Card machines, explained in plain numbers
The card payments industry makes money from small print. These guides read it for you: what each fee is, what fair looks like, and what you can do about it.
- Card machine fees, explained in poundsThe six charges on a typical UK card machine deal, what a fair rate looks like in 2026, and a worked example of a takeaway's real monthly cost.
- The cheapest card machine depends on three numbersWhy the cheapest card reader to buy is rarely the cheapest to run. How monthly takings, average sale and card mix decide which deal costs you least.
- Choosing a card machine for a small businessPocket reader, portable or countertop? Which card machine suits your type of business, the features that matter, and what to check before you sign.
- How to get out of a card machine contractThe 18-month rule on card machine leases, contracts signed before January 2023, how exit fees are worked out, and a step-by-step plan to leave.
- Rent, buy or go contract-free?Eighteen-month total costs for renting, buying and pay-as-you-go card machines at three sizes of business, plus short-term hire and lease traps to avoid.
- How to read your card machine statementA walk through a sample UK merchant statement, how to work out your effective rate in two minutes, and the red flags that mean you are overpaying.
- Interchange fees and interchange-plus, without the jargonWhat interchange and scheme fees are, the UK caps on consumer cards, blended vs interchange-plus pricing with a worked example, and what is changing.
- Can you charge customers for paying by card?The UK surcharge ban, the business-card exception, whether minimum card spends are allowed, and the legal way to keep more of each sale.
- Card machines for takeaways, restaurants, cafés, bars and hotelsWhat hospitality businesses need from a card machine, why small average sales make per-transaction fees matter, and worked monthly costs by venue size.
- PCI compliance fees: required rules, optional chargesWhat PCI DSS is, why being compliant is required but the monthly fee often is not, and how to stop paying non-compliance charges.
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