Top 5 Best UK Merchant Services

Monday, July 30th, 2018

The small business merchant account market in the UK is highly competitive. There is a very long – and growing – list of providers hoping to offer you top-end services. Knowing this, how do you choose the right provider for your business’ needs?

The following list will help you get started. These providers are in no particular order and are some of the most sought-after merchant providers in the UK. In developing this list, online reviews and the merchant provider’s reputation were considered.

Square

Square is a US-headquartered company that offers a highly competitive pricing structure, rich features and ease of use for their end users – basically, a small business owner’s dream. If you need payment processing as quickly as possible, you will be glad to hear that Square’s setup process can be done online in 3 steps. You can even start accepting online payments the same day.

• Pros: You receive chargeback protection and an easy to use inventory, location and employee management system.
• Cons: Some online customer reviews suggest that Square might suddenly terminate or freeze your account. Disputes also take a long time to clear up, and customer support is only offered Monday to Friday.

Stripe

If you have an ecommerce business, Stripe is a great merchant provider with innovative solutions and developer-centric strategies. While many larger, established companies take advantage of Stripe’s enormous collection of features, small businesses also benefit from highly competitive prices on the UK market. Small businesses also enjoy the flexibility of Stripe services.

• Pros: Stripe is an ideal solution for small businesses in the UK that sell internationally. Stripe’s API also integrates with all major shopping platforms and CMSs, meaning Stripe will support whatever web-developing software you choose and are comfortable with.
• Cons: It will take some knowledge of basic coding to use Stripe’s ecommerce solutions, as they are not known for their ease of use. You will also have to find card readers because Stripe does not offer their own.

PayPal

Many new entrepreneurs prefer using PayPal as their payment processing launchpad. PayPal offers a wide variety of must-have features, ease of use and solid security. You also have a global prevalence of PayPal payments. Unfortunately, PayPal is not known for highly competitive rates or thorough customer service as other providers are.

• Pros: That being said, PayPal does have a fair and effective credit card processing structure. PayPal Here offers you a blended (flat-rate) or interchange-plus pricing with rates starting at 2.75% and IC + 2.5%, respectively.
• Cons: If you choose to use advanced features (e.g. fraud filters) it might involve extra charges. You might also find your account has been subject to termination based on rather vague assessment criteria.

iZettle

Small entrepreneurs love the transparency and incredibly competitive pricing. They are also known for their dedication to small merchants, and work hard to keep payment processing issues at bay.

• Pros: iZettle offers state-of-the-art card readers with in-house innovative technology. iZettle also extends cash advances to help small businesses through the many growth challenges they encounter.
• Cons: iZettle does not offer payment gateway or online credit card processing. Their strongest suit is in brick-and-mortar businesses.

Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is a very popular online shopping platform. Recently, it has been gaining traction as an in-store solution as well for merchant across the globe. If integrated payments would add value to how you mange your online and POS cash flows, Shopify Payments is a great option. It also offers support for languages and currencies.

• Pros: Shopify Payments includes solid payment structures for various platforms, and boasts a centralized dashboard. Keep all of your software, plug-ins and payment gateway in one place.
• Cons: You might have customers report that they were unable to complete their transaction through Shopify Payments with a debit card.

Would you like to learn more about the best merchant services UK? Check out the other helpful information and tips on merchant account providers Best Payment Providers has to offer.