- Highs: Just one transaction fee. No contract. Works independently anywhere with 3G, GPRS or WiFi.
- Lows: No out-of-the-box integration with POS systems. Too simple for some merchants.
- Buy if: You want a friction-free portable card terminal without monthly fees or lock-in.
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With this terminal, you enter the transaction value directly on the keypad, put in the chip card or tap the contactless card, and it will process the payment over the mobile network.
It’s a pay-as-you-go system, so you purchase the card machine, then pay only one fixed card rate for all transactions through the reader.
There’s no contract or other fees to commit to, making this an economical solution for price-sensitive businesses, sporadic sales or startups that can’t predict where they’ll be beyond the next few months, or just those who need a mobile terminal to take cards where the customer is.
If you need to print receipts, you can get the SumUp 3G and Printer, which is basically the SumUp 3G reader attached to a printing cradle.
Accepted cards
For £129 + VAT, you can get the new SumUp 3G + Printer duo. Comes with free SIM, no contract – just a fixed transaction rate.
Fees and settlement
The two things you pay for are the £99 + VAT one-off cost of the card reader and 1.69% transaction fee for all the payments processed through it. There’s no setup fee or extra charges for foreign cards.
Delivery of the card reader is free, and there are no monthly fees or minimum sales volume required, so this is a pay-as-you-go system without hidden costs. SumUp has a 30-day money-back guarantee for the card machine in case you change your mind, and one year’s warranty if you keep it.
Payments go “directly into your bank account”, meaning they automatically reach your bank account 1-3 working days after each transaction, minus the transaction fee. Alternatively, the new SumUp prepaid card gives you access to payouts the day after transactions, even on weekends. That is, if you accept cards on a Saturday, you can spend those takings the next day, Sunday.
There are no fixed transaction limits. Instead, SumUp views transactions on a case-by-case basis (e.g. suspicious-looking or large payments may be flagged).
| Costs | |
|---|---|
| SumUp 3G price | £99 + VAT |
| Shipping | Free |
| Monthly fee | None |
| Contractual commitment | None |
| Card transaction fee | 1.69% |
| Payouts | Free |
| Refunds | Free within 1-3 days, 1.69% after |
| Chargebacks | £10 admin fee |
| Costs | |
|---|---|
| SumUp 3G price | £99 + VAT |
| Shipping | Free |
| Monthly fee | None |
| Contractual commitment | None |
| Card transaction fee | 1.69% |
| Payouts | Free |
| Refunds | Free within 1-3 days, 1.69% after |
| Chargebacks | £10 admin fee |
Refunds are free if done straight after the transaction took place, i.e. before settlement has completed. If payments have already been paid out to your bank account, SumUp keeps the transaction fee for the refund. Chargebacks incur a £10 admin fee.
Those who want to accept remote payments can ask SumUp to activate a virtual terminal (for over-the-phone payments) costing 2.95% + 25p per transaction. You can also just use the mobile payment options (QR codes, payment links, SMS), invoicing and online store accessible for all users in the SumUp App – those transactions cost 2.5% each.
Of the pay-as-you-go solutions, SumUp is known for having the lowest transaction fees. Their other terminal, SumUp Air, also accepts cards at 1.69% per transaction.
The most equivalent card machine, myPOS Go, advertises a 1.75% transaction fee, but this is contingent on the card being used. The rate is indicate of Visa and Mastercard transactions, while premium cards like Amex will likely incur a higher fee.
Photo: Emmanuel Charpentier (EC), Mobile Transaction