Elavon review for UK businesses, including Opayo and Sage Pay
Elavon now publishes its card machine prices, and for a shop taking £40,000 to £200,000 a year they are sharp: 0.99% on personal Visa and Mastercard cards with a £15 a month terminal. Sage Pay is the same company under a newer name: Elavon bought it, renamed it Opayo, then made Elavon the trading name.
Verdict
For the £5,000 a month shop, the published Business Booster Desk plan costs from £64.50 a month, cheaper than SumUp and than Dojo with a rented terminal, provided the rate on business and international cards is reasonable. That rate is not published, so get it in writing: anything above 2.04% on that fifth of your takings and Dojo is cheaper.
Established shops and cafés taking £40,000 to £200,000 a year, mostly on personal cards, and Opayo users who want the gateway and terminal from one company
You take under £40,000 a year (the 1.75% plan is dearer than SumUp) or a large share of business cards
Checked 1 November 2026 against Elavon's pricing plans, UK Terms of Service (March 2026) and its Opayo migration notes. No rating: we review published terms, not our own use.
What happened to Sage Pay?
Sage Pay did not close; it changed hands and then names. Elavon's own announcements set out the steps:
- In March 2020 Elavon completed the acquisition of Sage Pay from Sage Group. Elavon says Sage Pay’s gateway processed more than 700 million transactions for over 50,000 merchants in 2019.
- Sage Pay was renamed Opayo (Elavon announcement, 29 July 2020).
- In June 2022 the legal entity changed from Opayo to Elavon.
- In February 2023 Elavon replaced Opayo as the trading name; Opayo stayed as the name of the products, such as the Opayo gateway and Opayo POS.
- From March 2023 the Opayo website redirects to elavon.co.uk. MySagePay became MyOpayo, branded with the Elavon logo.
So if you search for SagePay today, you land on Elavon. Existing Opayo customers did not have to sign a new contract or new terms. Opayo is a multi-acquirer platform: it keeps providing gateway and card machine services to businesses whose acquirer is not Elavon. That last point matters if you only use the gateway: you can keep Opayo online and take card payments in person through another provider.
Elavon card machine plans and prices
Elavon's pricing page lists four plans, each tied to a band of annual card turnover. Over £200,000 a year, Elavon asks you to speak to it about a bespoke solution.
| Plan | Terminal | Fee | Personal Visa and Mastercard | Annual turnover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start simple (New to card) | Elavon Mobile card reader | £5 one-off card reader cost | 1.75% | up to £40,000 a year |
| Business Booster Desk | Tetra Desk countertop terminal | £15 monthly terminal fee | 0.99% | £40,000 to £200,000 a year |
| Core All-in-one | Tetra Move terminal plus the Elavon Payment Gateway | £15 monthly terminal and gateway fee, plus 16p per pay-by-link transaction | 0.99% | £40,000 to £100,000 a year |
| Business Booster Move | Tetra Move portable terminal | £18 monthly terminal fee | 0.99% | £40,000 to £200,000 a year |
Source: elavon.co.uk pricing plans, checked 1 November 2026. The published rates are for Visa and Mastercard personal debit and credit cards only. Rates for business, international and Amex cards are Not published. Authorisation fee: Not published (the pricing page lists no authorisation fee either way). All plans come with a 12 month contract, security, technical support and always-on reporting.
Two plans need a closer look. Start simple (New to card) looks cheap at £5 one-off card reader cost, but 1.75% against SumUp's 1.69% costs £0.60 more on every £1,000 you take, and it comes with a 12 month contract where SumUp has none. Below £40,000 a year, stay with a pay-as-you-go reader. Core All-in-one bundles the terminal and the Elavon Payment Gateway for £15 monthly terminal and gateway fee, plus 16p per pay-by-link transaction, which suits a shop that also sends payment links, but only up to £100,000 a year.
Elavon fees on a £5,000 a month shop
The house example takes £5,000 a month, £60,000 a year, which puts it on the Business Booster Desk or Business Booster Move plan. We assume one pound in five is paid on a business, international or Amex card, the part Elavon does not price publicly.
Personal cards: £4,000 × 0.99% = £39.60
Tetra Desk countertop terminal: £15.00 a month
Known cost: £54.60, plus £1,000 of other cards at a rate that is not published
If every card were charged 0.99%: £5,000 × 0.99% + £15.00 = £64.50
On the portable Business Booster Move: £39.60 + £18.00 = £57.60 before other cards
The highest rate on the other £1,000 that still matches
- SumUp pay as you go (1.69%), £84.50: (£84.50 − £54.60) ÷ £1,000 = 2.99%
- Square (1.75%), £87.50: (£87.50 − £54.60) ÷ £1,000 = 3.29%
- Dojo (1.2% blended, Dojo Wired rented), £75.00: (£75.00 − £54.60) ÷ £1,000 = 2.04%
Dojo on rate alone is £5,000 × 1.2% = £60.00 (businesses with annual card turnover below £100,000). Elavon checked 1 November 2026; SumUp and Square 25 August 2026; Dojo November 2026. The card mix is our assumption, not a statistic.
That makes Elavon a genuine contender at this size. Ask for the business, international and Amex rates on paper, plus any authorisation fee, and compare them with the 2.04% line above before you sign.
Opayo by Elavon online
For online payments Elavon sells the Opayo gateway with the merchant account on its Always Open plan: £25 monthly gateway fee, a transaction fee “from 0.99%”, subject to card turnover, 350 transactions free and no joining fee. The charge after the free transactions is not published. Our payment gateways comparison costs it against Stripe, Square and PayPal on the same £5,000 shop.
Elavon merchant services contract
This is where the pricing page and the terms disagree. The pricing page sells every plan on a 12 month contract, while the Terms of Service let a small business leave on one month’s notice and free of charge after 6 months. Ask which applies to your plan before you sign. What the UK Terms of Service (March 2026) say:
- If you are not a Large Corporate or Large Charity, at least one month’s notice at any time (clause 25.1.1).
- A Termination Fee covering Elavon’s reasonable costs applies if you end the agreement within 6 months of the start date; after 6 months, ending it is free of charge (clause 25.8). The amount is not published (the Termination Fee is calculated in the Schedule of Fees, which is not public).
- A Large Corporate (turnover or balance sheet over €2 million and 10 or more employees) gives at least 3 months’ notice, which cannot expire before the end of the Initial Term; the Initial Term is 36 months unless the application says otherwise (clauses 1.3, 25.1.2 and definitions).
- Elavon can end the agreement with at least 2 months’ notice.
Elavon’s own summary: you can close your account at any time by phone, email or in writing with 30 days’ notice, and charges may apply if you close it within the first 6 months. The steps for leaving, including the terminal return, are in our guide to cancelling Elavon.
Elavon payments and settlement
Next day funding is listed as a benefit of the Business Booster Move plan. The terms are less firm: funding follows the frequency set out in your application; Elavon says payment may occasionally take up to 3 business days (clause 3.4). If next-day money matters to you, ask for it to be written into the application. Customer service is on 0345 850 0195 (menu option 2), Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm; Opayo product support is on 0191 313 0299, 24 hours a day.
Pros and cons
Pros
- 0.99% on personal cards from £40,000 a year, published
- Terminal from £15.00 a month
- Under the terms, small businesses can leave on at least one month’s notice at any time
- Opayo gateway and card machines from one company
Cons
- Business, international and Amex rates not published
- 1.75% entry plan is dearer than SumUp
- Termination fee amount not published
- Pricing page and terms differ on the contract
Elavon or Dojo?
On personal cards Elavon's 0.99% beats Dojo's 1.2% blended rate; on everything else nobody can say until Elavon quotes. A blended rate covers every card at one price, so with Dojo there is no second number to chase. The full comparison is in Dojo vs Elavon, and the short profile is at /providers/elavon. For the wider market see our card machines guide.
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Elavon and Opayo questions
Is Sage Pay the same as Opayo and Elavon?
Yes, it is the same business under three names. In March 2020 Elavon completed the acquisition of Sage Pay from Sage Group. Sage Pay was renamed Opayo (Elavon announcement, 29 July 2020). In February 2023 Elavon replaced Opayo as the trading name; Opayo stayed as the name of the products, such as the Opayo gateway and Opayo POS. From March 2023 the Opayo website redirects to elavon.co.uk.
How much does an Elavon card machine cost?
Elavon publishes four plans: Start simple (New to card), £5 one-off card reader cost at 1.75%; Business Booster Desk, £15 monthly terminal fee at 0.99%; Core All-in-one, £15 monthly terminal and gateway fee, plus 16p per pay-by-link transaction at 0.99%; Business Booster Move, £18 monthly terminal fee at 0.99%. The published rates are for Visa and Mastercard personal debit and credit cards only. Rates for business, international and Amex cards are Not published.
Does Elavon have a contract?
All plans come with a 12 month contract, security, technical support and always-on reporting. The UK Terms of Service (March 2026) are looser for small businesses: you can leave on at least one month’s notice at any time (clause 25.1.1), and a Termination Fee applies only if you leave within 6 months of the start date (clause 25.8). The fee amount is not published (the Termination Fee is calculated in the Schedule of Fees, which is not public).
What does Opayo by Elavon cost online?
Opayo by Elavon (Always Open plan): £25 monthly gateway fee, a transaction fee “from 0.99%”, subject to card turnover, and 350 transactions free. The price per transaction after that allowance is not published.
Will my old Sage Pay or Opayo account still work?
Yes. Elavon's migration notes say existing Opayo customers did not have to sign a new contract or new terms, that MySagePay became MyOpayo, branded with the Elavon logo, and that the logo on Sage Pay or Opayo card machines changes to Elavon through a software update.
Who owns Elavon?
Elavon is a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp. In the UK, U.S. Bank Europe DAC, trading as Elavon Merchant Services, is a credit institution authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority.