What is Takepayments?
Takepayments is a UK-based independent sales organisation (ISO) offering card machines, online payments and card processing contracts for small businesses. It is one of the fastest-growing card payment companies in the UK, with many merchants under its belt.
The company has been around for over 25 years, previously trading as Payzone. In 2019, it transitioned into Takepayments for card payment solutions, leaving the brand Payzone to focus on payment hubs for utility bills and services.
Card machines
Takepayments’ main product is a smart POS terminal that is both a wireless card payment machine and checkout in one portable device: the PAX A920Pro card machine. This is a newer and better version of the original PAX A920 still offered by other payment companies.
The majority of new users opt for this terminal, and mainly the package with the Takepaymentsplus app installed.
Photo: Emily Sorensen (ES), Mobile Transaction
PAX A920Pro comes with a mix of PAX’s and Takepayments’ own software.
That being said, there are two subscriptions to choose from:
- Takepaymentsplus: £25 + VAT monthly (18 months’ contract)
- The Easy Deal: £7.50 + VAT monthly (monthly contract)
The Easy Deal has only basic transactions software, allowing you to accept card payments on the go without additional software like inventory tracking or cash acceptance. It’s ideal for merchants who don’t want to commit to more than a monthly plan, but it does have a setup fee of £150 + VAT. A SIM card for mobile connectivity would be free.
Takepaymentsplus takes features to the next level with an integrated product library, tipping, cash acceptance, sales and inventory reports and itemised receipts. The monthly cost includes a SIM card, card machine rental and the software – and there is no setup fee.
We’ve tested Takepaymentsplus and found it very easy to use, with a standard interface for a touchscreen card terminal. The till features aren’t extensive, so there is not too much clutter in the app menu to be confused about.
The only real issue was getting started, since we did not immediately receive a merchant login. If you’re locked out of the app like we were in the beginning, there is not anything you can use the terminal for, but Takepayments is fast to resolve this once you’re on the phone with them.
Photo: ES, Mobile Transaction
Takepaymentsplus has simple, self-sufficient point of sale (POS) software built in.
The card machine has no physical keypad, just a 5.5″ IPS touchscreen that’s easy to clean. For increased accessibility for the visually impaired, the package includes a tactile sticker to guide users to the right keys when entering their PIN.
Although the Takepayments app is easy to navigate, finding general settings on the screen is not entirely intuitive. The problem is when you leave the Takepayments app and are presented with different menu layouts with miscellaneous app icons, and then it’s not clear how to switch between it all.
We wanted to increase the screen brightness so it was more visible in strong sunlight (it can look dark when not on maximum brightness), but couldn’t find this setting without help. It took a Google search to find a guide explaining how to do this.
By and large, however, the terminal is user-friendly and clearly good quality with potential to add more features down the line.
The PAX terminal accepts cards via WiFi, Bluetooth or 4G (with the optional SIM card), has a 10-hour battery life and comes with a countertop dock for when it’s not carried around. It also has a receipt printer built in, which is capable of printing VAT rates and itemised receipts if you have added individual products to the bill.
Photo: ES, Mobile Transaction
Takepaymentsplus’ terminal prints paper receipts from the top side.
Takepayments also has some Ingenico card machines for a fixed till point (Countertop), carrying around on premises (Portable) or using independently on the go (Mobile). They have faded in popularity and are only preferred in some circumstances.
That’s partly because the only sales reports you get with the Ingenico terminals are a monthly statement from your acquirer. There is no online dashboard to log into to manage card machines, view transactions, payouts and account settings. This could be an issue if you need to integrate with accounting software or export your sales to a file. It is therefore better to choose the PAX terminal, which has both online and built-in reports on the terminal.
Photo: ES, Mobile Transaction
Takepaymentsplus includes access to an online Web Portal where you can create sales reports.
All the card machines accept contactless, chip and PIN and swipe card payments including the mobile wallets Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. Visa, Mastercard and Maestro are accepted as standard, while American Express can be added with an additional agreement.
Point of sale (POS) integrations
What POS integrations are available? Takepayments has its own till system called tPOS. This includes EPOS software, a register tablet and portable PAX A920Pro for card payments.
You cannot download the POS software on a commercial tablet or your phone. Instead, you get a specialised tablet register manufactured by PAX (either the E700 or E800 model) with a built-in receipt printer.
tPOS is Takepyaments’ own point of sale (POS) system.
There’s a package with features for retail (£45-£55 + VAT monthly) or hospitality (£55-£65 + VAT monthly). Regardless of the package, it comes with a £250 + VAT setup fee.
The setup can be expanded with a cash drawer, kitchen printer, barcode scanner and other compatible hardware.
The company used to offer the PAX A920 terminal with Epos Now till software (‘eposmove’), but this is no longer the case.
No other external POS systems can currently be integrated with Takepayments, which could be an issue for businesses with specific till preferences.
Alternatives: Best card payment machines for small businesses
Takepayments fees and contract
Takepayments offers standard, 18-month contracts with their card machines. Only the Easy Deal has a hefty setup fee (£150 + VAT), whereas the other packages have no setup fee. In general, the company takes pride in stating all fees upfront to avoid surprises later on.
Takepayments will set you up with two contracts:
The exact costs are tailored around the individual business and not listed on the website. Instead, Takepayments encourages you to request a quote through their online form and get a visit from a local sales consultant.
We can, however, state the following example of fees:
| Takepayments | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Contract length | 1 (Easy Deal) or 18 months |
| Setup fee | £150 (Easy Deal) or £0 (other card machine packages) |
| Card machine rental | Easy Deal: From £7.50 + VAT/mo per terminal Takepaymentsplus: £25 + VAT/mo per terminal |
| Merchant account fees | No monthly or annual fees |
| Transaction rates | Personalised, e.g. 0.3%-2.5% (depends on card/business) + flat fee |
| Monthly minimum charge | £10+/mo |
| PCI compliance | Takepayments fee: £35/yr (optional) Barclaycard fee: £15/mo (mandatory) |
| Chargebacks | £9 each |
| Payouts | Next-day w/Barclaycard: Free Elavon: 30p each |
| Refunds | 30p each |
| Early termination fee | Equivalent to buying out remaining contract |
| Online payments | Annual or monthly fee + transaction charges |
| Take- payments |
Pricing |
|---|---|
| Contract length | 1 (Easy Deal) or 18 months |
| Setup fee | £150 (Easy Deal) or £0 (other card machine packages) |
| Card machine rental | Easy Deal: From £7.50 + VAT/mo per terminal Takepaymentsplus: £25 + VAT/mo per terminal |
| Merchant account fees | No monthly or annual fees |
| Transaction rates | Personalised, e.g. 0.3%-2.5% (depends on card/business) + flat fee |
| Monthly minimum charge | £10+/mo |
| PCI compliance | Takepayments fee: £35/yr (optional) Barclaycard fee: £15/mo (mandatory) |
| Chargebacks | £9 each |
| Refunds | 30p each |
| Payouts | Next-day w/Barclaycard: Free Elavon: 30p each |
| Early termination fee | Equivalent to buying out remaining contract |
| Online payments | Annual or monthly fee + transaction charges |
Whereas other acquirers charge monthly and annual fees for card processing, the merchant account from Barclaycard Business has no monthly or yearly account fees. You are only paying fees for card machine transactions, chargebacks, refunds and a monthly PCI-DSS compliance charge to Barclaycard. There’s no charge for the paper statements from the bank.
Transaction charges
Transaction fees are tailored to the merchant’s needs. The main things that determine the card rates are the transaction value and sales volume.
If your average transaction value is low, like £5, your quoted fees would be higher than someone accepting high transaction values like £100. This means cafés and convenience stores, for example, probably won’t find that Takepayments is the right fit. Car dealerships, beauticians, restaurants and independent retail shops would, on the other hand, get competitive fees.
Transaction fees are composed of a variable rate associated with the card type/brand, plus a fixed authorisation fee. Takepayments splits the range of fees into four groups: 1) domestic debit cards, 2) domestic credit cards, 3) business debit cards, and 4) business credit cards. Domestic cards have the lowest rate – as low as 0.28% – while a business/corporate card typically costs 1.8%-2% but can go as high as 2.5% plus the fixed authorisation charge.
You can also expect a monthly minimum service charge, which is an agreed amount (say, £20) required in transaction charges every month. If you accept few card machine payments during a month so the total transaction charges are, say, £10, your transaction charges will still amount to £20 in that case.
American Express acceptance requires a separate agreement – it is not automatically accepted until this is set up through your acquirer.
If your average transaction value is low, like £5, your fees would be higher than someone accepting high transaction values like £100. This means cafés and convenience stores, for example, probably won’t be the right fit.
Contract
There’s no cancellation fee if you cancel at least 30 days (Easy Deal) or 60 days (annual plans) before the end of the contract. An early exit fee is equivalent to buying out the remaining contract.
Apart from the monthly rolling Easy Deal contract, all Takepayments card machine contracts require 18 months’ commitment.
Other fees
If you want mobile connectivity for Takepaymentsplus, a one-off cost of £4.50 applies to a SIM card with unlimited data.
There’s a monthly fee for card machine rental, the cost of which depends on the card machine model. Takepaymentsplus plus comes with a monthly £25 + VAT fee as standard, which includes the point of sale software on the screen and reporting in the browser-based merchant dashboard.
A stationary Ingenico card machine costs between £10-£15 + VAT per month in rental. Portable or mobile models have a higher monthly cost, except for the PAX A920Pro terminal in the The Easy Deal that costs £7.50 monthly with a complimentary SIM card if needed.
PCI-DSS compliance requires a compulsory monthly fee of £15 from the acquirer (Barclaycard) or ongoing non-compliance fee if you don’t complete all the required paperwork within a certain time frame. If you want help managing PCI-DSS compliance, Takepayments can do this for you for an annual fee of £35.
Chargebacks have a fixed fee of £9 each with Barclaycard, while refunds cost 30p to process.
Transactions are settled in your bank account according to your agreed schedule with the acquirer. With Barclaycard, you get next-day settlement for free, whereas a merchant account with Elavon charges 30p per settlement.
Online payments have separate charges, requiring an annual fee upfront or monthly subscription charge for months in arrears. The first 350 transactions per month are included in the price, whereafter you pay 10p per transaction online.
Remote and online payments
Apart from credit card machines, Takepayments has a good range of online payment methods to subscribe to, usually on an annual contract. These include:
Payment gateway: Customisable online checkout page integrated on your website, but hosted by Takepayments. You can get help setting up the online gateway, so hiring a developer isn’t needed. Compatible with 50+ online shopping carts.
If you don’t have a website already, Takepayments can create one for you for £39 + VAT monthly.
Pay by link: Send payment links through email invoices (invoice creation included), customisable email with “pay now” button, or copying and pasting a link into an email. Links take you to a payment page in a web browser.
Photo: ES, Takepayments
You can accept keyed card entry (over-the-phone) payments on the PAX terminal.
Virtual terminal: Secure web page where you can enter card details to process a transaction for the cardholder. Used for over-the-phone payments.
Merchant can accept keyed-entry cards on the PAX A920Pro terminal or from the Merchant Management System (MMS) in any web browser. MMS also helps you keep track of payments, add users and manage the online payment (not card machine) account in one place.
It is even possible to set up recurring payments or run pre-authorisations on card payments to verify if someone can pay.
Photo: Takepayments
Beepaid app for sending payment requests (links) to customers.
There are also the two following apps by Takepayments. They are not publicly available through Google Play or App Store. Instead, Takepayments gives you a URL to access for the below features.
‘beepaidGO’: Lets you send payment requests by email or text message and manage those transactions through the app.
‘Order and beepaid’: Includes a personalised web page with your food and drink menu and QR code to print for contactless ordering on your premises. When customers scan it, they can order and pay. Linked to the UK government’s Track and Trace system.
These online payment tools are great for adapting to socially distanced payments. For example, you can set up a delivery or click-and-collect system, contact-free ordering through QR codes or remote payments for self-isolating customers.
Customer service and reviews
Takepayments takes pride in their onboarding support so you can get up and running quickly. This includes a dedicated account manager for each merchant to turn to when needed.
Takepayments support can be telephoned every day of the week, but with varying opening hours: 8am-7pm on weekdays, 9am-5pm on Saturdays and Bank Holidays, and 9am-1pm on Sundays. You can also send a letter the old-fashioned way, whereas emailing is only possible in some cases.
There is an online support section for frequently asked questions, but it’s hard to find answers for unique questions since the search function rarely shows results even for keywords that you know are covered.
Before you sign up for Takepayments, a local consultant can come and visit your premises to get to know your business. This is part of the promise that you get a unique package, but some merchants may find it intrusive.
As for Takepayments reviews, they are mostly positive, but there have been many complaints in the past years. Common themes in the negative reviews include:
Some of these issues can be avoided by getting a copy of the contract to read in your own time before signing up. A 2-month cancellation period is unfortunately common, but Takepayments does highlight it during sign-up.
The sales consultants can reportedly be pushy, in some cases requesting the merchant’s ID before it’s even agreed they want to sign up. We recommend never passing on more details than you’re comfortable with.
That being said, the average Takepayments merchant ends up staying with the company for several years – which we can only take as a good sign.
Our verdict
Takepayments is generally a good deal for small businesses with an average transaction size well above £10 (the higher, the better) and sales volume of at least £2,000 monthly. The transaction rates will not be lower than SumUp’s or Square’s if individual sales are typically low (£5 or less), though.
The touchscreen card machine from PAX is good quality and easy to use with both simple or advanced POS features, making it versatile for any setup.
The fees are competitive for a merchant service provider, but Takepayments could do a better job of communicating them on the website. The sales reps will be more communicative than the ongoing support staff.
The touchscreen card machine from PAX is good quality and easy to use with both simple or advanced POS features, making it versatile for any setup.
A downside of the Ingenico terminals is the lack of online dashboard for tracking card machine sales remotely or exporting transactions to bookkeeping software.
That’s part of the reason why Takepaymentsplus (with its upgraded PAX A920Pro terminal) is more popular, since it comes with both on-screen reporting and a browser-based interface for admin features, reports and analytics.
| Takepayments criteria | Rating | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Product | 4.2 | Good |
| Costs and fees | 3.9 | Good |
| Transparency and sign-up | 4 | Good |
| Value-added services | 4 | Good |
| Service and reviews | 4.2 | Good |
| Contract | 3.7 | Passable/Good |
| OVERALL SCORE | 4 | Good |
| Takepayments criteria |
Rating | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Product | 4.2 | Good |
| Costs and fees | 3.9 | Good |
| Transparency and sign-up | 4 | Good |
| Value-added services | 4 | Good |
| Service and reviews | 4.2 | Good |
| Contract | 3.7 | Passable/Good |
| OVERALL SCORE | 4 | Good |
More advanced reports and POS features are of course available on the tPOS plans.
The tPOS systems for hospitality and retail are a big improvement over the last year, but some businesses will be put off by their 18-month lock-in. The lack of other POS integrations could be a downside for users with specific preferences.
