Worldpay Review 2024: Is it Right for your Business?

Earning an excellent overall score of 4.7/5 from our independent testers, Worldpay stands out among merchant service providers for offering the most comprehensive range of customer support channels, and speedy 30-minute fund transfers. It can also integrate with the largest range of third-party business software, boasting over 100 ready-made integrations. However, Worldpay’s card machines are more expensive than others we’ve evaluated.

With payment gateways, virtual terminals, and card machines on offer, Worldpay is one of the biggest names in payment processing. In fact, it’s used by over 250,000 UK SMEs, processing 26 million transactions per day.

Our latest round of research extensively compared UK merchant service providers, focusing on specific criteria including pricing, features, payment processing, and customer support. Worldpay impressed us, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best provider for your specific needs. If you’d like personalised recommendations, try our free quote comparison tool to quickly compare tailored prices from the most suitable providers for you.

How much does Worldpay cost?

For pricing, our researchers gave Worldpay 3.95/5, which is less than what they gave Retail Merchant Services (5/5) and takepayments (4.1/5), making these two providers better value for money than Worldpay. takepayments and Retail Merchant Services offer completely bespoke pricing, so you never pay more than what you need.

Read our takepayments review for more information.

Compared to other providers we discussed in our market-wide merchant account comparison, Worldpay has relatively expensive price plans, which could be a big investment for small businesses. However, while it’s not the cheapest option to take card payments, we found that its pricing structure is flexible.

This means you could end up spending less than the above prices, depending on your specific needs and sales volume.

Confused about costs? Don’t be. The easiest way to get an exact price for your business is by using our free cost comparison tool. Simply answer a few questions, and within minutes, we’ll match you with the best merchant account providers for your needs. They’ll contact you directly with free, no-obligation quotes to compare.

Worldpay offers a number of different services including online payment gateways and in store card machines. Let’s break down how they are priced.

Payment gateways

Worldpay’s pricing has changed since our last update to this page in early 2023, including the introduction of new gateways Worldpay eCommerce, Business Gateway, and Corporate Gateway.

Virtual terminals

A virtual terminal is also available for £9.95 per month.

Card Machines

As well as online payments, Wordplay offers a range of card machines for in-store transactions, including countertop, portable and mobile card machines. Here are the three main card machines they offer.

• Desk 5000 countertop card terminal suits a retail business with over the counter and till payments and is fixed to a location with a cable.
• Axium DX8000 portable payment machine suits restaurants, pubs and cafes as it allows you to take payments both at the till and customer tables.
• Move 5000 mobile card machine suits a business with no fixed premises such as a food or coffee van or where customers are visited on site.

Worldpay’s card machines start from £17.50 per month. The transaction fee charged will depend on your transaction volume.

Transaction fees

Worldpay’s transaction fees range from 0.75% to 2.75%, depending on whether you pay monthly or pay-as-you-go, and whether it’s a credit card or debit card payment.

Retail Merchant Services offers the cheapest fees, ranging from just 0.4% to 0.79%, while takepayments offer bespoke fees. Dojo and Barclaycard offer flat transaction fees of 1.4% and 1.60%, respectively.

Set up fee

Like Dojo, takepayments, and Retail Merchant Services, Worldpay has no set up fees. Plus, Worldpay’s reasonable transaction fees – starting at just 0.75% could help you cut costs in the long run.

Early termination fee

With Worldpay, you simply need to pay out the existing contract, which is far more affordable and straightforward than its competitors. With Retail Merchant Services, you need to pay out the existing contract, but you can pay up to £1,000 in admin fees if you provide improper notice. Meanwhile, takepayments charges £30 per month for each month remaining of your contract, along with an early termination fee of £40.

Worldpay: Pros and Cons

Pro: Offers the most integrations of all providers (100+)

Worldpay is the best merchant account for integrations, offering over 100 across 26 categories. This gives you the flexibility to bolster your business in different areas, whether you want to connect your Shopify store, or integrate accountancy software to help you manage your finances more easily. Also, Worldpay’s virtual terminal, which allows you to sell online, helped the provider be deemed one of the best payment gateway providers by our experts.

Pro: 5/5 Customer Support score, including 24/7 phone support

According to our researchers, Worldpay is the only provider to offer each of the four customer service subcategories: knowledge base, phone, email, and live chat. It’s also the only merchant account to offer 24/7 phone support. This level of support is vital if you want to ensure minimum downtime for your business.

Pro: 4.5/5 Features score

Worldpay offers an impressive range of features, including a variety of reports on sales, settlements, and invoices. It’s also incredibly quick with fund transfers, paying out in as little as 30 minutes. Its rivals take at least 24 hours.

Worldpay supports over 120 currencies, which is far more than Retail Merchant Services (100) and Barclaycard (96). takepayments can support over 170 currencies, but only via direct API codes, which can prove challenging if you’re unfamiliar with the process. This is why our researchers gave Worldpay 5/5 in the Taking Payments research category.

Con: Not the cheapest provider we tested

Worldpay is an excellent merchant account provider, but with that quality comes a relatively high cost. The £17.50 per month terminal fee can feel quite expensive when combined with the £9.95 +VAT per month account fee. However, you’re paying for one of the biggest and most trusted brands in payment processing.

Con: Slightly longer contract than its competitors

Worldpay’s contracts are 18 months, which is the same as takepayments, but longer than Dojo (6 months), and Retail Merchant Services (bespoke contracts). This could be an issue if you want to leave Worldpay, because you’ll need to pay out your existing contract. However, if you don’t want to commit for that long, you can opt for Worldpay’s pay-as-you-go contract, giving you more flexibility.

Worldpay’s key features explained

Let’s take a look at Worldpay’s best features in more detail.

Payments

Worldpay scored a perfect 5/5 in our Taking Payments research, transferring funds in as little as 30 minutes, as part of the Worldpay Dynamic Payout Same-Day Funding feature. This is one of Worldpay’s best features, ideal for fast-paced businesses that need quick access to funds. This is faster than Retail Merchant Services, which takes three to five business days to transfer funds.

Meanwhile, Worldpay accepts over 120 currencies, which is perfect for businesses trading in different territories. And in terms of payment options for your business, Worldpay offers three products:

• Card machines: You can choose between fixed, portable and mobile card machines, depending on the type of business you run.
• Payment gateways: Worldpay offers three different payment gateway packages, with different features for online payments available with each.
• Virtual terminal: Worldpay also offers a virtual terminal that enables you to take payments over the phone.

Integrations and reporting

All customers now have access to Worldpay Dashboard Lite, which provides reports on card sales, invoices, and settlements. Previously, in our last update in January 2023, it was £4.99 per month to access this feature. To make invoicing even easier, you can integrate your Worldpay account with accounting software, such as QuickBooks Online or Sage Accounting, or you can install the recently added integration, Invoice Payments by Bolt, to help you send personalised invoices quickly and easily.

When it comes to integrations, Worldpay is the best there is, offering over 100 across 26 categories.

Security

Worldpay offers PCI compliance via SaferPayments, costing an additional £29.99 per year. Also, Worldpay will cover loss of funds arising from third-party fraud on guaranteed transactions, under the Worldpay Merchant Guarantee Service. It also provides credit checks to give you added peace of mind.

Ease of use

In our research, Worldpay gained the third-best Customer Score, 3.8/5, which looks at the provider’s online customer reviews. This shows that Worldpay customers find the software relatively easy to use. In terms of connectivity, Worldpay’s mobile card machine comes with a SIM card that connects with EE, 02, and Vodafone networks. You can also use wifi as a backup connection. Worldpay’s portable card machine runs on wifi only.

Help and support

Worldpay offers the most comprehensive customer support of any provider we tested, scoring 5/5 in this research category. It offers a knowledge centre, and support via phone, email support, and live chat. It’s also the only provider to offer 24/7 phone support.

What kind of business is Worldpay best for?

Worldpay is best for SMEs looking to grow quickly, offering all the features you’d need to take high-volumes of payments and scale across different countries. For example, Worldpay transfers funds within 30 minutes, supports over 120 currencies, and has price plans from just £19 per month.

Worldpay is also the best merchant account provider for integrations, which gives your business the flexibility to streamline its workflows across 26 categories, including accountancy, finance, security, and more. Meanwhile, Worldpay offers comprehensive customer support, scoring 5/5, which is ideal for helping your business scale with minimum downtime.

If you’re a small business looking to grow, have a look at our best credit card readers for small businesses.

If you’d like to know more about Barclaycard, have a look at our review of the Barclaycard card machine.

Does Worldpay have good customer reviews?

Overall, customers are impressed by Worldpay’s customer service, often describing a seamless experience that makes processing payments that much easier.  However, some customers mention a lack of intuitiveness on the Worldpay website…

Our methodology

At Expert Market, our independent team of researchers takes a deep dive into all the topics we write about. They find the best providers or services on the market, rigorously test them first-hand, then collaborate with our team of writers, allowing us to create research-backed articles about the best merchant account providers.

For this article, our researchers tested five different merchant accounts and compared them in specific areas, rating them out of 5 in these categories:

• Pricing – its transaction fees and hardware costs
• Features – its range of core features, from invoicing to integrations
• Taking Payments  – its range of tools designed for handling transactions
• Customer Support – the available customer support options
• Customer Score – aggregate of consumer scores on sites like G2 and Trustpilot