SumUp Business Account is an e-money account, not bank account, managed through an app or online dashboard.
It allows you to transfer money to any UK bank account, receive next-day payouts from SumUp and use a debit card for business expenses.
The app is the same as that used for the SumUp Solo Lite reader, invoicing and remote payments. This way, you have access to all the SumUp tools from your iPhone (not iPad) or Android device anywhere with an online connection.
This is SumUp’s alternative to those in need of a basic, free and convenient business account with next-day card machine payouts. It can act in place of a bank account, but is limited to UK bank transfers in British pounds only.
Eligibility and getting started
To qualify for an account, you’ll need to be a company or sole trader registered in the UK. Private individuals and non-UK businesses cannot create an account.
Certain high-risk business types are restricted, such as multi-level marketers, adult entertainment and pawnshops, but most applicants are accepted the same day.
To get started if you’re not already a SumUp user, you only need to complete the general online sign-up form on the website. In most cases, it takes minutes to complete the form, but certain businesses may need to submit documentation for further verification.
If you already have a SumUp account, you probably already have the business account in the app and SumUp Dashboard (in a browser). Only one business account can be created per registered business entity.
Pricing: free standard features, optional subscription
The SumUp Business Account has two plan options: one free (Business Account) and another for £15 per month (Business Account Plus). None of them have contract lock-in, so you can close the account any time without penalty.
In the account, you can order the SumUp debit card free of charge and use a virtual one straight away.
| SumUp Business Account |
Fees |
|---|---|
| Monthly fee | Free plan: £0/mo Plus plan: £15/mo |
| Prepaid Mastercard | Free |
| UK bank transfers, Direct Debits | Free |
| Cash deposits | Free plan: 2.5% fee Plus plan: 2% fee |
| UK cash withdrawals | Free plan: 3/mo free, then 2% fee Plus plan: 5/mo free, then 2% fee |
| Foreign cash withdrawals | Always 2% |
| Foreign transaction fee with card | Free |
Only a few additional fees apply to the account, with these differences between plans:
- Free monthly ATM withdrawals before SumUp charges 2% of the withdrawal amount: 3 on Free or 5 on Plus
- Cash deposit fee: 2.5% on Free or 2% on Plus
Taking out cash abroad always incurs a 2% fee.
There are otherwise no charges for transferring money to a UK bank account or Direct Debits, nor does it cost anything to receive bank transfers or SumUp payouts. The card can be used in any online and physical shop (accepting Mastercard) globally without charges.
No minimum account balance is required (i.e. £0 is fine), but there is no overdraft option either or interest added to the balance over time.
Photo: Mobile Transaction
The reviewer’s first SumUp Business Card received.
Account and card
SumUp is not a bank; it’s an e-money institution and mobile payment solutions provider. The Business Account is therefore an e-money account rather than a bank account, but it has an account number, sort code and BIC.
It does not have an IBAN for international transfers.
The account can be used for:
It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Your money is safeguarded in separate accounts unattached to SumUp’s own accounts, so if anything happens to SumUp, your funds are safe.
If you accept cards through SumUp, you can choose to receive payouts in the Business Account the following day, including weekends.
Image: Mobile Transaction
Card controls in the app.
It takes a bit longer when you settle in a bank account directly, i.e. 2-3 working days depending on your bank and type of card accepted.
Each account comes with one free, contactless and chip SumUp Card, i.e. Business Prepaid Mastercard for your business finances. You can only have one card per account, unless you subscribe to Plus which allows 3 additional card for your team or expenses.
Because the card is Prepaid, not a Debit Mastercard, there may be stores that don’t accept it. In the vast majority of cases, you can use it in online and physical stores anywhere in the world accepting Mastercard.
Online purchases with SumUp Card are verified with 3D Secure technology, which means you’ll get a phone notification asking you to verify each transaction.
The card controls in the SumUp Business app are useful, but not extensive: you can only freeze/unfreeze card payments and change the PIN. The card can be added to your Apple Pay or Google Pay wallet.
App features
Your account is managed in the very user-friendly SumUp Business app where you’ll find various complimentary features.
The following are the main Business Account features:
Transactions and payout history: View a list of transactions or tap on them individually for more details.
Card controls: Block your card or change your PIN in the app. Plus includes more controls such as spending limits on team cards.
Bank transfers: Transfer funds to your own bank account or another person or business. You’ll need a bank account number and sort code for the latter. Alternatively, you can share your account details via a message or AirDrop (for Apple devices).
Image: Mobile Transaction
Business Account overview in app.
Image: Mobile Transaction
Bank transfer screen.
Payout settings: Choose settings related to payouts, such as whether to settle directly in your bank account or e-money account, frequency of payout report emails and the transfer description shown on your customers’ bank statements.
Security settings: Toggle on Strong Customer Authentication and face/biometric ID instead of using a PIN to log into the app. Push notifications alert you to transactions so you can keep a close eye on them.
Additional features linked with the account
Apart from the Business Account section, the app also has these extras – without monthly fees – that are super-handy for taking payments:
Payment links: Create payment links to send via text, app or email, or show a QR code of the link (for in-person payments). The payer clicks on the link to finalise the payment on their phone with their card details.
Invoicing: Send email invoices with a payment due date, customer and product details. Monitor payments and send reminder emails to the payer. The Plus plans lets you customise invoices further.
Online store: Create a basic online store from the app, where you can sell items added to your product library. Referred to as “the online store that doesn’t need instructions”, SumUp Online Store is the fastest way we know of to set up shop online.
Gift cards: Sell gift cards from a web page, which the customer receives over email.
Virtual terminal: Accept telephone or mail order payments via keyed entry on this screen (not available for all merchants).
POS checkout: Accept Tap to Pay (contactless) payments directly in the app’s POS checkout. Add items from a product library or custom amounts to a bill.
Accounting and Making Tax Digital
A huge advantage for sole traders is SumUp Business Account’s compliance with Making Tax Digital (MTD). Both the free and paid plan include all the required features for sole traders to comply with HMRC.
From April 2026, self-employed people with a qualifying income of £50k+ have to use HMRC-recognised software such as SumUp to submit tax returns quarterly. From April 2027, this applies to sole traders earning £30k annually, and the year after, the threshold is £20k.
“Although I don’t use SumUp as my main sole trader account, the MTD features alone would really tempt me to switch if only I didn’t need to receive wire transfers from abroad (not possible with this account). It’s otherwise so easy to use, doesn’t cost a thing and would save me hours of bookkeeping time each month.”
– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, Mobile Transaction
Powered by Sage, SumUp’s business account tracks your income and expenses digitally when accepting payments, using the debit card and sending invoices through SumUp. The account also lets you submit the tax returns easily and track your tax bill along the way.
This is probably the cheapest and easiest way to comply with MTD: use the SumUp account to bill clients, record expenses (can save photos of receipts too) and submit taxes.
Image: Mobile Transaction
SumUp has taken the fear put of self-assessments by integrating Making Tax Digital.
Expenses and budgeting
In addition, you can auto-categorise expenses (any plan) and add up to 3 extra balances (Plus plan) to separate funds for taxes, expenses and bills. These are fairly standard features in today’s digital banking solutions, but nonetheless invaluable for budgeting and tracking finances.
In the Dashboard, you get a decent selection of expense features, such as automatic categorisation of payments, a supplier directory, to-do list and clear highlights of which expenses still need a receipt attached.
Customer service and reviews
Businesses can chat with SumUp on weekdays between 8am and 7pm or weekends between 7am and 5pm, 24/7 via priority support on the Plus plan. If messaging on the free plan, you typically get a response within one working day.
SumUp as a company is popular in the UK, but that doesn’t stop it from getting negative reviews from some users. The main criticisms are slow support responses, difficulties of getting to talk to a real person, slow shipping and technical issues with card readers.
Several people have in the past complained that SumUp has switched payouts to go to the Business Account rather than the merchant’s bank account without the knowledge of the user. This implies that SumUp prefers you to use the Business Account rather than bank account, but you are of course free to use either.
Our opinion: very convenient for small-scale domestic businesses
SumUp Business Account is fairly basic on its own, but comes in a unique package with many other payment tools.
The online account offers fast payouts for SumUp merchants preferring to see their funds the next day rather than days later. But even if you’re not bothered about payout times, there’s a lot of value in the versatility of the app.
Whereas similar solutions charge extra for invoicing, SumUp provides decent free invoice features (you only pay a transaction fee). You also get an online store, payment links, QR codes and a portable till system free in the same app as where you manage the account.
The GBP-only account is, however, limited when it comes to international functions. You cannot send or receive foreign wire transfers, only use the Mastercard globally.
Freelancers benefit heavily with the Making tax Digital features included in the account, as long as they don’t need to receive client transfers from abroad. Companies don’t get MTD for VAT with the account, but they are more likely to look for a more advanced bookkeeping system anyway.
To manage expenses of multiple users and get more card controls, you’ll have to subscribe to Plus.
But on the whole, SumUp Business Account is suitable for domestic freelancers and small businesses that just need a simple business account to simplify finances.
