It’s easier than ever to accept credit and debit cards. Forget the costly card machines of yore. Today’s contactless card readers come out-of-the-box with every tool needed to sell in person, remotely and online.
Zettle – now rebranded to PayPal Point of Sale – was long the best-known brand in the UK, but SumUp and Square have taken over as stronger alternatives. All famous for card readers that process payments with a smartphone or tablet through easy-to-use, free point of sale (POS) apps, they now offer much more.
All of these companies offer standalone, portable touchscreen terminals that work without a phone. If that’s not enough, their apps have now started accepting contactless cards directly on your phone.
Cost-conscious startups often prefer SumUp’s lowest transaction fee, while Square has the most superior free app. Zettle Reader used to be the most popular card reader, but the company has changed since PayPal acquired it.
Compare SumUp, Square and PayPal:
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| Square review | SumUp review | PayPal (Zettle) review | |
| Products |
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| Terminal price | £19–£149 + VAT | £30.59–£169 + VAT | £29–£249 + VAT |
| Transactions | 1.75% | 1.69% | 1.75% |
| Lock-in | None | None | None |
| Monthly fee | None | None | None |
| Min. sales volume | None | None | None |
| Payouts | Instant or 1-2 working days | 1 day or 2-3 working days | 1-3 working days |
| Use abroad | |||
The systems share characteristics that make them very attractive to small businesses. Setup costs are very low, and there are no fixed, monthly fees and no minimum transaction volume required. Plus: there’s no contractual commitment with any of these companies.
Photo: Mobile Transaction
Square Reader and SumUp Air (pictured) are some of the best card reader’s we’ve tried.
SumUp, PayPal and Square are therefore suitable both for infrequent use and processing many transactions daily as your primary POS solution.
Cards, payouts and charges
Unlike a traditional card reader machine with a contract, you purchase mobile card readers for a low price with no rental charges or lock-in.
PayPal Point of Sale and SumUp accept the most payment cards. On top of Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover accepted by Square, both SumUp and PayPal can handle Diners Club, JCB and UnionPay as well.
Square accepts Clearpay, a Buy Now Pay Later solution, and it works both in person and online.
Accepted cards and mobile wallets:
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| Accepted cards | ||
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| Accepted digital wallets | ||
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PayPal POS and Square charge a fixed percentage (1.75%) for all chip and contactless card transactions, but SumUp offers the lowest card rate at a fixed 1.69%, beating PayPal and Square by 0.06 percentage points.
These fees apply to any credit and debit cards, including foreign-issued and premium brands like Amex.
With a subscription, SumUp only charges 0.99% for domestic consumer cards in store and online, but international and commercial cards would then cost 1.99%. The monthly cost (£19) of this subscription is only worth the 0.99% fee if you accept over £2,000 monthly from UK consumer cards.
Pricing of Square, SumUp and PayPal Point of Sale:
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| Card readers | From £19* | From £30.59* | From £29* |
| Best deal | |||
| Chip, tap payments | 1.75% | Pay-as-you-go: 1.69% £19/mo plan: 0.99%/1.99% |
1.75% |
| Online store payments | UK cards: 1.4% + 25p Non-UK cards: 2.5% + 25p |
Pay-as-you-go: 2.5% £19/mo plan: 0.99%/1.99% |
n/a |
| QR code payments | UK cards: 1.4% + 25p Non-UK cards: 2.5% + 25p |
Pay-as-you-go: 2.5% £19/mo plan: 0.99%/1.99% |
n/a |
| Payment links | UK cards: 1.4% + 25p Non-UK cards: 2.5% + 25p |
Pay-as-you go: 2.5% £19/mo plan: 0.99%/1.99% |
2.5% |
| Invoice transactions | 2.5% | Pay-as-you-go: 2.5% £19/mo plan: 0.99%/1.99% |
n/a |
| Keyed transactions | 2.5% | 2.95% + 25p | 3.4% + 20p |
| Monthly fee | None | Pay-as-you-go: Free Payments Plus: £19/mo |
None |
| Min. sales volume | None | None | None |
| Payouts | Free, 1.5% for instant | Free | Free |
*Excluding VAT. Offers apply to the first card reader purchased.
With SumUp, settlement takes up to 3 working days. PayPal and Square deposit funds in your bank account slightly faster, within 1 or 2 working days.
In addition, Square offers Instant Transfers, a voluntary setting that clears transactions in your bank account within 20 minutes at an additional cost of 1.5% per transaction. To compete, SumUp Business Account (with a prepaid Mastercard) gives you free access to transactions within 24 hours, even on weekends.
Even faster, the online PayPal Business account can receive transactions within minutes if you opt for that.
Card readers and point of sale apps
The cheapest card readers of the three companies are:
- Square Reader: £19 + VAT
- SumUp Air: £30.59 + VAT
- PayPal Reader: £29–£69 + VAT
They cost less than other card machines because they require a Bluetooth connection with an app on iPad, iPhone or an Android tablet or smartphone.
Photo: Emmanuel Charpentier, Mobile Transaction
Square Reader is the smallest of the card readers.
The inventory libraries in each app look neat with images and product information so you can sell different sizes and types of each item.
Square’s app, ‘Point of Sale’, beats PayPal and SumUp with additional features like split bills, custom employee permissions (costing extra) and much more.
PayPal’s POS features come second with physical gift card options and stock counts, but some features have been removed since PayPal’s takeover of the product.
The SumUp app has slightly fewer POS features, but many more remote payment methods.
Specialised POS systems
You can use any of the card readers with more complex POS software so you are not limited to the free apps.
Square users can subscribe to Square for Retail, Square for Restaurants or Square Appointments for advanced till features. Several other excellent till systems, like Shopwave and TouchBistro, can be integrated too.
SumUp merchants can upgrade to SumUp Point of Sale, a user-friendly POS system where you can add modules of specialised features to suit any type of business. A free booking system can also be set up through SumUp.
Both Square and SumUp have their own self-service kiosks to purchase, where customers can order directly on a touchscreen.
PayPal doesn’t have its own sector-specific POS system or self-service kiosk, but their card reader is compatible with leading POS systems like Epos Now.
What are the alternatives? See all app-based card readers in the UK
Tap to Pay – without a card reader
A newer addition to all the platforms is Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android; the ability to accept contactless cards or mobile wallets directly on your smartphone, without a separate card reader.
Square, SumUp and PayPal’s tap-on-phone feature works on both Android smartphones and iPhone.
Standalone terminals available
If card readers for phones are not for you, Square, PayPal and SumUp offer card terminals that work independently. These have exactly the same transaction fees, no monthly costs and no contractual commitment.
One is Square Terminal with a built-in receipt printer and touchscreen with POS features similar to the Square Point of Sale app. It works with secured WiFi connections only, so is best at a fixed location, but can be carried around for table-service around your premises.
Prices of Square, SumUp and PayPal card machines:
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| Card reader with app | ||
| Square Reader: £19* |
SumUp Air: £30.59* |
PayPal Reader: £29–£69* |
| Standalone card machine | ||
| Square Terminal: £149* |
SumUp Solo: £71.10* SumUp Solo & Printer: £125.10* SumUp Terminal: £169* |
PayPal Terminal without barcode scanner: £149* PayPal Terminal w/ scanner or printer: £199* PayPal Terminal w/ scanner and printer: £249* |
*Excluding VAT. Free shipping included.
SumUp Solo and SumUp Terminal, on the other hand, don’t just connect with WiFi – they work with 4G, thanks to their SIM cards with unlimited free data.
Solo has very simple features: it accepts cards or mobile wallets and can processes refunds. You can also get it with a built-in receipt printer doubling as a portable charger.
Photo: Emmanuel Charpentier, Mobile Transaction
SumUp Terminal looks more like mainstream card machines such as PAX A920.
SumUp Terminal, in contrast, has a large touchscreen with the SumUp app installed and a built-in receipt printer. It’s perfect as a portable point of sale where it’s important to itemise bills with products and take table-side orders.
The pricier PayPal Terminal comes with the PayPal POS app built in and looks a lot like a smartphone. It works directly with WiFi or 4G (SIM card with unlimited data is included) and can be purchased with or without a built-in barcode scanner and/or a receipt printer dock.
Photo: Emily Sorensen, Mobile Transaction
The old Zettle Terminal we tested (pictured) is now branded as PayPal Terminal with blue details.
Free online payment tools included
Square provides most options for keyed and online payments: a free virtual terminal for telephone payments, e-gift cards, digital invoices (with invoice app), online store builder, payment links, QR codes for touch-free payments, and the ability to manually enter card details in the POS app.
| Remote payment | |
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| Payment link | |||
| E-gift card | |||
| Telephone payment | |||
| QR code | |||
| Email invoice | |||
| Online store | |||
| Click & collect |
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| Payment links | ||
| E-gift cards | ||
| Telephone payments | ||
| QR codes | ||
| Email invoices | ||
| Online store | ||
| Click & collect | ||
In second place, SumUp offers complimentary payment links to share via QR code, messaging or text, digital gift cards, email invoices and a basic online store created through the app in a few simple steps. A basic virtual terminal can also be activated for most users, including manual card entry at the POS checkout.
PayPal Point of Sale only offers gift cards, payment links and keyed entry for telephone payments. The platform used to include PayPal QR codes and email invoicing, but new users are instead encouraged to download the PayPal app for those now. You can nevertheless integrate PayPal with ecommerce platforms like Shopify and PrestaShop.
Many of these online payments were introduced as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but only Square and SumUp support a click-and-collect service.
They’re complete business solutions
Square, PayPal POS and SumUp aren’t just about card readers – they offer a range of business tools that work together in one account, helping you do more with less effort.
All three offer inventory management for retail and hospitality, with Square having the most advanced features.
They also provide analytics and sales reports, with options to export data or integrate with accounting software like Xero, Sage and QuickBooks.
“In our years of testing all three, I’m most impressed by Square’s ever-expanding features and SumUp’s ability to stay both simple and innovative. I loved Zettle’s card readers, but PayPal has made it less interesting.”
– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, Mobile Transaction
Square is constantly expanding its own (paid or free) business tools, such as the email marketing and customer loyalty features built into the platform. Users can also connect with lots of external software for things like ecommerce, marketing, food delivery and inventory management.
PayPal Point of Sale only connects with a few accounting systems, ecommerce builders and its own business platform. SumUp has a closed system relying on its own features, but recently added accounting and ecommerce integrations.
Whichever platform you choose, there are no contract obligations, monthly fees required or complicated terms. Instead, you get simple fees and a trusted payment system designed to help your business grow – it doesn’t get simpler than that.
