Average Card Processing Fees UK: August 2026 Benchmarks

UK Card Fee Benchmarks at a Glance

Every row below traces to the published or typical advertised pricing tracked in our card machine rates table and provider profiles, checked August 2026.

Two structural points explain most of the table. First, flat-rate providers trade a higher headline percentage for zero fixed costs, so you pay nothing in a quiet month. Second, acquirers trade lower percentages for fixed monthly fees and commitment: the monthly fee is the price of the lower rate, and the contract is the price of the relationship. Which trade wins is pure arithmetic on your volume, so we will do the arithmetic.

Effective Rates at Real Volumes: The Worked Examples

Your effective rateis total monthly processing cost divided by card turnover. It is the only number that lets you compare a flat 1.75% reader against a “1.2% plus £20 a month” quote fairly. Below we compute it at four volumes, using the benchmark ranges above: pay-as-you-go at 1.69% (SumUp) and 1.75% (Zettle/Square), and negotiated pricing at the bottom of the tracked range (1.2% + £20 a month) and the top (1.9% + £60 a month).

£2,000 a month

• SumUp: £2,000 × 1.69% = £33.80 (effective rate 1.69%)
• Zettle/Square: £2,000 × 1.75% = £35.00 (1.75%)
• Negotiated, low end: £2,000 × 1.2% + £20 = £24 + £20 = £44.00 (£44 ÷ £2,000 = 2.20%)
• Negotiated, top end: £2,000 × 1.9% + £60 = £38 + £60 = £98.00 (4.90%)

Verdict at £2k: pay-as-you-go wins comfortably. Even the sharpest negotiated deal costs 26% more than a flat-rate reader, because the fixed monthly fee is spread over too little volume.

£5,000 a month

• SumUp: £5,000 × 1.69% = £84.50 (1.69%)
• Zettle/Square: £5,000 × 1.75% = £87.50 (1.75%)
• Negotiated, low end: £5,000 × 1.2% + £20 = £60 + £20 = £80.00 (1.60%)
• Negotiated, top end: £5,000 × 1.9% + £60 = £95 + £60 = £155.00 (3.10%)

Verdict at £5k: this is the crossover zone. A good negotiated quote now edges ahead of 1.75% flat; a poor one is still far behind. The quality of the specific quote decides it.

£15,000 a month

• SumUp: £15,000 × 1.69% = £253.50 (1.69%)
• Zettle/Square: £15,000 × 1.75% = £262.50 (1.75%)
• Negotiated, low end: £15,000 × 1.2% + £20 = £180 + £20 = £200.00 (£200 ÷ £15,000 = 1.33%)
• Negotiated, top end: £15,000 × 1.9% + £60 = £285 + £60 = £345.00 (2.30%)

Verdict at £15k: a well-negotiated rate saves £62.50 a month (£750 a year) against 1.75% flat. Note the top-of-range quote is still worse than pay-as-you-go: a monthly fee never justifies a 1.9% rate at any volume where 1.69%-1.75% flat is available.

£40,000 a month

• SumUp: £40,000 × 1.69% = £676.00 (1.69%)
• Zettle/Square: £40,000 × 1.75% = £700.00 (1.75%)
• Negotiated, low end: £40,000 × 1.2% + £20 = £480 + £20 = £500.00 (1.25%)
• Negotiated, top end: £40,000 × 1.9% + £60 = £760 + £60 = £820.00 (2.05%)

Verdict at £40k: a good negotiated deal saves £200 a month (£2,400 a year) over 1.75% flat, and at this volume you have the leverage to demand the bottom of the range. Paying a flat 1.75% here means leaving four figures a year on the table.

The crossover itself is worth stating precisely. Against 1.75% flat, a quote of 1.3% plus £20 a month breaks even where the 0.45 percentage-point rate saving covers the £20 fee: £20 ÷ 0.0045 ≈ £4,444 a month. That is why we quote the practical crossover as roughly £4,000-£5,000 a month: it moves with the exact rate and fee on your quote, and with extras like PCI fees, which is why the effective rate must always be calculated on the full quote, not the headline percentage.

What Drives Your Rate

Bespoke acquirer quotes land somewhere in that 1.2%-1.9% band based on a handful of factors, all worth understanding before you negotiate:

• Card mix. Personal debit cards are the cheapest to accept; credit, commercial and premium cards carry higher underlying costs. A business taking mostly debit (a cafe, a barber) gets quoted lower than one taking corporate credit cards (a hotel, a B2B supplier).
• Average transaction value. Fixed per-transaction costs weigh more on small tickets. A £4 average ticket produces a worse quote than a £60 average ticket at identical turnover.
• Monthly card turnover. Volume is leverage. Acquirers price £40,000-a-month businesses far more keenly than £4,000-a-month businesses, which is exactly why flat-rate readers dominate the low end.
• Sector risk. Sectors with high chargeback or refund rates, or a lot of card-not-present volume (keyed and online payments), are priced up. In-person chip-and-PIN and contactless volume gets the best rates.

If your quote sits at the top of the band without an obvious reason from that list, push back. Our guide on negotiating card machine rates lists what typically moves, and how to reduce card processing fees covers the fee-stripping tactics (PCI, minimum charges, rental) in detail. For the all-in cost of getting started, see how much a card machine costs.

Methodology

Based on the published UK provider pricing tracked in our card machine rates table, checked August 2026. Flat published rates (SumUp 1.69%; Zettle, Square and Tyl 1.75%) are stated exactly. Where providers price individually we report the typical range rather than invent a single figure; the negotiated benchmarks use Dojo's typical 1.2%-1.9% band (we have seen Dojo quotes as low as 0.29% for high-turnover businesses, depending on turnover, card mix and average transaction value) with terminal rental from £20 a month, and the £10-£60 monthly fee range observed across the acquirers we track. Worked examples are pure arithmetic on those stated rates, with every calculation shown. Exit-fee and notice-period ranges come from our provider cancellation research. No provider pays for placement, and no third-party review data is used. See our editorial standards for how we research and maintain these figures, and browse individual providers on our providers hub.

Frequently Asked Questions