Card Reader

SumUp Air works by downloading a point of sale application onto a compatible smartphone/tablet and then linking the SumUp Air card reader via Bluetooth. The application is free and there is no monthly charge, you pay for the card reader as well as transaction fees. The point of sale application allows reports to be created.

The particulars

• The card reader costs £29 + VAT
• The smartphone/tablet needs to be connected to the internet in order to work – wifi or 3G at least
• There is a set transaction fee of 1.69%
• Minimum of £1 must be spent each transaction
• Accepts contactless, chip and pin, swiped cards as well as Apple pay and Google pay - Visa, V PAY, Mastercard, Maestro and AMEX all accepted
• The transaction takes 2-3 days to settle into the organisation's account
• Receipts can be emailed or texted to the payee as well as printed (the receipt printed costs additional)
• Battery lasts for 500+ transactions

Find out more about the SumUp POS and card reader

Square works by downloading a point of sale application onto your smartphone/tablet which is then linked to a Square card reader. The point of sale allows invoices to be sent to payees, receipts to be generated and sent to payees as well as the option to have an inventory in place.

The particulars

• The card reader costs £39 + VAT
• The smartphone/tablet needs to be connected to the internet in order to work – wifi or 3G at least
• Transaction charge is 1.75% for anywhere the card is present and 2.5% when the card is not present (manually taken details). The reader accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro, Visa Electron and V Pay
• Maximum transaction limit of £25K
• Payments reach the bank account by the next day
• Receipts can be sent via email or text
• Battery life should last throughout a full day of sales

Find out more about the Square POS and card reader

SmartTrade is the only provider listed on this guidance which can take card payments through the app directly and does not require a card reader. Payments can be taken via the app by either sending a secure payment link directly to the payee or by using the camera on your smartphone to scan the card details. Card details can also be entered manually.

The particulars

• There is a monthly charge of £9.99 for a single user or £26.99 for up to 15 users
• If you have the single user account then there is a charge per transaction of 1.85% + 20p. There is a charge of 2.15% + 20p per transaction for those who are on the business account
• The smartphone/tablet needs to be connected to the internet in order to work – wifi or 3G at least
• Can accept Visa, American Express, and Mastercard
• Payments take 5 business days to reach your account
• Receipts can then be emailed to the payee and the receipts can also be customised

Find out more about the SmartTrade app

The PayPal Here works by downloading a point of sale application onto your smartphone/tablet which is then linked to a PayPal card reader. The card reader is paired with your smartphone/tablet via Bluetooth. The point of sale application gives users the option to generate reports, set up an inventory which can include regular payment amounts, and also allows the account to have multiple users if required.

The particulars

• The card reader costs £54 including VAT
• The reader needs to be connected to the internet in order to work – wifi or 3G at least
• Each transaction is then charged at 2.75% (for contactless and chip and pin) or 3.4% + 20p for payments made by swiping or manually entering the card details
• Maximum limit of £5500 per transaction
• The reader can accept contactless, chip and pin or swiped cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express) 
• Payment instantly received in the bank account
• Option to email, text or print receipts (printer sold separately)
• The downloadable application provides the option to customise receipts
• Battery life for up to 100 transactions continuous use

Find out more about the PayPal Here POS and card reader

The iZettle system uses a point of sale application (iZettleGo) which can be downloaded onto a smartphone/tablet and then linked to a separate card reader via Bluetooth. The point of sale application has many features such as payment tracking, an inventory where regular items being sold can be listed, as well as providing quick access to receipts which can then be emailed to payees. The point of sale application also has an option to download reports which track how much has been paid into the account over a given period. 

The particulars

• Although the application itself is free you would also need to buy a card reader which costs £29 + VAT for the first iZettle reader and then £59 + VAT for any additional readers required.
• The smartphone/tablet needs to be connected to the internet for iZettle to work – wifi or 3G at least
• Each transaction costs an additional 1.75%
• Minimum transaction fee of £1 and a maximum of £5K
• Can accept contactless, chip and pin or swiped cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and JCB union pay) as well as Apple/Google/Samsung pay
• Payments take 1-2 business days to settle in the account
• Receipts can be emailed or texted to payees as well as printed (printer sold separately)
• No set contract
• Battery life of 8 hours (continuous use)

Find out more about the iZettle POS and card reader