Clover card machine review UK
Clover is a capable till and card machine with an 18-month software commitment and no published card rate. The software plans run from £0 to £59.95 a month, and leaving early means paying the rest of the plan, so cost the full term before you sign.
Verdict
Good for a restaurant or shop that will use the till software every day and stay for at least 18 months. Poor value if you only need to take cards: on the Register plan a £5,000 a month shop needs a card rate of 0.79% or less just to match SumUp.
Hospitality and retail that want EPOS, table service and card payments on one system
You want a published rate, or might move within 18 months
Checked 1 November 2026 against Clover’s pricing page and the April 2026 terms for merchants contracting with First Data Europe. No rating: we review published terms, not our own use.
What Clover is
Clover is Fiserv’s point of sale range: Clover Flex, Flex Pocket, Mini, Station Duo and Station Solo. In the UK the card acquiring is provided by First Data Europe Limited (FDEL), company number 02012925. Clover devices and software come from Marketplace Merchant Solutions Limited or FDEL, and the site says these are not regulated by the FCA. You may also meet Clover through a bank: Lloyds Cardnet rents the Clover Flex, and some resellers bundle it. Which terms apply depends on who you signed with, so check the first two digits of your merchant ID. The terms below are Clover’s own, for IDs beginning 99.
Clover pricing
Clover publishes its software plans and nothing else. Card rates: Not published ("competitive transaction pricing"; quote from sales). Device prices: Not published ("Clover Flex pricing is customised for each business").
| Clover plan | Monthly (first device) | Each extra device |
|---|---|---|
| Payments | £0 | £0 |
| Essentials | £6.99 | £6.99 |
| Register | £39.95 | £6.99 |
| Table Services | £59.95 | £9.99 |
Source: uk.clover.com/offers/pricing, checked 1 November 2026. Monthly software plan for one device; each extra device adds the amount shown. The Payments plan comes with a 90-day free trial.
Fees in the small print
The acquiring terms list fees that apply on top of your plan and card rate. Most only bite if something goes wrong; the first one applies to everyone.
- PCI DSS management fee: £4.99 a month per outlet
- PCI DSS non-compliance fee: £35 a month
- Paper statement fee: £25 a month
- Excessive chargeback fee (chargebacks over 1% of monthly value): £25 per chargeback
- Rejected direct debit: £10
- Non-payment of a direct debit request: £30 per instance
- Management fee (fraud monitoring, collections and similar): £50 an hour
Source: Merchant Acquiring Terms and Conditions, Edition April 2026, Section D. Clover’s published "Fee Schedule 2026" lists card scheme interchange and assessment fees only, not Clover’s own margin.
Clover contract terms
There are two agreements, and they end differently. You can end the Merchant Acquiring Agreement at any time on at least one month’s written notice (section 28). The software and device agreement is the one with the commitment: an 18-month Minimum Period from the date the Clover services are activated. End the Clover (software and device) agreement inside the 18-month Minimum Period and you pay a Software Termination Fee equal to the monthly software fees left until the end of that period (section 13.1). Clover’s own example: leaving after 12 months costs six months of software fees.
- Devices are either loaned to you free of charge for the life of the agreement, or bought outright (section 4.1).
- Return loaned devices within 14 days of the agreement ending (section 5.2). If you do not, Clover can keep charging for the Clover services until they come back, or charge the value of the device (section 5.3).
- Clover "will endeavour to settle" within four Business Days of receiving the transaction data (section 7). Fees, chargebacks and software charges can be taken from your settlements.
- Clover can hold a reserve, set at its discretion, including after termination.
Already with Clover and want out? Our guide to cancelling Clover covers the notice and the device return.
Worked example: the £5,000 a month shop on Clover
Clover will not tell you its rate until you ask, so work out the ceiling instead. The house example is a shop taking £5,000 a month on the Register plan.
- Fixed costs: Register plan £39.95 + PCI management £4.99 = £44.94 a month before any card fee
- SumUp pay as you go (1.69%): £5,000 × 1.69% = £84.50
- Dojo (1.2% blended, Dojo Wired rented): £5,000 × 1.2% = £60.00, plus £15.00 for the Dojo Wired = £75.00
- Clover’s rate must be at most (£84.50 − £44.94) ÷ £5,000 = 0.79% to match SumUp, or 0.6% to match Dojo
- Leaving after 6 months: 12 × £39.95 = £479.40 Software Termination Fee
The plan fee buys the till software, so the fair comparison is with another EPOS bundle, not a bare card reader. But if you would only use the Payments plan, the bare reader comparison is exactly the right one.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Published software plans, including a £0 Payments plan
- Acquiring agreement ends on one month’s written notice
- Devices can be loaned free for the life of the agreement
- Full EPOS range, from handheld to dual-screen station
Cons
- Card rates and device prices not published
- 18-month software minimum with a termination fee
- PCI DSS management fee of £4.99 a month per outlet
- Settlement target of four business days, slower than next-day rivals
Clover alternatives
If you want the till software, compare Clover with the EPOS systems in our card machines hub and the Dojo vs Clover comparison. If you only need to take cards, a published rate is easier to hold to account: see the card machine rates table. Got Clover through Lloyds? Read the bank card machines guide.
Before you sign anything, send your current statement to our free statement review and we will tell you what rate Clover would need to quote to be worth the move.
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Know the rate before the contract
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Clover questions
How much does Clover cost in the UK?
Clover publishes its monthly software plans: Payments £0, Essentials £6.99, Register £39.95, Table Services £59.95. Card transaction rates and device prices are not published; Clover quotes them per business. The acquiring terms add a PCI DSS management fee of £4.99 a month per outlet.
How long is a Clover contract?
The Clover software and device agreement has an 18-month Minimum Period from the date the Clover services are activated. End the Clover (software and device) agreement inside the 18-month Minimum Period and you pay a Software Termination Fee equal to the monthly software fees left until the end of that period (section 13.1). The card acquiring agreement itself can be ended on one month’s written notice.
What does it cost to leave Clover early?
The remaining software fees to the end of the 18 months. On the Register plan at £39.95 a month, leaving after 6 months costs 12 × £39.95 = £479.40; after 12 months, 6 × £39.95 = £239.70. Loaned devices go back within 14 days.
Is a Clover Flex bought or rented?
Direct from Clover, devices are either loaned to you free of charge for the life of the agreement, or bought outright. Banks also supply Clover: Lloyds Cardnet lists the Clover Flex "Business management solution": £21 a month rental + VAT (optional 4G SIM £10 a month + VAT).
Who is behind Clover?
Fiserv. Card acquiring is provided by First Data Europe Limited (FDEL), company number 02012925; FDEL is authorised and regulated by the FCA (register number 582703) for payment services. Clover devices and software come from Marketplace Merchant Solutions Limited or FDEL, and the site says these are not regulated by the FCA.