How to take card payments Whichever way your small business needs to process card transactions – whether in person, online, via email, or over the phone – our dedicated guide will show you how Aimee Bradshaw June 21, 2021 9 min read Our experts Startups was founded over 20 years ago by a serial entrepreneur. Today, our expert team of writers, researchers, and editors work to provide our 4 million readers with useful tips and information, as well as running award-winning campaigns. Our site is governed by the Startups editorial manifesto. This article was authored by: Aimee Bradshaw Senior Writer Whether you’re starting a new business or investigating how to move away from cash, taking card payments is a sure fire way to maximise sales and profits. This page will provide you with an overview of all the things you need to think about when taking card payments.The video below explains the steps you need to take before you start taking payments, including choosing your payments provider, recognising the different types of card payment methods, and choosing the type of merchant account you need to open as part of the card payment process. How to take card payments: a summaryDecide which payment methods you require – card readers, payment gateways, and/or virtual terminalsResearch merchant account providers (we can help!)Decide on a merchant account provider that offers you the payment services you require for the best transaction feeMake sure the services are compatible with your point of sale system and website hosting platformSet up your card reader, payment gateway, and/or virtual terminal and start taking payments face to face, on your website, over the phone, and through payment linksWant to learn more about how card payments work and the different types of card payments? Then read on!If you’d like to learn more about card reader providers, check out our page on the best card readers for small businesses. Taking payments: a guide How does taking a card payment work? Taking card payments and merchant accounts Different ways to take card payments How to take card payments with a card reader How to take card payments with a payments gateway How to take card payments with a virtual terminal What happens when you take a card payment?The diagram below follows the journey a transaction takes once a customer enters their card information.Let’s put this in a scenario to make things clearer:Amit walks into Coast Roast, a new coffee shop that’s just opened up near his local beach. He orders a cappuccino and gets out his card to payThe barista makes Amit a deliciously frothy cappuccino, then grabs the card reader for Amit to tap with his cardAmit taps his card and the transaction travels from the card machine to Coast Roast’s merchant account, where it waits for approvalAmit’s card company is alerted of an attempted purchase and contacts his bank to make sure there’s enough money in his accountAmit’s bank tells the card company that he can afford to purchase the cappuccinoThe card company approves the transaction and the transaction remains in the Coast Roast merchant account while it’s being clearedAmit heads down to the beach to enjoy his coffee The same process happens whether you accept a card payment through a card reader, payment gateway, or virtual terminal. As mentioned in the video, these methods provide a secure portal through which customers can input their bank account details – the rest of the transaction process remains pretty much the same. Taking card payments and merchant accountsCard payments and merchant accounts go hand in hand, as merchant accounts are where transactions go to be processed once a card transaction has taken place.Merchant accounts can be:Supplied by a bankSupplied by a payment facilitatorMerchant accounts supplied by banks incur fees that are dependent on the volume of card transactions you take per month. They usually involve contracts, and set monthly fees to cover costs like PCI (Payment Card Industry) security standards.Merchant accounts supplied by payment facilitators incur a set fee per transaction that’s only cost-effective up to a certain volume of transactions per month. Arrangements with payment facilitators are usually contract-free, and fees are inclusive of all charges.For more information on merchant accounts, head on over to our what is a merchant account page.Merchant accounts can also be:Low riskHigh riskBoth banks and payment facilitators supply low risk merchant accounts. They’re offered to businesses that deal with low risk transactions – ones that aren’t classed as high value or don’t usually run the risk of expensive refunds. Most retailers and service providers use a low risk merchant account.Businesses that are at risk from frequent high value refunds (e.g travel companies) or sell high value products (e.g car dealerships) must apply for a high risk merchant account. High risk merchant accounts fees are higher and deposits take longer to process. If you require more information, read our guide on high risk merchant accounts. Different ways to take card paymentsThere are three main types of card payment: card machine (card present), payment gateway (card not present), and virtual terminal (card not present).Merchant account providers usually charge less to process card-present payments over card-not-present payments.For example, Zettle by PayPal and Square are two popular merchant account providers.They charge businesses 1.75% for card-present transactions and 2.5% for card-not-present transactions.So, how and when are the different types of card payment used?Types of transactionFace-to-faceWebsiteOver the phonePayment links (e.g. e-invoice)Card machine✓✗✓✗Payment gateway✗✓✗✓Virtual terminal ✗✗✓✗Card machines are mainly used for face-to-face payments. However, some card machines take card-not-present payments, too. For example, a customer can ring and pay by giving you their card number, expiry date, CSC (card security code) number, and the digits from their billing address postcode. You key these details into your card machine.Payment gateways are built into ecommerce websites. To have all payment methods provided by a single provider, you’ll need to check which payment gateways your ecommerce site is compatible with – or indeed, check compatibility before you choose your ecommerce provider.Virtual terminal platforms are used by you if a customer phones up to pay. Virtual terminals work in exactly the same way as if you were keying a payment into your card machine. You’ll require a card number, expiry date, CSC (card security code) number, and the digits from the customer’s billing address postcode. Payment gateways vs virtual terminalsTraditionally, payment gateways are used by the customer to purchase items via an ecommerce store.However, more recently, they’re now used in conjunction with payment links to enable customers to pay remotely.Some merchant account providers offer payment gateways that integrate into third party ecommerce web-hosting platforms, while others only support their own hosting platform.For example, WorldPay integrates with Shopify Ecommerce, while the Square payment gateway only integrates with Square Online.Virtual terminals, on the other hand, are solely used by a supplier to enter in customer card details when a customer chooses to pay over the phone. How to take card payments with a card readerTo take card payments with a card reader, you’ll first need to decide on whether you want to use a bank or a payment facilitator. They’ll be able to offer you card readers that are compatible with their payment system. The table below outlines the main differences:Traditional card readerMobile card readerKey points:1. Usually supplied by banks and larger payment facilitators, including WorldPay2. Accepts contactless, chip and pin, mobile, and virtual payments3. Wired and wifi-enabledKey points:1. Usually supplied by payment facilitators, including SumUp, Square, and Zettle by PayPal2. Accepts contactless and chip and pin payments3. Wifi-enabled, mobile bluetooth 3G connection, SIM card 3G connectionTo take card payments using a card reader, you’ll need to make sure you have wifi or mobile internet connection. Just make sure you check with your provider as to which method of connectivity you need before you commit.Instructions for configuring your card reader with your payment software are usually fairly simple. Once it’s configured, all payments will be processed through the software, meaning you’ll have access to data on all of your payments.The majority of payments taken with a card reader will be taken using contactless payment methods – the transaction limit of contactless payments is currently £45. After £45, customers will need to input their pin number.If you need more information on card readers in general, head on over to our guide to chip and pin machines. We explain the differences between traditional and mobile card readers in more detail and clue you in to how they work.If you’re ready to start comparing card readers, take a look at our pick of the best card readers for small businesses. You can read about card readers from a range of providers and discover the best way to find the right one for your needs. How to take card payments with a payment gatewayTo take card payments via your website, you’ll need a payment gateway. If your website is hosted by a website builder like Wix or Squarespace, you’ll need to check which payment gateway providers are compatible with your chosen platform.You can also set up a website through your payment processing provider. These websites are typically very simple and use your payment provider’s payment gateway to take card payments.So what do you need to consider when taking card payments online?Choosing the right payment gateway serviceYour payment gateway provider doesn’t have to be the same as your card reader provider.For example, you could choose SumUp for your card reader payments, but use Stripe as your payment gateway provider for your hosted website.Using one platform to host all payment processingStarting an online store through your payment processor is usually free. Instead, charges occur on a per transaction basis. For example, SumUp charges 2.5% per transaction made through its online platform, which is more cost-effective than Stripe, which charges 1.6% + 20p to process a transaction on a hosted website platform. SumUp vs Stripe payment gateway case studyOn its own, SumUp’s payment gateway is not integratable with third party ecommerce platforms. Instead, SumUp provides its own online store service which merchants can access and set up via the SumUp app.SumUp enables merchants to set up an attractive (albeit simple) online store that offers shipping and click and collect services. SumUp doesn’t charge merchants to set up an online store, but it does charge a fee of 2.5% per card payment.While SumUp stores are easy to set up, merchants don’t benefit from having their own personalised web address. This means merchants are limited to linking to their website from social media pages or through customer emails.You’ll also find that instead of accepting card payments in multiple currencies, a SumUp payment gateway only accepts one currency, and additional services like payment analytics just aren’t as sophisticated as those offered by dedicated payment gateway providers.Stripe, on the other hand, is a dedicated payment gateway provider. While charging slightly more per transaction (1.6% + 20p), it embeds into a multitude of ecommerce platforms and enables you to take card payments in a number of different currencies.Dedicated payment gateway providers like Stripe also enable merchants to benefit from a search engine optimised website with a personalised web address, in-depth analytics, and higher levels of security. In essence, to take card payments online, think about your return on investment potential.Do you want to take card payments with a simple, cost-effective set up? Or, do you want to take card payments online with a sophisticated, more costly website and payment gateway provider that could generate more revenue in the long run? Are you a hospitality business looking to take payments online for takeaway and delivery orders?Then, take a look at our dedicated page to the best online ordering systems for takeaway and delivery in the UK. How to take card payments with a virtual terminalA virtual terminal offers the same function as a card reader – you just type your customer card credentials into an online platform, rather than a physical device.Because virtual terminal card payments are classed as card-not-present payments, payment processing companies charge more to process these transactions.Most payment processors offer virtual terminals alongside their card reader and payment gateway services, meaning you can keep all of your payment processing with one provider.Our payments expert, Robert Binns, goes into great depth about how to take card payments with a virtual terminal in his guide to taking payments over the phone.Taking card payments: key takeawaysThere are three ways to take card payments – by card reader, by payment gateway, and by virtual terminalCard payment services can be supplied by banks or payment facilitatorsTypically, you can mix and match card payment service providers or use the same one for all three methodsThe card payment taking process involves several parties, including your merchant account provider, and the customer’s card association and bankThere are so many different card payment processing companies out there all offering different services at different ratesA quick way to find out which card processing company is right for your business is to compare providers through our online tool Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Aimee Bradshaw Senior Writer Aimee is Startups' resident expert in business tech, products, and services. She loves a great story and enjoys chatting to the startups and small business community. Starting her own egg delivery business from the age of 12, she has a healthy respect for self-starters and local services.