Payzone review for shop owners
Payzone makes sense for a convenience store that wants bill payments and top-ups at the till; as a card machine on its own it is a long, hard-to-leave contract. The £8.55 a week + VAT bundle runs for a 3-year minimum with 12 months’ written notice, and Payzone does not publish its card rates.
Verdict
Take Payzone for the bill payment footfall and commission, not to save on card fees. If you already have a card machine you are happy with, keep it and ask whether Payzone will supply bill payments alone. Never sign without the acquirer’s rates in writing.
Convenience stores, newsagents and off-licences that want to offer bill payments
You only want to take cards, or may sell the shop within 3 years
Checked 1 November 2026 against Payzone’s card payments page, retailer page and Network Membership Terms. Looking for a shop to pay a bill? Use Payzone’s own store finder; this page is for retailers.
What Payzone is
Payzone is a bill payment network run by Post Office Limited, trading as Payzone ("Part of the Post Office family"). Shops on the network take payments for gas, electricity, mobile top-ups, council tax and similar services, and earn commission on each one. The Payzone Plus terminal can also take card payments, and that is the part this review prices.
Payzone card machine costs
| Cost | What Payzone publishes |
|---|---|
| Payzone Plus bundle | £8.55 a week + VAT (Payzone Plus device, bill payments and card acceptance) |
| Card transaction rates | Not published ("competitive card transaction rates") |
| Acquirer | Not named; card acceptance is "only available via certain merchant acquiring services", subject to approval by that provider |
| Settlement | Next working day (Payzone’s card payments page) |
| Low usage charge | £2.49 a week when the site processes fewer than the minimum number of transactions |
| Annual increases | Charges rise each year by the percentage increase in the Retail Price Index (clause 14.18) |
Source: payzone.co.uk, checked 1 November 2026. One Payzone card acceptance page refers to customers on a combined contract paying £8.35 a week, and a 2022 Booker offer page showed £7.99 a week, so confirm the weekly price on your own contract.
The card side is a second contract. Payzone’s 2022 Booker offer page said businesses "will be required to enter into a separate contract with an acquiring bank" and that "there will be a minimum monthly service charge" under it; the amount is not published. That leaves you with two agreements to read: Payzone’s, and the acquirer’s.
Payzone contract length and notice
This is the part most retailers miss. The Payzone Network Membership Terms set out:
- The Minimum Period is the longer of 3 years from the Effective Date and the minimum duration of any add-on service (definitions, clause 25.1).
- You must give at least 12 months’ written notice, and notice given during the Minimum Period only takes effect at the end of it (clause 2.4). Payzone can end the contract without cause on 30 days’ notice (clause 19.3).
- On early termination you remain liable for all Service Charges (clause 20.9.1) and pay the Early Termination Administration Charge and the Card Acceptance Re-stocking Charge (clause 20.9.2), within 7 days of invoice (clause 20.10).
- Early Termination Administration Charge £40; Card Acceptance Re-stocking Charge £100.
- Return the equipment within 7 days of termination, and pay the Collection Charge (clauses 20.5, 20.6). You must insure each terminal bundle for at least £500 (clause 11.4).
- Payzone can change the terms on 7 days’ notice (clause 23.13).
Payzone markets "short contracts" for card acceptance. On the published network terms, the membership itself is the long part: diarise the notice date the day you sign.
Worked example: the £5,000 a month shop
Payzone’s card rate is not published, so the useful sum is how much room the weekly fee leaves. The house example takes £5,000 a month on cards.
- Bundle: £8.55 × 52 ÷ 12 = £37.05 a month before VAT and 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
- The acquirer’s rate must be at most (£84.50 − £37.05) ÷ £5,000 = 0.95% to match SumUp, or 0.76% to match Dojo, before bill payment commission
- Leaving after 12 months, if the whole weekly fee counts as Service Charges: 104 weeks × £8.55 = £889.20 + £40 + £100 = £1,029.20 before VAT
The weekly bill has separate parts: a Service Charge for network membership and a Card Acceptance Charge for card acceptance (clause 14.1); the split is not published, so the real exit bill could be lower than the last line. Bill payment commission offsets some of the weekly fee; Payzone does not publish the rate, so ask for your expected commission in writing.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Bill payments and top-ups bring customers into the shop
- Commission on every bill payment
- One terminal for bills and cards
- Next-working-day settlement on card takings
Cons
- 3-year minimum and 12 months’ written notice
- Card rates and acquirer not published
- Charges rise with RPI every year
- Terms can change on short notice
Payzone alternatives for card payments
For a convenience store taking cards only, look at the providers in our best card machines for retail shops guide and the cheapest card machines ranking. Payzone points card-only retailers to takepayments; our takepayments vs Dojo comparison covers it. Already tied into a long terminal deal? Read how card machine leases work.
Send us your Payzone and acquirer statements and our free statement review will show what the card side is really costing you.
Paying too much to take cards in your shop?
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Check the card side of your bill
We will cost your card takings with other providers, so you can decide with the numbers.
Payzone questions
How much does Payzone cost a shop?
Payzone advertises £8.55 a week + VAT for the Payzone Plus device, bill payments and card acceptance, about £37.05 a month before VAT (£8.55 × 52 ÷ 12). Card transaction rates are not published and come from a separate acquirer contract.
How long is a Payzone contract?
The Minimum Period is the longer of 3 years from the Effective Date and the minimum duration of any add-on service (definitions, clause 25.1). You must give at least 12 months’ written notice, and notice given during the Minimum Period only takes effect at the end of it (clause 2.4).
What does it cost to leave Payzone early?
On early termination you remain liable for all Service Charges (clause 20.9.1) and pay the Early Termination Administration Charge and the Card Acceptance Re-stocking Charge (clause 20.9.2), within 7 days of invoice (clause 20.10). The Early Termination Administration Charge is £40 and the Card Acceptance Re-stocking Charge is £100.
Who owns Payzone?
Post Office Limited, trading as Payzone ("Part of the Post Office family"), company number 2154540. Payzone runs a bill payment network of 24,000+ retailers.
I want to pay a bill at Payzone. Is this the right page?
No: this review is for shop owners deciding whether to take Payzone’s terminal. To pay a bill or top up, use the store finder on payzone.co.uk to find your nearest Payzone shop.