Business

Best Business Payment Services in the UK

Paola Faben Oliveira

08.07.26 (last updated)

Read time 8 minutes

Taking customer payments should feel simple, but choosing between payment gateways, card readers, online checkouts and recurring payment tools can get complicated fast. The right business payment service depends on whether you sell online, in person, internationally, by subscription or through invoices.

In this guide, we've compared popular UK business payment services, so you can narrow down which providers fit how your business gets paid.

We've also included Wise Business, as it can help eligible businesses accept payments in selected ways and manage money across multiple currencies.

Note: Wise Business offers a free Essential plan for basic spending and transferring. If you need to receive money, set up direct debits, or generate invoices, you'll pay a one-time £50 setup fee to unlock the Advanced features.

Summary of providers

Provider	Summary of features and fees
Square	POS, online, invoices and appointment/retail/restaurant tools. Square currently lists GBP 0/month for its Free plan plus processing fees, with in-person UK card transactions at 1.75%.¹
SumUp	Card reader, Tap to Pay and payment link tools. SumUp currently lists 1.69% for card readers and 2.50% for payment links.²
PayPal	PayPal checkout, commercial transactions, QR codes, card payment services and POS-related payment links. PayPal's UK merchant fees currently list all other commercial transactions at 2.9% + fixed fee.³
Shopify Payments	Ecommerce checkout and Shopify store payments. The folder source shows Shopify ecommerce features such as online store, themes, unlimited products and POS Pro, while the UK pricing page currently lists Basic from GBP 19/month.^4,7
Adyen	Payment method pricing with a fixed processing fee plus method-specific fees. Adyen currently lists no setup fee and a GBP 0.11 processing fee plus payment method fees.⁵
Worldpay	Indicative online pricing quote journey. Worldpay's pricing page asks for annual card turnover, average transaction value and merchant category code to calculate indicative pricing.⁶
Wise Business	Not a full gateway replacement, but useful for eligible businesses managing cross-border money, payment links, account details and multi-currency balances.

Discover Wise Business 🔍

Square

Features

Feature	Details
Sales channels	Square says businesses can sell in person, online, over the phone or out in the field.¹
POS tools	Square lists free Square Point of Sale apps, end-to-end encrypted payments, dispute management, active fraud prevention and advanced reporting with every Square account.¹
Business types	Square lists tools for restaurants, retail and appointments, with advanced features available on paid plans.¹
Hardware	Square lists hardware including Square Reader, Square Kiosk and Square Handheld.¹

Fees

Fee type	Details
Free plan	Square currently lists its Free plan at GBP 0/month plus processing fees.¹
Plus plan	Square currently lists Plus from GBP 29+/month plus processing fees.¹
Premium plan	Square says Premium is custom priced, with custom processing rates potentially available depending on eligibility.¹
In-person UK cards	Square currently lists 1.75% for in-person transactions with UK cards.¹
Online UK cards	Square currently lists 1.4% + 25p for online transactions with UK cards.¹
Manually entered and invoice card payments	Square currently lists 2.5% for manually entered transactions and invoice card payments.¹

SumUp

Features

Feature	Details
In-person payments	SumUp lists card readers, Tap to Pay, gift cards and QR Order and Pay under in-person payment fees.²
Remote payments	SumUp lists payment links, Online Store, SumUp Bookings, gift cards and QR code payments under remote payment fees.²
Flat card reader rate	SumUp says its card transaction fees are always a flat rate and cover interchange fees and other additional costs.²
Declined and cash transactions	SumUp says businesses do not have to pay for declined or cash transactions.²

Fees

Fee type	Details
Card readers	SumUp currently lists 1.69% per transaction for card readers.²
Payment links	SumUp currently lists 2.50% for payments accepted via payment links.²
Payments Plus	SumUp says Payments Plus includes a flat 0.99% transaction fee for domestic payments.²
VAT on transaction fees	SumUp says no VAT is applied on its transaction fees.²

PayPal

Features

Feature	Details
Commercial transactions	PayPal defines commercial transactions as selling goods or services, receiving payments through QR codes, making another commercial transaction type, or receiving a payment when requesting money.³
Online card payment services	PayPal lists Advanced Credit and Debit Card Payments, Website Payments Pro and Virtual Terminal rates, subject to eligibility and product terms.³
POS and payment links	PayPal lists Point of Sale fees including card present transactions, manual card entry and payment links.³
International transactions	PayPal distinguishes domestic and international transactions based on the sender and receiver markets, with some UK, Guernsey, Jersey and Isle of Man cases treated as domestic for fee purposes.³

Fees

Fee type	Details
All other commercial transactions	PayPal currently lists 2.9% + fixed fee.³
Card-funded payment without a PayPal account	PayPal currently lists 1.2% + fixed fee.³
QR code transactions	PayPal currently lists 1.5% + fixed fee for QR code transactions of GBP 10.01 and above, and 2% + fixed fee for transactions of GBP 10.00 and below.³
International commercial transactions	PayPal says the domestic commercial or QR code fee applies plus 1.29% for EEA sender markets or 1.99% for all other sender markets.³
Currency conversion	PayPal currently lists business account balance conversion at 3% above the base exchange rate.³
Chargeback and dispute fees	PayPal currently lists a GBP 14 chargeback fee for GBP payments, a GBP 12 standard dispute fee and a GBP 24 high-volume dispute fee.³

Shopify Payments

Features

Feature	Details
Ecommerce store tools	Shopify's available product information lists an online store, themes and templates, unlimited products, selling on social and marketplaces, marketing automations, analytics and checkout features.^4,7
In-person selling	Shopify lists POS Pro as an add-on in the folder source, and the UK pricing page lists POS and in-person selling features across plans.^4,7
Global selling	Shopify's available product information lists local currencies and local payment methods, with some features requiring Shopify Payments.⁴
Plan-based setup	Shopify Payments is tied to Shopify's ecommerce plans, so UK businesses should compare both store subscription costs and payment rates.⁷

Fees

Fee type	Details
Basic UK plan	Shopify UK currently lists Basic at GBP 19/month with card rates from 2% + 25p GBP.⁷
Grow UK plan	Shopify UK currently lists Grow at GBP 49/month with card rates from 1.7% + 25p GBP.⁷
Advanced UK plan	Shopify UK currently lists Advanced at GBP 259/month with card rates from 1.5% + 25p GBP.⁷
Plus UK plan	Shopify UK currently lists Plus from GBP 1,800/month, with card rates from 1.3% + 25p GBP.⁷
POS Pro in folder source	The folder source lists POS Pro at USD 89/month per location in that pricing capture.⁴

Adyen

Features

Feature	Details
Payment method coverage	Adyen lists a single integration for offering preferred payment methods.⁵
Payouts	Adyen says businesses can choose when and in which currency they want to settle.⁵
Pricing model	Adyen says each transaction has a fixed processing fee plus a fee determined by the payment method.⁵
Payment methods	Adyen lists methods including cards, wallets, bank debits, local payment methods and buy now, pay later options.⁵

Fees

Fee type	Details
Setup and monthly fees	Adyen currently lists no setup fee and no monthly fee.⁵
Processing fee	Adyen currently lists a GBP 0.11 processing fee plus the payment method fee.⁵
Mastercard and Visa	Adyen currently lists Mastercard and Visa as Interchange+ + 0.60% plus the processing fee.⁵
BACS Direct Debit	Adyen currently lists BACS Direct Debit in the UK at GBP 0.55 plus the processing fee.⁵
PayPal via Adyen	Adyen lists PayPal as requiring a direct contract with PayPal plus a management service fee.⁵

Worldpay

Features

Feature	Details
Quote-led pricing	Worldpay's pricing page is built around an online pricing quote rather than a static fee table.⁶
Inputs requested	The page asks for annual card turnover, average transaction value and merchant category code.⁶
Contact route	The page prompts users to contact Worldpay for support with getting connected.⁶

Fees

Fee type	Details
Indicative pricing	Worldpay says users can get indicative pricing in 3 simple steps.⁶
Pricing inputs	The quote page asks businesses to enter annual card turnover, average transaction value and merchant category code before calculating pricing.⁶
What to check	Businesses should review the quote output and contract terms directly before comparing Worldpay with flat-rate providers.

Wise Business

Features

Feature	Details
Fit in a payment setup	Wise Business is not a like-for-like replacement for every advanced payment gateway, but we can support eligible businesses that need to manage international payments, balances and getting paid features.
Payment links and QR codes	You can create payment links and QR codes to get paid easily.
Receive money	You can receive payments using 8+ local account details in 22+ currencies and counting.
Multi-currency money management	You can hold money in 40+ currencies and convert currencies anytime at the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees.
Send money	You can send money to 140+ countries at the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees and no sneaky exchange rate markups.
Batch payments and payroll	You can use the batch payments tool to create and send up to payments in a single transfer, and make international payments for up to 1,000 employees all over the world.
Business debit cards	You can get business debit cards with 0.5% cashback for you and your team to keep track of team expenses and spend all over the world.
Cash management	You can manage cash in 55+ currencies across international offices from a single business account and move money between business accounts in seconds.
Accounting	You can connect and sync every business transaction to your favourite accounting software, including Xero, Quickbooks, and more.
Invoices	You can create custom professional invoices and schedule invoice payments for future dates.
API	You can automate payouts with the Wise API, with 24/7 customer support, a sandbox account to test integrations, API tokens and clear implementation documents.

Fees

Wise Business offers a free Essential plan for basic spending and transferring. If you need to receive money, set up direct debits, or generate invoices, you'll pay a one-time £50 setup fee to unlock the Advanced features.

Manage business payments across multiple currencies with Wise Business

For UK businesses comparing payment services, customer payments are only part of the picture. Wise Business can help eligible businesses manage money across currencies, create payment links and invoices, and pay suppliers after revenue comes in.

With Wise Business, you can:

🌍 Send money to 70+ countries and pay overseas invoices at the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees and no hidden exchange rate markups (product availability varies by region)
📥 Receive payments in 24 currencies and counting
💵 Get local account details for 8+ currencies, including USD and EUR, to let your customers pay in a currency they know and trust - convenience for them and peace of mind for you
💰 Hold money in 40+ currencies
🔁 Convert currencies anytime at the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees
⚡ Use the batch payments tool to create and send up to 1,000 payments in a single transfer
👥 Run payroll and make international payments for up to 1,000 employees all over the world - including paying suppliers using local payment methods like ACH, SEPA, and Faster Payments
💳 Get business debit cards with 0.5% cashback for you and your team to keep track of team expenses and spend all over the world, with real-time visibility and categorisation. See full cashback terms and conditions
🏢 Manage cash in 55+ currencies across international offices from a single business account and move money between business accounts in seconds (exact speeds can vary depending on individual circumstances and may not be the same for all transactions)
🧾 Connect and sync every business transaction to your favourite accounting software, including Xero, Quickbooks, and more
🔐 Create your own payment approvals process to manage your team better with customised access for different team members, roles and permissions
📑 Create custom professional invoices and schedule invoice payments for future dates
📈 Earn variable returns on GBP, USD and EUR with Wise Interest (Growth not guaranteed. Your balance will go down in the event of a government default or interest rates going negative.)
🔗 Create payment links and QR codes to get paid easily (Card payment acceptance for new Wise Business customers is currently unavailable. Payment methods subject to eligibility and availability.)
⚙️ Automate payouts with the Wise API (comes with 24/7 customer support, a sandbox account to test integrations, API tokens, and clear documents on how to implement and make the most of our API)

Make the wise choice when selecting a business account for your domestic and global needs.

Be Smart, Get Wise.

Wise Interest disclaimer: Growth not guaranteed. Your balance will go down in the event of a government default or interest rates going negative. Taxes may apply. 3.32% variable rate on GBP is based on 7 day performance as of 05 Aug 2026. For full 5-year past performance and fund information, visit https://wise.com/interest. Investments are offered by Wise Assets UK Ltd. (FRN 839689)

FAQ

How long do payouts take?

Payout speeds can depend on the provider, payment method, account checks and transaction timing. Review payout terms before signing up.

What is the difference between a payment gateway and a payment processor?

A payment gateway captures payment details, while a payment processor helps route and complete the transaction between the relevant parties.

Which payment service is best for subscriptions?

Choose a service that supports recurring collection, failed payment handling, customer notifications and clear cancellation or amendment processes.

Which payment service is best for in-person payments?

Look for a setup that fits your checkout environment, expected transaction volume, hardware needs and staff workflow.

Sources:

Sources last checked on 8 July 2026

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.

Money without borders

Find out more

Business

Summary of providers

Square

Features

Fees

SumUp

Features

Fees

PayPal

Features

Fees

Shopify Payments

Features

Fees

Adyen

Features

Fees

Worldpay

Features

Fees

Wise Business

Features

Fees

Manage business payments across multiple currencies with Wise Business

FAQ

How long do payouts take?

What is the difference between a payment gateway and a payment processor?

Which payment service is best for subscriptions?

Which payment service is best for in-person payments?

Money without borders

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