Merchant services that answer your business needs

Deciding on a merchant services provider can impact your finances, your operations and ultimately how you serve your customers. Our fully integrated system of hardware, software and services can help any business manage payments and risk.

A quick refresh on merchant services

What are merchant services? Merchant services is an all-encompassing term. It describes the hardware, software and financial services needed for a business to accept and process credit and debit cards, contactless payment-enabled mobile wallets and other contactless payments – online and in-store.

What is a merchant account?

A merchant account establishes a relationship between a business and a merchant services provider, like a bank. This agreement allows a business to accept credit and debit cards, along with other forms of payment. Not all merchant services providers require a merchant account. All you need is a dedicated bank account to process payments with Square.

Why do you need a merchant services provider?

Merchant services providers allow businesses to accept credit, debit cards and other forms of payment online, through a payment card reader or a point-of-sale (POS) system. Many entities are authorised to be merchant services providers. They generally fall into two groups: banks and fintech companies like Square.

Our services evolve with businesses in mind

End-to-end payment processing should benefit merchants. That’s why we rethink the status quo.

Contracts
No long-term contracts
Long-term contracts with termination fees
Fees
No hidden fees or extra charges
Fine-print fees that can increase your rate
Integration
One system, built to work together
Three different systems for hardware, software and payment processors
Hardware
Affordable hardware, no leases or hardware return fees
High cost to lease hardware from the banks or acquiring partners
Compliance
Square provides end-to-end encryption and PCI DSS compliant payment processing with no PCI or security fees
It’s your responsibility to validate your PCI compliance
Services
Omni-channel payment processing
In-person processing included. Online merchant services subject to availability
Transfers
Transfers as soon as the next working day or within minutes for a small fee*
Transfers in 3–7 business days

*Funds are subject to your bank’s availability schedule, but are generally available in your bank account within 20 minutes of initiating an instant transfer. Minimum amount is £15 and maximum transfer limit is £3,500 per day.

Why millions worldwide choose Square

Tools and services that scale with your ambitions.

If you’re already established, our suite of tools and payment solutions can help you grow. Keep your business connected with our trusted software, APIs and software development kits. Security is engineered into all of our products. If you have questions, our support team is available to help.

Start taking payments as soon as you say go.

If you’re just starting out, you can get up and running quickly. Our payment options mean you never miss a sale, whether it’s in person, online or on the go. You can be sure everything works together seamlessly with our fully integrated system of POS hardware, card machines and software.

Always know what you pay.

Square’s pricing is always transparent. You pay 1.75% for every in-person payment. Online the rate is 1.4% + 25p for UK cards and 2.5% + 25p for non-UK cards. The rate is 2.5% when you manually key in a transaction.

Consider the total price of working with a provider

Beyond hardware and software, how much are you willing to pay for long-term contracts, PCI compliance, fraud and dispute management and unexpected fees? Working with other providers often means paying out of pocket for setup, customer support and PCI compliance.

You don’t need to sign a long-term contract to work with Square. Rest easy knowing Square complies with PCI standards and can help you mitigate fraud. Our pricing is transparent.

What you see is what you get: processing fees by payment type and no hidden fees ever.

Square

Your choice

  • Processing fees

Other providers†

  • Rate fluctuations
  • Payment terminal lease fees
  • Authorisation fees
  • Gateway fees
  • Chargeback fees
  • PCI-compliance fees
  • Early termination fees
  • Business card fees
  • Additional fees for Tap to Pay payments
  • Additional fees for American Express payments

Custom pricing for your business.

If you’re processing more than £200,000 every year, we may be able to design custom pricing packages for businesses like yours. Custom pricing will vary depending on your processing volume, average ticket size, your history as a Square seller and many other factors.

Start taking payments today

Accept payments quickly. Get paid fast.

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Helpful resources and solutions

† This comparison is based on a selection of banks and other merchant service providers, and is not intended to provide an exhaustive representation of all available merchant service providers. The information provided, gathered from a selection of providers’ websites on 18.08.2023, is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered an exhaustive assessment of the market. The selection of banks and merchants in this comparison is for demonstration and contextual purposes only, and does not imply endorsement, recommendation or criticism of any specific provider. Readers are encouraged to independently verify details with relevant providers before making decisions.