UK Merchant Accounts Comparison: Our 2023 Guide

According to our extensive analysis, provider takepayments offers the best merchant account on the market, with plentiful reporting features, bespoke transaction fees, and impressive multi-currency support.

A merchant account is an essential service if you want to take card payments (which would make sense as, post-Covid, card usage soared to account for 90% of all UK retail spending). But they're not all created equal, with factors such as fees, contract lengths, user support, and even compliance measures varying from provider to provider. Fortunately, we've carried out in-depth research into the merchant accounts market to help you understand the options:

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What is a merchant account?

A merchant account is a type of bank account that enables you to accept card payments from customers – in fact, you won't be able to process card payments without one. It's totally separate to your business bank account, acting as a sort of holding pen that holds your customer's payment temporarily, while it's approved by the customer's bank. Once approved, the payment will go through to your business bank account.

As well as the merchant account itself, merchant account providers also sell or lease card machines. We'll discuss these provisions in this article, but remember to check out our guide to the best card machines for small businesses if you're interested in comparing these in even more detail.

In this article, we're going to cover two different kinds of merchant account:

1. Contract merchant accounts – available on fixed-term agreements, these charge cheaper transaction fees alongside a monthly fee.
2. Mobile merchant accounts – available on a pay-as-you-use basis with no contracts, these charge more expensive transaction fees but no monthly fees.

The best contract merchant accounts in 2023

Contract merchant accounts are payment gateways that offer their service through fixed-term agreements. They charge lower (and usually negotiable) transaction fees in exchange for a monthly fee. By and large, they also lease their card machines instead of selling them to you.

1. takepayments

How does takepayments compare to its competitors?

takepayments’ starting transaction fees are bespoke, meaning it can work out as affordable for your business, Retail Merchant Services’ 0.4% and Worldpay’s 0.75%. That said, takepayments’ starting monthly fee (£20 + VAT) is pricier than Retail Merchant Services and Barclaycard (both of which charge £10 + VAT). All this contributes to takepayments’ 4.1/5 score for price in our research.

takepayments is also the champion of multi-currency support, accepting payments in 170 currencies , beating Worldpay’s 120 and Retail Merchant Services’ 100. However, its fund next working transfer time is fast, for example Zettle can take up to 2 business days.

2. Retail Merchant Services

How does Retail Merchant Services compare to its competitors?

Retail Merchant Services’ starting monthly fee of £10 + VAT narrowly misses beating Worldpay’s £9.95 + VAT, but is cheaper than takepayments’ (£20 + VAT). Nevertheless, the provider still scores a perfect 5/5 score for price in our research. Its starting transaction fee (0.4%) beats Worldpay’s 0.75% and Tyl’s 1.5% (both high scorers in price in our research). All this makes it one of the cheapest ways to take card payments we looked into.

While Retail Merchant Services’ multi-support currency is impressive, accepting 100, takepayments is better because it accepts 170 currencies.

If you're a small business that is looking to scale, then Retail Merchant Services could be a good fit as it offers six reporting tools. They don’t upstage takepayments’ eight, but it’s a better reporting offering than Revolut’s two and Zettle’s five. This is reflected in Retail Merchant Services’ 4.1/5 score for features in our research, which is less than Zettle’s 4.9/5 and Revolut’s 4.5/5.

3. Worldpay

How does Worldpay compare to its competitors?

At £9.95 + VAT, Worldpay’s starting monthly fee is the cheapest among the contract merchant accounts we researched, contributing to its 3.8/5 score for price in our research. This sees it beat takepayments (£20 + VAT), but remains pricier than mobile providers like Revolut, which doesn’t charge any monthly fees. Its starting transaction fee of 0.75% is cheaper than Stripe Payments’ 1.5% + 20p.

Furthermore, Worldpay can be integrated into your webstore and work as a payment gateway. For online businesses, this is a massive pro that will allow your venture to sell on the internet. While not a free payment gateway, we recommend it because you're able to negotiate your transaction fees with the provider.

On the other hand, its 18-month contract length deals a killer blow for business owners keen on flexibility. This means Worldpay will lock you into the maximum length a card machine contract can last in the UK from July 2023, as per the latest Payment Systems Regulator ruling.  This is also a con for startup owners, as well as occasional or seasonal sellers, who'll be locked into a long-term fixed cost. In comparison, providers like Square and Zettle offer their services without a contract.

Also, its four reporting tools pale when compared to takepayments’ eight and Stripe Payments’ seven – both of which are likely to better serve business owners keen on getting data to grow their ventures. However, it allows for an incredible 100 integrations, which is way more than Zettle (21) and Revolut (16), leading the way to a 4.5/5 score for features. These are primed to benefit business owners keen on running several of their systems in sync.

4. Barclaycard

How does Barclaycard compare to its competitors?

If you’re a medium-sized business owner keen on cutting down on costs by negotiating your fees, Barclaycard is a solid choice. On two of its three card machine plans, it packs a flexible pricing structure, similar to takepayments and Retail Merchant Services. You can benefit from this if you deal with high-value transactions or a high sales volume.

For small businesses or freelancers, the provider isn't as great a fit. On Smartpay Anywhere, its entry-level reader that caters to these businesses, it charges a 1.60% transaction fee, way higher than Retail Merchant Services’ 0.4 % – the lowest we came across in our research.

While you can buy Smartpay Anywhere outright for £29 + VAT – as opposed to Barclaycard's other readers, which can only be rented – it's still more expensive than Square's most basic reader, which costs £19 + VAT.

When it comes to the software that works alongside its readers, Barclaycard impressed us, as its powerful solution allows for data reporting, loyalty schemes, special offer setup, inventory control, and supplier management. This is great for business owner that are keen to have a bird's eye view of their venture easily.

On the other hand, Barclaycard only offers integrations with two third-party integrations: it syncs up with FreshBooks and Xero – both accounting platforms. This makes Barclaycard better Retail Merchant Services (which only offers one), but miles behind takepayments and Revolut (both of which offer 16).

By only offering phone support, Barclaycard loses out to Zettle, which packs email and live chat channels and is therefore a better fit for companies that require hands-on support.

What do users think of Barclaycard?

Carol, from the Apex Pharmacy, told us that they've been using Barclaycard for half a year and haven't had any sort of issues with the provider. She also said that it meets the needs of their businesses. Anil, from retail store 100 Shades of Blue, also praised the Barclaycard's straightforwardness and the fact that his payouts tend to come through on the next working day – all that with lower fees than his previous provider. “I used Worldpay for a couple of years but I have since changed back to Barclays. My business account is with Barclays so it was easier and they offered me a better deal percentage-wise”, he added.

The best mobile merchant account providers in 2023

Mobile merchant accounts don’t require you to sign a fixed-term contract, providing their service on a pay-as-you-use basis. While they don’t incur fixed costs, they charge higher transaction fees. Unlike their contract counterparts, they sell their card machines outright.

5. Revolut

How does Revolut compare to its competitors?

Revolut’s 0.8% + 2p starting transaction fee is cheaper than its mobile card reader competitors, like Stripe Payments’ (1.5% + 20p) and Zettle (1.75%). Like the latter two providers, it doesn’t charge monthly fees, unlike Worldpay and Retail Merchant Services, which charge a minimum of £9.95 + VAT and £10 + VAT, respectively.

Revolut supports 30 currencies, which is more than Zettle’s 25 but way less than takepayments’ 170. If you’re an international business owner, you should check if Revolut’s list of accepted currencies covers your needs.

It’s not the best fit for small businesses that need extensive data, as it only offers two reporting tools: namely, spend and team management. This is behind Stripe Payments’ six and takepayments’ eight. Also, Revolut’s 16 integrations put it on par with takepayments, but behind Worldpay, which packs a whopping 100.

6. Zettle

How does Zettle compare to its competitors?

Zettle’s 1.75% transaction fee is the most expensive among the 11 providers we research, considerably higher than Revolut’s 0.8% + 2p and Stripe Payments’ 1.5% + 20p. Zettle’s overall costs are also not helped by its hardware price: Zettle’s most basic reader comes in at £59 + VAT, while Stripe Payments’and Revolut’s cost £49 + VAT.

Stripe Payments has a more stringent security protocol than Zettle and it also supports 135 currencies – way more than Zettle’s 25. This makes Stripe Payments a better fit for international businesses. However, Zettle’s payout time of up to two working days is considerably faster than Stripe Payments’ up to seven working days. For this reason, Zettle is likely to serve business owners who depend on constant cash flow better.

What do users think of Zettle?

Hannah Bailey, of the clothing shop Batch1, praised the Zettle card reader's mobility: “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”. For her part, Jessica Bedoya, from womenswear boutique Sugar & Style, admired the ease of use with which Zettle could be operated: “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]”.

7. Stripe Payments

How does Stripe Payments compare to its competitors?

Befitting its beginnings as a payment gateway for ecommerce, Stripe Payments is better equipped to serve online businesses. You can easily integrate the platform to your webstore's checkout, which makes it one of the best payment gateway providers in our market research.

At £49 + VAT, its cheapest reader costs the same as Revolut’s. However, Revolut has a lower starting transaction fee, charging 0.8% + 2p against Stripe Payments’ 1.5% + 20p. Accordingly, Stripe Payments scores 3.2/5 for price in our research while Revolut scores 4.6/5.

Like Worldpay, Stripe Payments offers 24/7 support, through phone, email, and live chat – and as far as we're concerned, this is the best customer support availability you can get. This makes Stripe Payments better than Retail Merchant Services, for instance, since it lacks the live chat and email channels.

Which is the best way to take payments?

When looking for a provider to take payments, you should consider your budget and the size of your business, as well as how well your card machine company suits your needs.

For startups and small businesses, mobile payment takers such as Zettle can provide a great way to get started without a hefty initial investment or fixed monthly fees. For medium to large business, contract card machine providers, like takepayments, are the best bet. Companies this size are unlikely to have their bank broken by monthly fees, but they’re still able to benefit from its low transaction fees, effectively offsetting the fixed costs over time.

Reporting tools and third-party integrations should also be taken into account when choosing a payment gateway. These are particularly helpful to small businesses owners, as they can provide data that informs their growth plans. takepayments’ eight reporting tools – which helped it score a perfect 5/5 score for features in our research – are an example to keep in mind in this regard.

Our methodology

To provide this wide comparison between payment taking systems, we researched 11 providers across four categories: price, features, customer support, and customer score. We consolidated the data into scores, some of which we discuss across the article.

We then divided each category into specific traits relevant to this market. In price, we analysed account charges and transaction fees; in features, we went over integration offering and reporting tools; and customer support saw us verify the support channels and opening hours.

We also compiled data from across various online review aggregators to generate the customer score. We also took the feedback the companies received into account.

Ultimately, we compared these companies with each other to highlight their strengths and weaknesses.