Merchant Services UK: Compare Card Payment Providers

What Are Merchant Services?

Merchant services is the collective term for the technology and financial infrastructure a business needs to accept card payments. This includes a merchant account, a card machine or payment gateway, and a connection to the Visa, Mastercard, and American Express card networks.

In the UK, merchant services are provided by acquiring banks (like Barclaycard Payments and Worldpay), independent sales organisations, and fintech companies such as Stripe, Square, and SumUp. Each has a different pricing model, contract structure, and feature set.

How Merchant Services Pricing Works in the UK

There are three main pricing models used by UK card payment providers:

• Blended rates — a single percentage per transaction (e.g. Square at 1.75%). Simple but often more expensive at higher volumes.
• Interchange-plus (IC++) — the card scheme fee (set by Visa/Mastercard) plus a fixed markup from the processor. More transparent and usually cheaper for established businesses.
• Tiered pricing — transactions are grouped into "qualified", "mid-qualified", and "non-qualified" tiers with different rates. The least transparent model and generally best avoided.

UK Merchant Services Provider Comparison

Hidden Fees to Watch Out For

Many UK merchants are unaware of additional charges beyond the headline transaction rate. Common hidden fees include:

• PCI compliance fees — annual or monthly charges for maintaining PCI DSS compliance, typically £30–£100/year.
• Minimum monthly service charges — if your processing volume falls below a threshold, you still pay a minimum fee.
• Early termination fees — some providers charge £200–£500+ if you leave before your contract ends.
• Statement fees — a monthly charge for paper or electronic statements (£2–£5/month).
• Authorisation fees — a small per-transaction fee (1p–3p) on top of the percentage rate.
• Chargeback fees — typically £15–£25 per chargeback event.

Before signing with any merchant account provider, request a full schedule of fees — not just the headline rate.

How to Choose the Right Merchant Services Provider

The right provider depends on your monthly card turnover, sales channels (in-person, online, or both), average transaction value, and industry. A pub processing £5,000/month has very different needs to an ecommerce store processing £100,000/month.

Use our free comparison tool to see estimated savings based on your actual business profile, or request a free fee review from our panel of FCA-regulated providers.

Frequently Asked Questions