takepayments review: the best solution for taking payments?

4.8 out of 5

• Price
  4.2
• Taking Payments
  5
• Features
  5
• Customer Support
  3.8
• Customer Score
  4.4

Based on our in-depth research, takepayments is one of the best providers for taking payments due to its low transaction fees, minimal hardware costs, and real time card processing.

It’s an exceptionally straightforward way to process payments from your customers, and has some of the most competitive transaction fees, keeping it great value for money for small business owners.

But it isn’t the only provider available, and we’ll compare takepayments to top rivals in our guide below.

For a quick view of how costs can vary, you can also use our 🔍free cost comparison tool to help you pick the perfect merchant account provider for your business. It takes just minutes to answer a few questions about what your business needs, then you can compare quotes from top payment processing providers with ease:

takepayments review: pros and cons

takepayments overview

Based in Stockport, takepayments has been offering payment solutions to UK SMEs for over 30 years.

This offering includes card machines, EPOS systems, online payment gateways, and an innovative hybrid product called takepaymentsplus.

The provider offers three main card readers to suit different types of businesses – including countertop for your physical store, portable for market stalls and those businesses on the go, and mobile which allows you to take 4G payments anywhere with a decent phone signal.

However, what really sets takepayments apart from its merchant account rivals is its short 12-month rolling contracts and a focus on excellent customer service that’s reflected in a seriously impressive 4.8 Trustpilot rating from over 26,000 reviews.

But Trustpilot isn’t the only source that the merchant account provider has achieved such a high score. During our recent round of user testing and research, takepayments scored 4.8 out of 5, with full marks in the features and take payments categories.

Read on to find out exactly why.

takepayments

4.8

takepayments is a UK-based, 25-year strong business that offers card machines, online payments and card processing for SMEs. Best for its excellent customer service, and abundance of useful features.

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Read our full takepayments review

• Price Bespoke
• Fees Varies based on quote package

• Tailored costs
• Offers 8 reporting tools
• PCI compliance + guidance through the process

Summary takepayments claim to make getting paid simple, whether you're looking to accept card payments in store, online, or on the go - they have a solution for you. With personalised pricing packages and specialised payment consultants who guide you through the entire process so you can become PCI compliant - you can take card payments securely. They also have an abundance of great features for small businesses, including real time inventory tracking, employee sales tracking, and the ability to track cash received.

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How does takepayments compare to its competitors?

In comparison with its competitors, takepayments offers one of the most affordable, and easy to use merchant accounts.

You’ll also be tied into a shorter contract with takepayments compared to other providers. A 12 month takepayments contract gives you the flexibility to jump ship should your circumstances change, whereas with Worldpay you’ll be contractually obligated to continue with its services for 18 months. And Retail Merchant Services don’t even specify the length of its contracts.

Overall, takepayments is best suited for small businesses that have reasonable transaction volumes/values and want a provider with modest fees and great customer service. It’s not the best fit for larger businesses that may want more advanced features from a specialist EPOS provider.

Taking payments – 5 out of 5

You’d like to think that with the brand name takepayments, this product would score pretty highly in our taking payments category. As it indeed does, scoring full marks in our most recent round of testing.

For good reason as well, considering it allows you to take card payments via three different methods. Including countertop, portable, and mobile card readers. takepayments also allows its customers to process payments via mail or telephone, unlike competitors Dojo. This ensures that you aren’t missing out on vital sales from customers that don’t want to purchase in person.

takepayments also allows customers to send unique reusable checkout links that can be sent to clients, enabling them to be taken straight to a payment checkout screen.

Although takepayments scores highly in this category, businesses should be aware that there is no way for their customers to pay via an online store by using takepayments. So you’ll need to set up payments with either the ecommerce provider you use for your website or another payment processor such as Stripe. This can be a painstaking process, whereas with other merchant account providers like Worldpay you are able to take payments online.

Features – 5 out of 5

When it comes to features, takepayments knocks it out of the park. Brushing aside its nearest competitor in the features category WorldPay aside with ease – scoring full marks in comparison to WorldPay’s 4.5 out of 5.

And with an impressive 16 ecommerce based integrations, which include the likes of WordPress and WooCommerce, it is no wonder.

So what features do I get?

When it comes to reporting features, takepayments is simply unrivalled. Not only are you able to check card transactions have been processed in real time, but you can also keep a record of cash received throughout the day’s trading period. These features make end-of-day store reconciliation a breeze, and help you to avoid any nasty surprises when you discover a card transaction has not gone through correctly.

If you are using takepaymentsplus, you are able to add customised product and category buttons to your mobile device in seconds. So if a new line of trainers drops into your store that day, you can quickly add them and set the price – no dramas, minimal fuss.

takepayments also comes with real time inventory tracking (unlike its competitors Dojo and Barclaycard) meaning that when stock is running low, or has run out, you can ensure your customers aren’t wasting their time and update them there and then. Rather than ‘nipping out the back’ to desperately try to find the product in the stock cupboard.

As you know, keeping your customers happy is fundamental, and takepayments includes lots of great features to help you ensure this. But monitoring your employee’s performance is just as important, which is why the employee sales tracking feature is another great component of takepayment’s offering. Enabling you to delve into insights and see who is performing well, and what items are flying off the shelves.

Customer Support – 3.8 out of 5

One of takepayment’s slightly weaker areas (although still far above average) is its customer support. Scoring a fair 3.8 out of 5,  takepayments offers 7 days a week UK support, which means you needn’t worry about not being able to get help during peak trading periods such as the weekends.

You’ll also be able to contact takepayment’s customer support advisors via phone or live chat, but not by email. However, unlike WorldPay, which offers 24/7 phone support, you can only get in touch with the takepayments team during the daytime, with its offices operating 8am – 7pm Monday to Friday.

This can be a nightmare if you are faced with card reader issues during busy evening periods, which is one of the primary reasons that we’ve marked takepayments down in this category.

Pricing – 4.2 out of 5: is takepayments good value for money?

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takepayments

Transaction fees Varies based on quote package Online: 10p (first 400 transactions free)

We scored takepayments 4.2 out of 5 in this category, making the provider the second most affordable merchant account solution for small businesses (behind Retail Merchant Services).

When you sign up with takepayments, you’ll pay zero setup fees, which during the current recession is just the kind of deal small businesses are after. Compare this with WorldPay which charges you £99, and you are laughing.

Its early termination fee is also incredibly fair, considering the charge per month is capped at £30 for the remaining months left on your contract (which is never any longer than 18 months). This means that should circumstances change and you need to close shop, or move provider for a better deal, you won’t be faced with mammoth termination fees.

takepayments transaction fees are also competitive, operating on a quote package basis. This means that if you are a very small business with smaller sales volumes, the rates you pay will be far less substantial than if you are a medium-sized business with several outlets/stores.

The range of rates is fair, however, when compared to other providers like Retail Merchant Services (RMS), they can get expensive as they move into the 2% area. Whilst RMS charges no more than 0.80% per transaction fee (on credit cards).

As you can see from our rundown of the best merchant service providers and credit card processing companies, takepayments’ fees are roughly equivalent to most of its rivals.

All in all, takepayments offers an affordable service for small businesses, as while some providers don’t charge monthly fees, you might feel the bite of higher transaction fees.

As you can tell, it can be tricky to compare merchant account providers given the number of fees involved and the variable rates offered. To save yourself time and stress, check out our handy free 🔍cost comparison tool. Just take a minute to answer a few questions and you’ll get no-obligation quotes tailored to the needs of your business.

Is there a free plan?

takepayments prides itself on offering a merchant account with zero setup fees. However you will need to sign up for a 18 month contract before you can start using its services, and the takepayments plan isn’t free as there will be costs involved.

Although it costs nothing to setup, making it very affordable to get started compared to other providers.

takepayments EPOS review

While takepayments primarily focuses on card machines, it does also offer EPOS systems under its recently launched tPOS brand. There are two options, a tablet-sized system called tPOS counter and a distinctive dual-screen system called tPOS complete.

Fundamentally, both systems offer similar features – with both letting businesses process payments, track sales, manage inventory, offer discounts and all the standard features you’d expect from a modern EPOS system.

For an extra £10 a month, the hospitality upgrade adds customer management tools, reservations/appointments, modifiers for menu items, text reminders, time keeping and commission tracking.

The key differences are the monthly cost and hardware offered.

takepaymentsplus review

takepaymentsplus takepaymentsplus is a great fit for growing retail SMEs that want to take control of their sales with a simple, streamlined and mobile POS system.

Read our expert takepaymentsplus review for more.

• Pricing £25 per month

• Realtime reporting
• Easy inventory management
• Dedicated account manager

Summary Billed as "the card machine that does more", takepaymentsplus is a mobile POS system that combines a 4G SIM-enabled card reader with bespoke software to allow SMEs to not just take payments but really take control of their sales. With takepaymentsplus, you'll get real time insight into what and isn't selling, and be able to track sales by time of day, employee and category. The easy software also means you can add new category/product buttons in seconds and makes inventory management a doddle. You can also expect exemplary customer service, with a dedicated account manager and the sort of genuinely helpful assistance that gets you a 4.8 rating on Trustpilot from over 22,000 reviews. And you get all this for a flat fee of £25 per month.

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takepaymentsplus features

• Track sales by time of day, employee, and category
• Add new category/product buttons in seconds
• Easily manage inventory levels
• Produce detailed sales reports that can be quickly integrated with your accounting software

Benefits

takepaymentsplus allows small businesses to get greater insight into their sales, and plan marketing campaigns and promotional activity more effectively. The inventory management tools also help to ensure that you stay on top of your stock levels and don’t run out of your top sellers or have big stockpiles that you can’t sell.

Who it’s best for

takepaymentsplus is a great solution for small businesses that want to start planning more effectively and using sales data to inform their business decisions, but don’t need a full-blown EPOS system.

Pricing

takepaymentsplus costs £25 a month, plus VAT, transaction fees, and other charges.

Our methodology: How did we evaluate takepayments for small businesses?

Using our 20-plus years of small business expertise, our researchers ranked takepayments as their second top merchant account provider for small businesses. Scoring an overall score of 4.8 out of 5 that was based on extensive user testing and product analysis.

We evaluated takepayments and its competitors on five key factors:

• Price
• Taking payments
• Features
• Customer support
• Customer score

Check out the table below to understand more about how takepayments compares to other providers.

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OUR TOP PICK
takepaymentsplus	Barclaycard Smartpay Touch	Tide Card Reader Plus	Square Terminal	Zettle Reader 2	Clover Flex	SumUp Air	Smartpay Anywhere (by Barclaycard)
Hardware cost Bespoke	Hardware cost Terminal Fee £19/mo	Hardware cost Starting from £29 + VAT	Hardware cost £14.95 + VAT per month	Hardware cost £19 + VAT	Hardware cost Starting from £29 + VAT	Hardware cost £20 per month	Hardware cost £29 per month + VAT
Transaction fees Personalised per business – range between 0.3% to 2.5%	Transaction fees 2.75% + 0.20p for pay-as-you-go 0.75% for debit cards or 2.75% for pay monthly	Transaction fees 1.75% for all contactless or card payments	Transaction fees 1.50%	Transaction fees 1.75% for all contactless or card payments	Transaction fees 1.69% for all contactless or card payments	Transaction fees 1.4% + 5p	Transaction fees 1.6% for credit card payments 0.3% for debit card payments
Warranty None	Warranty N/A	Warranty 12 months	Warranty 36 months	Warranty 24 months	Warranty 12 months	Warranty N/A	Warranty N/A
Money-back guarantee Yes, if returned within 30 days	Money-back guarantee N/A	Money-back guarantee Yes, if returned within 30 days	Money-back guarantee N/A	Money-back guarantee Yes, if returned within 30 days	Money-back guarantee Yes, if returned within 30 days	Money-back guarantee N/A	Money-back guarantee N/A
Mobile/Wi-Fi? GPRS, 4G, and Wi-Fi	Mobile/Wi-Fi? 4G and Wifi	Mobile/Wi-Fi? 4G and Wifi	Mobile/Wi-Fi? 3G and WiFi	Mobile/Wi-Fi? 4G and Wifi	Mobile/Wi-Fi? 4G and Wifi	Mobile/Wi-Fi? 4G and WiFi	Mobile/Wi-Fi? 4G and Wifi
Payment gateway Yes – via Barclaycard	Payment gateway Yes	Payment gateway Yes	Payment gateway Free access to Tyl, by Natwest	Payment gateway No	Payment gateway Available through integration with WooCommerce	Payment gateway No	Payment gateway Yes

Compare costs on Card Readers for Your Business Needs Compare Costs

takepayments: final verdict

takepayments rightfully earns its place as the second best overall merchant account provider for small businesses. Achieving full marks in the taking payments and features category is no small feat, which is why it’s the perfect provider for UK SMEs with reasonable transaction volume/value that want a straightforward way to take payments.

The rolling 18-month contracts give plenty of flexibility and the company’s commitment to first-class customer service shines through in their user reviews and an overall customer score of 4.4 out of 5 – the highest of any provider on our list.

It does however need to improve its customer support channels, despite the excellent level of service, imagine if you could get in touch with an advisor 24/7 like you can with competitors WorldPay?

Overall though, this Stockport-based business is a real UK success story. It’s already helped countless companies across the country and is an excellent option for any small business.

If you like the sound of takepayments but are wondering what your other options are, why not use our super handy, free 🔍merchant account cost comparison tool? Just take a minute to answer a few quick questions and you’ll get bespoke quotes from some of the UK’s top merchant and EPOS companies and compare the best POS systems, saving you hours of research and letting you get on with what you do best – running your business.