How much are card payment fees in the UK?

Card payment fees in the UK typically range from 1.5% to 3.5% per transaction, depending on your provider, the type of card used, and whether the payment is taken in-person or online. Understanding these fees is essential for any business that accepts card payments — which, in 2026, means virtually every business on the high street and online. 

Every card transaction involves several layers of fees. The largest component is the interchange fee, paid to the card-issuing bank. For consumer debit cards, UK interchange is capped at 0.2% of the transaction value; for consumer credit cards, the cap is 0.3%. On top of interchange, card schemes (Visa and Mastercard) charge scheme fees of approximately 0.02%–0.2%. Finally, your payment processor or acquirer adds their markup — this is the element you can negotiate. 

In practice, flat-rate providers bundle all these costs into a single percentage. Square charges 1.75% per in-person transaction, Sum Up charges 1.69%, and Zettle by PayPal also charges 1.75%. For businesses processing higher volumes, interchange-plus providers like Worldpay can offer rates from as low as 0.75% for in-person debit card payments on turnover above £75,000. Stripe charges 1.5% + 20p per UK card transaction for online payments. The right provider depends on your monthly card turnover, average transaction value, and card mix.

How to reduce your card payment fees

Reducing your card payment fees does not require switching providers — though that can help. Start by understanding your current effective rate: divide your total monthly fees by your total monthly card turnover. If the result is above 2%, there is likely room to save. First,negotiate based on volume. If you process more than £5,000 per month, you have leverage. Providers like Worldpay and Barclaycard offer significantly lower rates for businesses with annual card turnover above £75,000. Even flat-rate providers may have tiered plans — SumUp Plus, for example, drops in-person feesfrom 1.69% to 0.99% for £19 per month. 

Second, understand your pricing model. Flat-rate pricing (e.g., 1.75% on everything) is simple but expensive at scale. Interchange-plus pricing passes through the actual interchange cost plus a fixed markup, meaning debit card transactions cost significantly less than credit. For businesses with a high proportion of debit card payments, interchange-plus can reduce your effective rate by0.3%–0.5%. 

Third, encourage debit over credit where possible. UK consumer debit interchange is capped at 0.2%, while credit is 0.3%. Business and corporate cards have no capand can cost 1.5%–3%. Process in-person rather than online when you can —card-present rates are almost always lower. Review your monthly merchant statement for hidden charges such as PCI non-compliance fees, minimum monthly service charges, and authorisation fees. Finally, use a calculator like ours to compare what you would pay across different providers — even a 0.25% saving on £100,000 annual turnover is £250 back in your pocket.

Card payment fees for small businesses

For small businesses and sole traders, card payment fees are one of the most significant ongoing costs after rent and wages. The average UK SME pays between 1.5% and 2.5% per card transaction. On £10,000 in monthly card sales, that translates to£150–£250 per month — or £1,800–£3,000 per year — going straight to payment processors. 

Most small businesses opt for flat-rate providers like SumUp (1.69%), Square (1.75%), orZettle (1.75%) because they offer simplicity: no monthly fees, no contracts,and a single predictable rate. For businesses just starting out or with card turnover under £5,000 per month, this simplicity is genuinely valuable — you know exactly what each transaction costs. 

However, as your card turnover grows, flat-rate pricing becomes expensive. A business processing £15,000 per month at 1.75% pays £3,150 annually in card fees. Switching to a provider like Dojo (effective rate around 1% for the first £3,999 then 1% over) or negotiating bespoke rates with Worldpay or Barclaycard could save hundreds of pounds per year. The key metric to watch is your effective rate — your total fees divided by total card sales. Use the calculator above to compare your current effective rate against what other providers would charge.

Card machine fees explained

Card machine fees go beyond the per-transaction percentage. When choosing a card machine foryour business, you need to account for hardware costs, monthly rentals, and arange of ancillary charges that can significantly affect your total cost of acceptance. 

Hardware costs fall into two categories. Pay-as-you-go card readers from SumUp (from £39), Square (from £19), and Zettle (from £29) require a one-off purchase with no ongoing rental. Traditional terminal providers like Worldpay (from£17.50/month), Barclaycard (from £15/month + VAT), and Dojo (from £15/month or£79 upfront) charge monthly rental fees, typically on 12–18 month contracts. 

Beyond hardware and transaction fees, watch for these commonly overlooked charges: PCI DSScompliance fees (£4.80–£15/month) for maintaining payment security standards; minimum monthly service charges (£15–£20/month with Worldpay and Barclaycard)if your card turnover falls below a threshold; chargeback fees of £15–£25 per disputed transaction regardless of outcome; authorisation fees of 2p–4.5p per transaction; and payment gateway fees (£10–£20/month) for online payment acceptance. When comparing card machine providers, add up all these costs — not just the headline transaction rate — to find your true cost of acceptance.

Debit card vs credit card payment fees

The difference between debit and credit card payment fees is one of the most important factors in your total processing costs, yet many UK businesses overlook it entirely. Under regulations inherited from the EU Interchange Fee Regulation, UK consumer debit card interchange is capped at 0.2% of the transaction value, while consumer credit card interchange is capped at 0.3%. 

This means thaton a £50 transaction, the interchange fee for a debit card is just 10p, while acredit card costs 15p. The difference seems small on individual transactions but compounds rapidly. A business processing £100,000 annually with a 70/30 debit-to-credit split pays approximately £340 in interchange; shift that to 50/50 and interchange rises to £400 — a £60 increase from interchange alone, before scheme fees and processor markup. 

Crucially, business and corporate cards are exempt from these caps. A corporate Visa credit card can carry interchange of 1.5%–2.8%, making a £100 B2B transaction five to ten times more expensive to process than a consumer debit payment. If you serve business customers, this is where interchange-plus pricing becomes essential — flat-rate providers charge you the same 1.75% regardless, while interchange-plus passes through the actual cost, saving you money on the majority of transactions that use cheaper consumer cards. Use our calculator above to model how your specific card mix affects your total fees.