Compare UK Payment Providers

Compare UK Payment Providers

Choosing a payment provider should involve more than comparing transaction fees.

The right provider depends on how your business takes payments, what you sell, your transaction values, processing volume, integrations, customer locations, currencies, settlement requirements and the type of support you need.

For some businesses, the choice is straightforward.

For others, particularly businesses with complex integrations, international customers, higher-risk sectors, subscription models or unusual payment flows, the number of suitable providers can reduce considerably.

Merchant Advice Service helps UK businesses research and compare payment options based on what the business actually needs.

You can explore providers using The Payments Directory® or ask MAS for help narrowing down the options.

Compare Payment Providers

Find Your New Processor

What Type of Payment Provider Do I Need?

Before comparing companies, establish what part of the payment process you actually need.

The terms payment provider, merchant account, payment gateway and payment processor are often used interchangeably, but they can describe different services.

Merchant account or acquiring provider

If you want to accept card payments, you need an acquiring arrangement that allows those transactions to be processed and settled to your business.

The provider will also decide whether it is willing to support your:

• Business sector

• Merchant Category Code

• Transaction profile

• Countries

• Processing volume

• Payment model

This becomes particularly important for businesses requiring high-risk merchant accounts.

Payment gateway

A payment gateway provides the technology used to securely pass online payment information between your website, customer and payment infrastructure.

Gateway selection becomes particularly important where you need:

• Ecommerce integrations

• APIs

• Recurring payments

• Tokenisation

• Multiple currencies

• Marketplace payments

• Split payments

• Alternative payment methods

• Complex reporting

See our Payment Gateways Guide.

Card machine provider

Businesses accepting payments face to face may need a countertop, portable or mobile card terminal.

Compare more than the terminal itself.

Look at:

• Transaction pricing

• Monthly rental

• Contract length

• Connectivity

• Settlement

• EPOS compatibility

• Support

Explore our Card Machine Guides.

EPOS or POS provider

Retail, hospitality and other physical businesses may need their payments integrated with wider point-of-sale technology.

This could include:

• Till systems

• Stock management

• Table management

• Customer data

• Reporting

• Accounting integrations

Explore EPOS & POS.

Find Your New Processor

Payment Gateway vs Merchant Account: What Is the Difference?

A merchant account and payment gateway do different jobs.

The merchant account or acquiring relationship determines whether your business can accept card transactions and receive settlement.

The payment gateway provides the technology used to transmit online payment information.

Some payment providers package both together.

Others allow businesses to use a gateway independently from the acquiring relationship.

This distinction becomes especially important for businesses with more complex payment requirements.

A gateway might have the perfect integration for your website while the acquirer behind it does not support your business sector.

Likewise, an acquirer may be willing to support your business but require you to use a compatible gateway.

For more complicated businesses, technical suitability and acquiring suitability both need to be considered.

How Should I Compare UK Payment Providers?

Start with the requirements of the business rather than a list of provider names.

There are several areas worth comparing.

1. Does the Provider Support Your Business Type?

This should come before price.

Payment providers have different underwriting criteria.

A provider may restrict:

• Certain sectors

• Particular products

• Merchant Category Codes

• Countries

• High transaction values

• Future-delivery businesses

• Subscription businesses

• Particular payment flows

This is why a provider that works well for one merchant may be completely unsuitable for another.

Businesses operating in sectors such as travel, gambling, crypto, financial services, CBD or other specialist areas may need a provider with more specific risk appetite.

2. Compare Payment Provider Fees

Transaction rates are important, but they are only part of the total cost.

Depending on the provider, you may also pay:

• Per-transaction fees

• Gateway fees

• Monthly fees

• Card machine rental

• PCI fees

• Authorisation fees

• Refund fees

• Chargeback fees

• Cross-border charges

• FX charges

• Settlement fees

• Minimum monthly charges

• Additional MID fees

• Early termination charges

Two providers quoting similar transaction rates can therefore have very different overall costs.

For larger businesses, the pricing structure itself can also matter.

You may be offered:

• Blended pricing

• Interchange Plus

• IC++

• Fixed pricing

• Bespoke enterprise pricing

Compare the full cost of processing, not just the headline percentage.

3. Compare Settlement Times

Settlement determines how quickly processed funds reach your business bank account.

Providers may offer different arrangements depending on the merchant.

Consider:

• Standard settlement time

• Weekend settlement

• International settlement

• Settlement currencies

• Minimum settlement amounts

• Reserve requirements

• Circumstances where funds can be held

Cash flow can make settlement just as important as transaction pricing for some businesses.

4. Compare Contract Terms

Before changing provider, understand the contract you are entering into.

Check:

• Minimum contract period

• Notice requirements

• Automatic renewal

• Early termination fees

• Hardware agreements

• Minimum processing commitments

• Price-review clauses

A low introductory transaction rate can become considerably less attractive if the wider contract is unsuitable.

5. Compare Payment Gateway Integrations

If payments need to connect to other software, start with the integration requirement.

You may need compatibility with:

• Shopify

• WooCommerce

• Magento

• A custom website

• Booking software

• CRM

• ERP

• Accounting software

• Subscription platforms

• Mobile applications

• Your own SaaS platform

An attractive payment provider is not much use if it cannot work with the systems your business relies on.

For more complex integrations, explore our Payment Gateway Guides.

6. Compare Recurring and Subscription Payments

Subscription businesses have additional requirements.

Look at:

• Recurring transaction support

• Tokenisation

• Stored payment credentials

• Failed-payment recovery

• Account updater services

• Reporting

• Cancellation management

• International billing

• Multiple currencies

Read our guide to Subscription Payment Processing.

7. Compare International Payment Support

Selling internationally introduces another set of questions.

Do not simply ask whether the provider accepts overseas cards.

Consider:

• Customer countries

• Acquiring location

• Presentment currencies

• Settlement currencies

• FX costs

• Cross-border charges

• Local acquiring

• Local payment methods

• International entities

Read our guides to International Merchant Accounts and Multi-Currency Merchant Accounts.

8. Compare Marketplace and Split-Payment Capabilities

Marketplaces and platforms often need more than straightforward ecommerce processing.

A business may need to:

• Accept money from customers

• Split funds

• Pay multiple sellers

• Deduct fees or commission

• Manage refunds

• Verify sellers

• Support different settlement structures

This can create both technical and regulatory considerations.

Read our guides to Marketplace Payment Gateways and Split Payment Gateways.

Find Your New Processor

Which Payment Gateway Features Should I Compare?

If you are specifically comparing gateways, look at the features your business will actually use.

These might include:

Checkout

• Hosted checkout

• Embedded checkout

• Payment links

• In-app payments

Integrations

• Ecommerce platforms

• Booking systems

• ERP

• CRM

• Accounting

• Custom API

Payment methods

• Visa

• Mastercard

• American Express

• Apple Pay

• Google Pay

• Alternative payment methods

• Bank payments

Recurring payments

• Tokenisation

• Subscription billing

• Stored credentials

• Failed-payment recovery

International

• Multiple currencies

• International acquiring

• Local payment methods

• Cross-border processing

Risk and security

• 3D Secure

• Fraud tools

• PCI support

• Tokenisation

Reporting

• Settlement reporting

• Reconciliation

• Refunds

• Chargebacks

• Multi-entity reporting

The gateway with the longest feature list is not necessarily the most suitable.

The important question is whether the provider supports your required payment journey.

Find Your New Processor

How Do I Compare Payment Providers for a High-Risk Business?

High-risk payment comparison works slightly differently.

The first question is usually not:

Which provider is cheapest?

It is:

Which providers are willing and able to support the business?

A high-risk provider may assess:

• Merchant Category Code

• Business model

• Company history

• Director and UBO information

• Processing history

• Chargeback levels

• Transaction values

• Customer countries

• Regulatory status

• Delivery times

• Refund exposure

• Website

• Payment flow

Once suitable providers have been identified, commercial terms can then be compared.

Read our High-Risk Merchant Accounts Guide.

What If I Have Already Been Declined by a Payment Provider?

Do not immediately submit applications to several more providers.

First try to understand why the application was declined.

The reason could be:

• Sector appetite

• Merchant Category Code

• Customer countries

• Transaction values

• Insufficient trading history

• Documentation

• Chargeback exposure

• Regulatory requirements

• Integration

• Provider policy

Once the reason is understood, it becomes easier to identify providers whose criteria may be different.

Read What to Do If You've Been Declined for Card Processing.

What If I Want to Switch Payment Provider?

Businesses change payment providers for many reasons.

You may have:

• Outgrown your existing provider

• Increased your transaction volume

• Added new payment methods

• Expanded internationally

• Changed ecommerce platform

• Developed new integrations

• Started subscriptions

• Experienced poor support

• Seen costs increase

• Changed business model

Before switching, compare what the new provider will actually improve.

Also check your existing:

• Contract

• Notice period

• Terminal agreement

• Gateway setup

• Stored payment tokens

• Recurring payments

• Integrations

• Settlement arrangements

Changing provider can involve more than changing the transaction rate.

Compare Payment Providers by Business Requirement

Different merchants should prioritise different things.

Ecommerce businesses

Consider:

• Gateway integration

• Checkout

• Fraud

• Wallets

• Refunds

• Settlement

Subscription businesses

Consider:

• Recurring payments

• Tokenisation

• Account updater

• Failed-payment recovery

• International billing

Marketplaces and platforms

Consider:

• Split payments

• Seller onboarding

• Settlement

• Compliance

• APIs

International businesses

Consider:

• Acquiring countries

• Customer countries

• Currencies

• FX

• Local payment methods

High-risk businesses

Consider:

• Sector appetite

• MCC

• Underwriting

• Chargebacks

• Reserves

• Countries

High-turnover businesses

Consider:

• IC++ or Interchange Plus

• Scheme fees

• Acquiring structure

• Authorisation performance

• Cross-border costs

• Settlement

Businesses with complex software

Consider:

• APIs

• Existing integrations

• Token portability

• ERP

• CRM

• Reporting

• Payment orchestration

This is why a generic "top ten payment providers" list will not always produce the right answer.

When Is the Cheapest Payment Provider Not the Best Option?

There are several situations where price should not be the only consideration.

For example:

Provider A: 0.9% processing fee but cannot integrate with your booking system.

Provider B: 1.0% processing fee and integrates directly.

Provider B may create the better overall business outcome.

Similarly:

Provider A: lower transaction cost but converts all international revenue into GBP.

Provider B: slightly higher transaction rate but allows EUR and USD settlement.

For a merchant with significant international turnover, the second proposition could potentially be more commercially suitable.

Payment comparison is therefore about total payment economics and operational fit, not one number.

Find Your New Processor

What Is The Payments Directory®?

The Payments Directory® is Merchant Advice Service's payment-provider research resource.

It helps businesses explore providers according to different payment requirements.

Depending on the provider information available, these can include factors such as:

• Business type

• Payment products

• Risk appetite

• Integrations

• Countries

• Currencies

• Payment methods

Use the Directory if you want to research potential providers yourself.

Explore The Payments Directory®

Need Help Narrowing Down Your Payment Providers?

Sometimes the difficult part is not finding payment companies.

It is understanding which ones are relevant to your particular business.

Merchant Advice Service can help where your requirements involve factors such as:

• High-risk or specialist sectors

• Previous declines

• Complex integrations

• High-value transactions

• International acquiring

• Multiple currencies

• Subscription payments

• Marketplace payments

• Split payments

• More than one acquiring relationship

Tell us what your business needs and we can help you understand the available payment routes.

For details of how our service works, commercial relationships and provider introductions, read How Merchant Advice Service Works.

Compare Payment Providers

Related Payment Guides

• Payment Gateways
  Understand gateway technology, integrations and payment-provider selection.

• High-Risk Merchant Accounts
  Specialist guidance for businesses with more complex underwriting requirements.

• Subscription Payment Processing
  Compare recurring-payment requirements and subscription payment infrastructure.

• Marketplace Payment Gateways
  Payments for platforms operating multi-party payment flows.

• Split Payment Gateways
  How payment splitting works for platforms and marketplaces.

• International Merchant Accounts
  Cross-border acquiring and international merchant-account requirements.

• Multi-Currency Merchant Accounts
  Presentment currencies, settlement currencies and international card payments.

• How Merchant Advice Service Works
  How MAS provides guidance, provider matching and introductions.

Merchant Advice Service is not tied to one payment provider. Businesses do not pay Merchant Advice Service to use its information, matching or introduction service. MAS may receive a referral fee or commission from a partner when an introduction results in a completed account, product or service.

Merchant Advice Service does not necessarily compare every provider in the market. Provider suitability is considered according to the information supplied by the business and the provider's current criteria. Final acceptance, underwriting, pricing and contractual terms remain with the payment provider.

This page provides general payment information and does not constitute legal, regulatory, financial, accounting or tax advice. Businesses should review provider terms carefully and obtain appropriate professional advice where required.