UK credit card processing fees & rates calculator

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Square: £0 monthly fees

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Tide: flat transaction fee of 1.5%

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Takepayments: Transaction fees from 0.3% to 2.5%

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How much revenue does your business make in a typical month?

How many transactions per month do you estimate you process?

Card processing fees are charges that merchants (including small businesses) pay for accepting card payments, covering costs such as authorisation, settlement, and compliance.

Taking card payments isn’t just about choosing the best card machine; you’ll also need to understand credit card processing fees (including the cheapest credit card processing fees), as they can affect your profits and pricing decisions. Even the most affordable terminal won’t save you money if each transaction incurs high fees.

That’s why we built our custom card processing fees calculator (above), which is informed by data collected by our in-house research team from 10 of the UK’s top payment providers.

Answering just two questions provides an instant, clear breakdown of the lowest fees from top UK providers.

As a merchant, you can expect the following typical card-processing fees:

• Transaction fees: Between 1.5% and 3.5% with each payment, depending on the credit card your customer uses.
• Authorisation fees: Between 1p and 3p per sale.
• Merchant service fees: 0.25% to 0.35% per transaction.

Below, you’ll find guidance to help explain the fees your small business will encounter, including a breakdown and analysis of the seven types of card payment costs.

What UK card processing fees will I pay?

There are specific fees you must pay, as well as additional charges depending on your business size, your payment provider, and how you take payments.

What fees do I need to pay?

Let’s break down the fees you absolutely must pay and what they are:

Transaction fees

• Represent the most common type of card fee.
• Come from your payment processor or merchant account provider.
• Take a percentage of each transaction.
• Combine scheme fees, provider markup, and sometimes interchange fees.
• Can reduce profit margins (so compare providers to secure a better rate).

Interchange fees

• Pass from your bank to the card issuer for every card payment, then get passed on to you.
• Cover transaction handling, bad debt, and risk.
• Stay capped in the UK at 0.2% for consumer debit and 0.3% for consumer credit (with higher commercial card rates).
• Get bundled into the flat-rate fee if you use processors like Square or Stripe.

Authorisation fees

• Begin with the card issuer authorising the payment.
• Flow through your processor as it sends a request to Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc., to verify the card and funds.
• Apply regardless of whether the payment is approved or declined.
• Vary based on card type and transaction volume.

What additional fees might I need to pay?

The additional fees you may need to budget for are:

Minimum monthly service charges (MMSC)

• Charged if your monthly transaction fees don’t meet a minimum.
• Usually a low amount.
• Can affect seasonal businesses.

Card machine costs

• Charged upfront or monthly, depending on your contract.
• Cost also depends on machine type (e.g., Square card reader).
• Options range from basic phone-connected readers to advanced handheld point-of-sale (POS) devices.

Setup charges

• One-time fee when first signing up for a payment processor or merchant service provider.
• Can be up to £100.
• Most providers don’t charge it.

PCI compliance fees

• Fee for maintaining PCI DSS security compliance.
• May incur an additional cost for quarterly security scans.

We tried out the Square Terminal card machine in the Startups offices. Source: Startups.co.uk

What are the average costs for all card processing fees?

If you don’t understand average prices and what you should be paying, you could get stung. Here’s a breakdown of the different types of fees and their average costs:

How much does Visa charge merchants in the UK?

Visa doesn’t charge merchants directly. It charges interchange, assessment, and processing fees to the payment processor, which incorporates these fees into its merchant packages. Visa’s standard interchange fee is between 0.20% and 1.5%, depending on card type, processing method, and other factors.

What additional fees apply to international card payments?

Small businesses that make multi-currency sales should budget for additional charges as follows:

• Currency conversion fees: 1% to 3%
• Cross-border fees: 0.6% to 1.5%
• Dynamic Currency Conversion: 3% to 4%

Most payment processors charge significantly higher transaction fees for international card payments due to higher fraud risk, complex regulatory compliance, currency conversion fees, and other factors. There may also be additional regulatory requirements to comply with, such as the EU Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).

What is SCA, and how does it affect my small business?

Although the UK has left the EU, and EU rules no longer cover domestic or UK-EEA transactions, SCA still applies when either the card issuer or the acquiring bank is located in the European Economic Area.

SCA requires customers to verify their identity using two independent factors when making an online payment.

These factors must come from at least two of the following categories:

• A password or PIN
• A phone, card reader, or authentication app
• A fingerprint or face scan

In practice, this often means a customer must approve an online purchase through their banking app or an SMS code before completing the payment.

SCA matters for UK small businesses because:

• It reduces fraud by adding an extra layer of identity verification, helping protect your business from fraudulent payments and chargebacks.
• It affects checkout conversion, as unclear or slow SCA can lead to abandoned transactions.
• It may influence your choice of payment provider, as some handle SCA automatically while others require additional setup.
• It can change how payments are routed, and some cross-border transactions may be declined if SCA is required, but the authentication fails.

If you accept international online payments, choosing a provider that manages SCA helps you stay compliant, reduces fraud risk, and supports higher conversion rates for overseas customers.

What responsibilities apply to me as a merchant?

When taking card payments, compliance should be paramount; it’s your responsibility as a merchant to be fully PCI DSS compliant.

What is PCI DSS compliance?

PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. These are the PCI Security Standards Council requirements that all merchants, regardless of size, must comply with. They’re in place to ensure that sensitive information, such as card details, is handled securely throughout the payment lifecycle.

What are the different PCI DSS compliance levels, and how is my level determined?

PCI DSS has four compliance levels, which are based on transaction volume:

• Level 1: More than 6 million Visa or Mastercard transactions per year (or any merchant that has suffered a data breach).
• Level 2: 1–6 million transactions per year.
• Level 3: 20,000–1 million ecommerce transactions per year.
• Level 4: Fewer than 20,000 ecommerce transactions per year or up to 1 million transactions across all channels.

How to work out your level – even if you’re starting out

If you’re unsure how many transactions you process per year, there are ways you can check:

• Use projected volumes: Acquiring banks typically let you estimate your first-year transaction volume based on sales. They’ll usually assign you a provisional level and adjust it later, if needed.
• Start with the lowest reasonable level: If you’re a micro or early-stage business with minimal transactions, you’ll often start at Level 4 until data proves otherwise.
• Remember that levels can change: If your business grows or changes how it handles card data, your level (and required tasks) may increase.

Note: To re-evaluate your PCI compliance level, you’ll need to calculate your annual transaction volume, determine your merchant or service provider status, map data flows (how cardholder data moves through your systems), match volume to PCI level criteria, and consult your acquiring bank/payment processor.

How to remain PCI compliant

To remain PCI DSS compliant, businesses that store, process, or transmit cardholder data must meet ongoing security and administrative requirements.

PCI compliance is about understanding where card data exists in your business, securing it properly, and proving each year that you are doing so. Your requirements vary depending on your merchant level, with Level 1 merchants facing the most stringent requirements.

• Level 1: Must complete an annual Report on Compliance (ROC) with a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), quarterly network scans by an Approved Scanning Vendor (ASV), and the Attestation of Compliance Form.
• Level 2: Must complete an Annual Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), a quarterly ASV network scan, and the Attestation of Compliance Form.
• Level 3: Must complete a SAQ, quarterly ASV network scan, and the Attestation of Compliance Form.
• Level 4: Must complete a SAQ, quarterly ASV network scan, and the Attestation of Compliance Form.

For many businesses, the simplest way to reduce risk is to limit how much card data they touch – for example, by using hosted payment pages or third-party payment processors. You can also document the systems, people, and processes that interact with card data.

Secure technology is also key. Card payment systems should be separated from the rest of your business network, and all software and operating systems must be kept up to date with security patches. Out-of-date systems are one of the most common reasons businesses fail PCI checks.

What security features should my payment processing provider have?

We’d recommend looking for providers with robust security and fraud prevention measures, including:

• End-to-end encryption: This ensures your information remains secure and prevents third parties from accessing it.
• Tokenization: This is where your customers’ sensitive payment data is replaced with a non-sensitive surrogate, keeping their card information secure.
• Active fraud monitoring: Some payment processors offer 24/7 fraud monitoring, with every transaction analysed for suspicious activity.

This is just a quick overview of key compliance considerations; you can find more information on GOV.UK, which has detailed guides on customer data protection and obligations around invoicing and taking payments from customers.

How to save on card processing fees

Now that you have a clear picture of card processing fees, watch our Reviews Expert explain our top money-saving tips in just two-and-a-half minutes:

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1. Negotiate your fees

Some payment providers will have flat transaction fee rates, but others, such as takepayments, have quote-based fee structures.

If you have a large turnover of high-value transactions, you’ll have more negotiating power with providers like Worldpay, whose services are tailored to larger businesses.

2. Compare free payment processors to those with a monthly contract

Decide whether it’s worth going with a free payment processor that charges higher rates, or pay for a monthly contract. For example, Square charges 1.75% for debit card payments, while Worldpay charges only 0.75% but also imposes a quote-based monthly fee.

Based on your monthly transaction volume, you can work out whether it’ll be cheaper for you to pay higher transaction fees or cheaper fees plus monthly charges.

3. Don’t overpay on your payment gateway

If you currently accept or plan to accept online payments, make sure your payment provider offers an affordable payment gateway – the software that acts as the ‘checkout system’ for your customers. Payment gateways have different fees and costs, so be sure to research to find the best one for you.

4. Look out for hidden costs and card-specific fees

You might see a transaction fee rate and assume you’re getting a great deal, but if you look more closely, you’ll likely discover there are alarmingly high charges for non-UK or commercial cards. Always read the fine print!

5. Follow the rules to the letter

Chargebacks can have a big impact on your bottom line, and they’re most often incurred when you aren’t PCI-compliant or don’t deliver the product or service as promised. Make sure you understand the regulations that apply to you to avoid costly mistakes.

6. Set a minimum spend amount

Accepting many low-value payments and paying fees each time may not be financially viable for you, so it’s worth setting a minimum spend threshold for your card transactions.

7. Encourage cash payments

It might seem like the UK is becoming a cashless society, but many people still prefer to pay the old-fashioned way. This is the oldest – and simplest – trick in the book for avoiding card fees!

Our Senior Research Executive and Reviews Writer noted how light and easy to handle the Zettle Reader 2 was when they examined it. Source: Startups.co.uk

Summary: card processing fees in the UK

Processing fees will be deducted from your sales whenever customers pay via credit or debit card. There are various fees associated with card payments, but the most common is the transaction fee charged by your payment processor. Typically, this will be between 1.5% and 3.5% of each sale.

Remember that it is illegal to pass these card processing costs on to your customers; you are responsible for bearing these fees.