend Zettle.

What do users think of Square products?

The team at Expert Market spoke to Katie Dutton, of The Great Frog jewellery shop in London, who uses the Square Reader, a compact card machine that can be used alongside the Square app to take payments. She told us she was impressed by how easy the Square Reader is to use. “The interface is really clear. There’s nothing really confusing about it. I’ve got used to till systems, but this was way easier than the ones I’ve used before.”

6. SumUp Air: Best for On-the-go Businesses

The SumUp Air is a great choice for small businesses that sell on-the-go, because of its affordability, long battery life, and compact size.

Quick takeaways

• Mobile card machine
• No fixed-term contract
• Transfers funds in 1-3 working days
• 12-hour battery life (500 transactions)
• Bluetooth connectivity

Payments accepted

The SumUp Air accepts Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, AMEX, Discover, Diners Club, Union Pay, Vpay, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.

Why we recommend the SumUp Air

The SumUp Air has a 12-hour battery life, one of the longest for such a compact mobile card reader, so it’ll last all day long, making it a great option for mobile sellers. All you need to do to start selling is connect the SumUp Air with the SumUp app on your smartphone, which we found to be clean and uncluttered, making processing payments easy.

If you don’t want to bother with a card machine, you can also accept payments directly from your smartphone with SumUp’s tap and pay function, making it even easier to take payments on-the-go.

At £39 + VAT, a 1.69% transaction fee, and no monthly fees or contract, it’s also a very affordable and low-commitment option. Plus, if you sign up to a free SumUp business bank account, you’ll get access to next day payouts, including on weekends, compared to the up to three business days it takes if you’re on a separate merchant account. The free Business Account also reduces your transaction fee from 1.69% to 1.49%, another perk.

Like Square, SumUp also offers a free EPOS system and online store builder, making it an all-in-one solution. That being said, we think Square’s free software offers better functionality than SumUp’s, and it’s more suitable for a variety of businesses, while SumUp is more geared towards hospitality.

Reasons to avoid the SumUp Air

While the SumUp Air is a great option for on-the-go businesses thanks to its compact nature and easy set-up, it doesn’t have an offline function, which means you have to rely on your phone being connected to Wifi or 3G/4G in order to take payments. If you operate in areas with unreliable connectivity, like festivals, and want a compact reader with offline functionality, you should consider the Square Reader.

The SumUp Air also doesn’t have a touchscreen, so you’re heavily reliant on your phone screen to take and track payments. If you want a lightweight device with a large touchscreen, we recommend the takepaymentsplus.

Buying guide: How to Choose a Small Business Card Machine

Here are a few factors every small business owner should consider when choosing which card machine to go for:

Card machine price (one off vs. monthly payments)

Whether you choose to purchase your card machine outright or rent it for a monthly fee really depends on your business. Providers that offer monthly rental fees tend to have negotiable transaction rates, which works best for small businesses that process a lot of card payments (over £2,000 worth a month), and need several card machines.

Businesses that process fewer card payments and only need one or two machines are better off buying one outright.

Transaction fees

Some card machines come with flat rate transaction fees, which means you pay the same fee every time, while others have variable rates depending on the card type. Variable rates offer better value for money if you process a lot of card payments, while flat rates work better for small businesses with lower sales volumes.

Fund transfer time

Does your business need quick access to profits? If that’s the case, you’ll want to choose a card machine provider that transfers funds in one to two business days. Some can even offer instant access to funds, although this typically comes with an added fee.

The slowest transfer time we’ve seen is Stripe’s full week, but one to three business days is the industry standard.

Ease of use

Ease of use is important, especially if your business is just starting out. The most user friendly card machines come with one app on which you can track sales all in one place. The downside is that this type of software often has limited reporting tools.

Unfortunately, the more in-depth a platform’s sales and management features become, the less user friendly it tends to be. But if your business requires advanced functions, you’re probably not new to taking card payments, and know your way around an EPOS system.

Ready-made software integrations

If you’re planning on growing your business, or already have software that you use – accounting software, for example – make sure the card machine you choose can integrate with it.

Some providers, such as Square, allow for near countless integrations, while others, such as Stripe, are more limited.

PCI compliance and fraud prevention measures

Choosing a card machine that’s PCI compliant and has fraud prevention measures will protect both your business and your customers’ sensitive data.

It’s not a legal requirement in the UK, but all card networks require it, and can fine your bank if you don’t comply. This fine usually gets passed on to you, so it’s best to stay compliant.

Type of business

The type of business you run will have a big impact on which card machine is best for you.

Mobile businesses, such as sole traders and food trucks, will benefit from a card machine with a good battery life. Outdoor businesses such as market stalls and food trucks will want to choose a card machine with a built-in SIM card for reliable 3G connectivity, and shops could benefit from a system with inventory tracking features.

For our list of the best mobile card readers for small businesses, head over to our page.

Help and support

A good card machine shouldn’t cause you trouble very often, but if something does go wrong, you’ll want to have a readily available support service.

Think about when your business operates. If you’re active on the weekends, it’s a good idea to go with a provider whose customer service team is open on those days.

Some card machine providers have community centres on their websites. It’s worth considering going with a provider that has one, as they’re usually good resources for quick troubleshooting, especially if you can’t get hold of the support team.

How much should I spend on a card machine?

If you’re buying a card machine outright, you should expect to spend £20-50 on a mobile card reader, and £80-£180 on a portable one.

That’s why we recommend mobile card readers for small businesses, they’re cheap, compact, and versatile, and often come with core (but not overly sophisticated) functionality.

Countertop card machines are much more expensive as a standalone product, up to £400, but they’re usually rented instead of purchased outright. Renting any type of card machine costs £10-£40 a month.

Transaction fees with providers that offer a monthly plan are usually cheaper than with providers that sell card machines upfront, 0.1%-0.2% + 20p-50p compared to 1.5%-1.8%.

There aren’t any free card machines available for small businesses unfortunately, but if you’re looking for cheap ways to take card payments, our guide has got you covered.

How We Test Card Machines

To bring you this list of six, we tested 18 card machines and providers, assessing them across five main areas of investigation, and 23 subcategories.

Here’s what we looked at:

• Hardware: we looked at each card machine size, weight, and portability, and assessed its connectivity, its interface, receipt printing, and battery life.
• Software: we tallied up how many payment types each card machine accepted, looked at payout times, reporting and security features, EPOS functionality, and what systems it integrated with.
• Pricing: we compared monthly fees, card machine costs, transaction fees and contract lengths against the features of each card reader, to determine the value for money of each.
• Ease of use: We had several different average users test each card machine to see how intuitive each one was to use, and how quickly everyday tasks could be complete.
• Help and support: we assessed card machines providers based on how many different support they offered, and how available and responsive the support team was.

We then gave each card machine an overall score based on how well they faired in the above assessment categories.