Worldpay vs Barclaycard: comparing two providers who won't publish a price
Neither of the UK's banking-heritage acquirers publishes its transaction rates, so any site showing you a "Worldpay vs Barclaycard" rate table is guessing. We compare what each actually puts in writing instead, and that comparison is one-sided: Barclaycard publishes its contract lengths, its cancellation pricing formula and a genuinely no-contract reader, while Worldpay's public pricing page commits to one figure - a £15 minimum monthly service charge. Between two custom quotes, take the one whose terms you can read before signing.
Rates and contract terms checked 24 August 2026· Based on providers' published pricing
Worldpay
- Rates
- Quote
- Min monthly
- £15
- Exit terms
- Unpublished
Barclaycard
- Rates
- Quote
- Contracts
- 0-18mo
- Exit formula
- Published
Getting quotes from either? Both price against your statement, which means both can be negotiated. We have seen quotes as low as 0.29% at high turnover. Have us run the negotiation.
What each provider puts in writing
Verified against each provider's own site and terms pages, 25 August 2026. "Not published" means exactly that: the term exists, but you will only see it in the contract you are asked to sign.
| Item | Worldpay | Barclaycard |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction rates | Not published; quoted case by case | Not published; quoted case by case |
| Published charges | £15 minimum monthly service charge is the one figure on the public pricing page | Card reader contract lengths and cancellation pricing are published per device |
| Contract length | Not published | 18 months on Countertop and Portable readers; 12 months on Smartpay Touch; no contract on Smartpay Anywhere |
| Early exit fee | Not published; the "leaving us" support page no longer exists | Published formula, priced per remaining month - Barclaycard's own example: "£7 x two months left in your contract = £14 plus VAT". £0 on both Smartpay readers |
| Notice period | Not published | Not published; depends on the age of the agreement |
| No-contract option | None published | Smartpay Anywhere: no contract, £0 cancellation |
Why we don't show a rate table here: our other comparisons compute costs from published rates. Neither provider publishes one, and figures copied from around the web are guesses dressed as data. The honest comparison for quote-only acquirers is the one above, plus your own two quotes read side by side.
Get both quotes, then let us read them against each other
Send your statement and both quotes if you have them. We work out the effective rate on each, line by line, and tell you which genuinely wins, including against the rest of the market. Free, no obligation.
How to judge the two quotes yourself
Work each quote to an effective rate. Add every line for a month - transaction fees at your card mix, terminal rental, minimum service charge, authorisation fees, PCI compliance - and divide by your monthly card turnover. Two quotes can carry the same headline rate and land a full percentage point apart once the fixed charges are counted.
Price the exit before the entry. Ask each for the minimum term, the early termination formula and the notice period in writing, and check them against the contract summary before signing. Barclaycard has published its cancellation pricing; make Worldpay match that transparency on paper, because a term that only appears after signing is a term you have already accepted.
Then make them bid.Quote-based pricing cuts both ways: it hides the floor, but it moves. A written quote from one is the best negotiating tool with the other, and a current statement is the best tool with both. This is the part we do for businesses every week, free, using volume they don't have alone.
The verdict
Get a Worldpay quote if
- You run a high-volume or multi-channel operation big enough to negotiate hard
- Your setup needs enterprise integrations
- You will insist on the exit terms in writing before signing, since none are published
Get a Barclaycard quote if
- You want the exit priced before you sign - the formula is public
- You want a no-contract route into an acquirer (Smartpay Anywhere)
- Published, checkable terms matter to how you buy
And get a third quote regardless: between two case-by-case prices, the only leverage is competition. The exit fees database shows what every provider we track publishes, and the switching guide covers the process end to end.
Two custom quotes deserve a third opinion
Tell us your monthly card takings and we price the whole market against both, including negotiated rates. Free, no obligation. Mon to Fri, 9am to 5:30pm.
See also Worldpay vs Dojo, Dojo vs Barclaycard, or the full UK card machine rates table.