UK card-payment acquirer panel 2026
42 named UK card-payment providers in the AcceptCard panel, covering mainstream acquirers, bank acquirers, online payment gateways and high-risk specialists. Rate, settlement, contract and channels per provider. Plus 40+ further specialist acquirers in the full panel for niche underwriting (total 80+).
Mainstream acquirers (16)
Modern fintech and SMB acquirers operating in the UK.
| Provider | Channels | Headline rate | Settlement | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK hospitality and retail strong. Same-day settle competitive. | in-person | 1.4% to 1.9% blended | Same-day or next-day | 12 months |
| No monthly fee. Free 4G SIM on SumUp Solo. Most permissive new-merchant onboarding. | in-person | 1.69% standard, 0.99% charity | Next business day (same-day on SumUp One) | No contract |
| Built-in POS, receipt printer, Square Online for ecommerce. | omnichannel | 1.75% in-person, 1.4% + 25p online | Next business day (same-day for extra fee) | No contract |
| Cheapest hardware entry point at £59 to £79. | in-person | 1.75% standard, 2.5% AMEX | 1 to 2 business days | No contract |
| Best UK developer ecosystem. Stripe Billing for SaaS recurring. | omnichannel | 1.5% + 20p UK online, 1.5% in-person | 2-day to 7-day rolling for new accounts | No contract |
| Conditional on Tide Business banking. £49 hardware. | in-person | 1.5% per transaction | Same-day to Tide Business account | No contract |
| Multi-currency settlement. Lowest UK headline rate conditional on Revolut Business plan. | omnichannel | 0.8% to 1.0% on higher plans | Same-day to Revolut Business account | Plan subscription required |
| Direct UK acquirer. Enterprise + high-volume. Best SCA exemption flagging. | omnichannel | Bespoke interchange-plus | Bespoke schedule | Custom |
| Paymentsense UK ISO selling card terminals on commission. Long contracts historically. | in-person | Bespoke, often 1.6% to 2.5% | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| Take Payments UK ISO. Hardware-led SMB sales channel. | in-person | Bespoke per merchant | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| Cardstream UK payment-gateway platform; powers many UK-fintech online checkouts. | online | Bespoke per partner | Per partner | Per partner |
| Trust Payments UK acquirer with strong high-risk-vertical underwriting appetite. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| Castles Technology UK card-machine manufacturer; hardware partnered with multiple acquirers. | in-person | Bespoke per partner | Per acquirer | Per acquirer |
| MyPOS EU-headquartered (Bulgaria) with UK passport. Instant payout. | omnichannel | 1.85% standard | Instant to MyPOS account | No contract |
| Truevo UK-passported acquirer; mid-market focus. | omnichannel | Bespoke | Next business day | 12 months typical |
| GoDaddy Payments GoDaddy website + payment bundle. Best for GoDaddy ecommerce builders. | omnichannel | 1.5% + 25p online, 1.75% in-person | Next business day | No contract |
Bank acquirers (8)
UK bank-operated merchant services.
| Provider | Channels | Headline rate | Settlement | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largest UK acquirer by merchant count. Legacy estate. | omnichannel | Bespoke, blended or IC+ above £100k | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| Conditional on existing NatWest Business banking. | in-person | From 0.74% for NatWest customers | Same-day to NatWest account | 12 to 18 months |
| Barclaycard Payments UK incumbent bank acquirer. Strong corporate / B2B coverage. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| Elavon Owns Opayo (formerly Sage Pay) gateway. US Bancorp subsidiary. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant | Next business day | 36 months typical |
| Lloyds Cardnet Lloyds Banking Group merchant services. UK bank-grade. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
| HSBC Merchant Services Now operated by Global Payments under HSBC brand. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant | Next business day | Custom |
| Santander Merchant Services Santander UK bank acquirer. Bank-customer-only typically. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant | Next business day | 12 to 24 months |
| Global Payments UK Powers HSBC Merchant Services and many UK bank-acquirer partnerships. | omnichannel | Bespoke per merchant | Next business day | 12 to 36 months |
Online payment gateways (8)
Card-not-present specialists for ecommerce, subscription billing and donations.
| Provider | Channels | Headline rate | Settlement | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments Native Shopify gateway, powered by Stripe. | online | 2.0% + 20p Basic, 1.5% + 20p Advanced | T+3 typical | Shopify monthly plan |
| PayPal Checkout BNPL Pay-in-3 included free. Highest consumer recognition. | online | 2.9% + 30p UK | PayPal account, 1-3 day to bank | No contract |
| Klarna BNPL Pay-in-3, Pay-in-30. Strong abandoned-cart recovery. | online | 2.99% + 30p typical | 1 to 14 days | No contract |
| Clearpay (AfterPay) UK BNPL Pay-in-4. Strong young-consumer adoption. | online | ~6% blended | 1 to 2 days | No contract |
| GoCardless Bacs Direct Debit. Lower fee than card on recurring above £30/payment. | online | 1% + 20p, capped £2 | T+3 Bacs | No contract |
| Opayo (formerly Sage Pay) UK-specific gateway, Elavon-owned. | online | Bespoke 1.5% to 2.5% | Via Elavon merchant agreement | 36 months typical |
| Mollie EU-headquartered. Strong local-payment-method coverage (iDEAL, Bancontact, SOFORT). | online | 1.8% + 25p UK | Next business day | No contract |
| Tipalti B2B mass-payment platform. Marketplace seller payouts and supplier payments. | online | Bespoke per merchant | Multi-currency, schedule per merchant | Custom |
High-risk specialists (10)
Acquirers who underwrite the verticals mainstream UK acquirers decline.
| Provider | Channels | Headline rate | Settlement | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allied Wallet High-risk specialist. Online gambling, dating, adult. | online | Bespoke, typically 3% to 6% | Rolling reserve 5-10% | Custom |
| HighRisk-Pay CBD, vape, online gambling, adult. | online | Bespoke, typically 3% to 5% | Rolling reserve 5-10% | Custom |
| SecurionPay EU-headquartered high-risk specialist with UK passport. | online | Bespoke 2.5% to 5% | Rolling reserve typical | Custom |
| eMerchantBroker US-headquartered high-risk broker, UK passport. Adult, firearms, CBD. | online | Bespoke 2.5% to 6% | Rolling reserve typical | Custom |
| Easy Pay Direct High-risk broker. Online dating, subscription, adult, supplements. | online | Bespoke 2.5% to 5% | Rolling reserve typical | Custom |
| Soar Payments High-risk specialist underwriter. | online | Bespoke | Rolling reserve typical | Custom |
| Durango Merchant Services CBD, vape, firearms, online gambling. | online | Bespoke | Rolling reserve typical | Custom |
| Corepay High-risk online and recurring billing. | online | Bespoke 3% to 6% | Rolling reserve typical | Custom |
| Instabill High-risk specialist, online-led. | online | Bespoke | Rolling reserve typical | Custom |
| T1 Payments High-risk specialist, adult and subscription. | online | Bespoke | Rolling reserve typical | Custom |
Why list every acquirer publicly?
Most UK card-payment broker sites hide their acquirer panel. AcceptCard publishes the full list because the panel is the value proposition: the 80+ acquirer relationships are the inventory we match against, and disclosing them upfront means you know what you are getting.
Specialist high-risk acquirers (Allied Wallet, HighRisk-Pay, SecurionPay, Easy Pay Direct, T1 Payments and others) work under separate underwriting; we route enquiries to them only when the merchant's vertical or trading history warrants it, and we disclose the routing on every introduction.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-11. Rates and pricing as published 2026; we ground the panel in public information and re-audit each quarter.