Revolut Business Card Reader Review (UK - 2024)

If you take payments for your business online or in person, you may be interested to learn about the Revolut Business card reader¹. You can use the Revolut card reader to allow your customers to tap and pay in person, make chip and PIN transfers, and make card payments online. Your money is deposited into your Revolut Business Merchant account once the payment has been processed.

This Revolut card reader review covers how to get your Revolut Reader, how to set it up, how to take a customer payment - and what it’ll cost you.

Revolut card reader - key features

The Revolut card reader is designed to help on and offline businesses which need to take customer payments - particularly for card payment processing. You can accept in person and online payments, including tap and pay contactless transactions and chip and PIN. It’s a small box shaped device which connects with your phone to allow customers to pay directly to Revolut Business accounts with a card.

Let’s start with the key features of the Revolut card machine so you can start to decide whether or not it might fit your business needs:

• Revolut Reader devices are available for approved customers with a Revolut Business Merchant account
• There’s a one time fee to get the device, and then you pay per transaction
• You can connect your reader to your phone wirelessly and allow customers to tap and pay
• Contactless and chip and PIN are supported - and payments can be taken both on and offline
• You can use your reader with Revolut POS if you would like to
• Card readers can be set up to ask customers if they want to leave a tip
• You’ll be able to use your card reader to get analytics and data to see how your business is going
• Funds are deposited to your Revolut Business account the next day, even on weekends and holidays

Revolut card reader compatibility and requirements

The basic requirements to get and use a Revolut Reader include²:

• You must have a Revolut Merchant account
• You must have a mobile phone or tablet which is iOS 13.0 or later, or Android 6 or later
• You’ll need Bluetooth switched on - and for Android phones, location services, too
• You need the latest version of the Revolut Business app
• You need a stable internet connection

What cards are accepted - and which are not accepted by Revolut?

You can use your card reader to accept payments for your approved business, which fall under the Revolut acceptable use policy. Payments can be Chip and PIN or contactless, including:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Maestro
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• Samsung Pay

Cards issued on other networks - like American Express or Discover - can not be used with the Revolut Reader.

Revolut card reader fees

On to the next key question - does Revolut charge for card payments? There is a charge to pay per transaction, which varies by payment method. The card fee also depends on whether the specific card is from overseas, so if you frequently sell to international customers it’s worth looking carefully at your options here.

Here’s a roundup of the costs:

*Data correct at time of research - 14th June 2024

How to accept payments with Revolut card reader?

Interested in getting the Revolut card reader? Let’s look in more detail at how to request, set up and start accepting payments with the Revolut Reader⁴.

1. Order your Revolut Reader: Log into your Revolut Business account and go to Settings, then Devices. Follow the prompts to order a reader, pay, and confirm the shipping address
2. Make sure your reader is charged: Once you have your physical device you’ll need to make sure it’s charged before you pair it and start to use it
3. Log into Revolut Business and create a request to pair your device: Go to Merchant, then New Request and Card Reader
4. Connect your reader to your phone: Tap Connect a card reader, then follow the prompts to give permission and enter the last 3 digits on the specific device you’ve been sent - accept the pairing on your phone
5. Start to take payments: Enter the amount to pay, the item you’re selling, and tap Charge
6. Your customer can pay: All your customer needs to do it tap and pay, or make a chip and PIN payment on the Revolut Reader
7. Get your money: Funds are deposited into your Revolut account next day

How to activate Revolut card reader?

As part of setting up your Revolut Reader you’ll activate it. This is done by logging into your Revolut app and following the prompts to pair the device to your phone wirelessly. To make sure you’re pairing the correct device you’ll be asked to enter the last 3 digits shown on the reader, give permission to pair, and then enter a code into your phone and the reader device. This is for security, and makes sure your correct Revolut Account is connected to the reader before any payment is taken.

If you run an on or offline store and need to accept customer card payments, getting a remote device you can use to process secure card payments direct to a business account is a smart move. With no subscription costs to pay, the Revolut Reader can be an attractive option for customers who already use Revolut as their primary business account. Fees for accepting local payments are reasonably cheap, particularly for in person transactions - just bear in mind that using a foreign card comes with a higher fee. Use this guide to decide if the Revolut Reader is right for your business, and to move seamlessly through the process of ordering, getting set up, and getting paid.

Sources used in this article:

Sources last checked 21/06/2024