Best Mobile Card Readers for UK Small Businesses

What is a mobile card reader?

A mobile card reader is a small card machine that lets you take debit cards, credit cards and contactless payments without being tied to a fixed till.

Some connect to your phone by Bluetooth. Others have their own Wi-Fi or mobile connection and work on their own. You can also use Tap to Pay on some phones, which means the phone itself becomes the card reader.

That makes mobile readers useful for plumbers, electricians, market traders, mobile hairdressers, personal trainers, food trucks, cafés, events and small shops.

If you mainly trade alone, see our card machines for sole traders guide. For a wider comparison, see our card machine providers.

1. Square Reader: best all-rounder

Square Reader is still one of the easiest card readers to recommend to a small business because the hardware is cheap and the free software around it is genuinely useful.

The Reader costs £19 + VAT and standard in-person payments cost 1.75%. You pair it with a compatible phone or tablet and use Square’s standard POS app, which costs £0 a month.

That works particularly well for a salon, small shop, café, market stall or mobile business where you want products, customer records, digital receipts and sales reports without paying for another system.

Square also offers offline payments on the current Reader for limited periods, which can be useful if your connection drops. Terms and risk conditions apply, so it should be treated as a backup rather than a reason to ignore poor connectivity.

2. SumUp Solo Lite: best simple PAYG option

SumUp Solo Lite costs £25 + VAT and standard PAYG face-to-face payments cost 1.69%.

For a plumber, electrician, mobile beautician or other owner-operated business, that is about as simple as card payments get. Buy the reader, pair it with your phone and pay a fee when a customer pays you.

If you outgrow the phone-paired reader, SumUp offers the standalone Solo and Terminal.

SumUp also offers Payments Plus for £19 a month. The published rate is 0.99% on eligible in-person transactions, and SumUp positions it at businesses taking roughly £3,000 or more a month. Not every card necessarily qualifies for the lower rate, so compare using your actual card mix.

Read our SumUp fees guide.

3. Tide Nano and Tide Card Reader

Tide is now much more interesting at the low-cost end of the market because its entry-level Nano starts from £15 + VAT. The Nano uses your phone screen, so it is aimed at sole traders and mobile businesses rather than shops wanting a standalone screen.

Tide also offers a standalone Card Reader at £159 + VAT and Card Reader Plus at £199 + VAT.

Under Pay As You Go, Tide currently publishes 1.5% + 5p for card-reader transactions on domestic consumer debit cards. Its Sell In-Person subscription costs £17.99 + VAT a month, with reader hardware from £99 + VAT and a domestic consumer debit-card rate of 0.89% + 3p.

Other card types can be priced differently, so do not assume every Tide transaction will use the headline domestic debit rate.

Tide is most compelling if you already use its business banking and want more of your money management in one place.

4. PayPal Reader

PayPal’s first Reader costs £29 excluding VAT and normal card/contactless payments cost 1.75%.

There is no standard monthly POS subscription. The Reader pairs with a phone or tablet, while the standalone PayPal Terminal starts from £149 excluding VAT.

PayPal is worth considering if you already receive a meaningful share of payments through PayPal online. If PayPal is not already part of your business, Square and SumUp are usually the more obvious first comparisons.

Read our PayPal Card Reader review.

5. Dojo: better when card payments are business-critical

Dojo is aimed at a different type of customer. It is less about buying the cheapest little reader and more about running a reliable payment setup in a busy business.

Dojo currently publishes a 1.2% blended headline rate for businesses below £100,000 annual card turnover, with custom pricing above that level.

It is particularly strong for cafés, pubs and restaurants because it offers dedicated hardware, connectivity, tipping, pre-authorisation and EPOS integrations.

Compare the complete Dojo quote rather than the 1.2% figure alone, including any hardware and other applicable charges.

Read our Dojo review.

6. Clover Flex: mobile payments plus POS

Clover Flex is more than a card reader. It is a portable POS device that can handle payments, products, orders and other business tasks depending on your service plan.

Clover currently advertises the Flex hardware component from £15 + VAT a month. Your total monthly cost also includes a service plan and tailored transaction pricing.

That means Clover is not the right comparison for a sole trader taking ten card payments a week. It makes more sense when you need staff to take orders and payments around a café, restaurant or busy shop.

Read our Clover review.

Phone-paired reader or standalone card machine?

This is often the easiest way to narrow down the shortlist.

Choose a phone-paired reader if:

• you usually work alone
• you already have your phone with you
• you want to spend as little as possible upfront
• you take occasional or moderate card payments

Choose a standalone device if:

• several staff take payments
• you do not want staff using your phone
• you want built-in Wi-Fi or mobile data
• your business relies heavily on card payments
• you need a printer, scanner or more POS functions

Can you use your phone instead of buying a reader?

Often, yes. Tap to Pay lets a compatible phone accept contactless card and mobile-wallet payments through a supported app.

If you are a tradesperson who takes a few payments a week, this can remove the need to buy hardware at all.

If you rely on cards every day, we would still prefer a physical reader or terminal as your main route and Tap to Pay as a backup.

See our Tap to Pay and iPhone card reader guide.

How much do small differences in fees matter?

At low turnover, not very much.

At £2,000 of monthly card sales:

• 1.75% = £35
• 1.69% = £33.80
• 1.20% = £24 before any other applicable charges
• 0.99% = £19.80 before any subscription and assuming the transaction qualifies

The difference between 1.75% and 1.69% is only £1.20 a month. At that level, choose the system you find easiest to use.

At £20,000 monthly card turnover, the same 0.06 percentage-point gap is £12 a month. More importantly, at that level you should start comparing tailored merchant-service rates as well.

Watch fixed pence fees

Some providers charge a percentage plus a fixed amount on every transaction.

That fixed fee can matter more than it first appears if your average sale is small. A coffee shop taking hundreds of £4 and £5 payments has a very different cost profile from a builder taking a handful of £500 deposits.

Connectivity matters more than most buyers expect

A card reader is only useful if it connects where you actually work.

Phone-paired readers use your phone’s connection. Standalone terminals may have Wi-Fi, built-in mobile data or both. Some larger fixed setups also use Ethernet.

If you work at outdoor markets, rural jobs, exhibitions or in basement venues, test the signal before relying on one connection method.

For more traditional portable terminals, compare our PDQ terminals guide.

Battery life

If you work away from a fixed premises, charge the reader before you leave and carry a power bank.

For cafés, restaurants and shops, use charging docks and make putting devices back on charge part of the normal staff routine.

Do you need printed receipts?

Many sole traders can manage perfectly well with email or text receipts.

If customers regularly want paper receipts, look at a standalone terminal with a built-in printer or a fuller POS setup. Do not pay extra for printing hardware simply because it looks more professional.

Settlement: when does the money reach you?

Check when takings reach the account you actually use.

Square currently promotes next-day bank transfers as standard. PayPal can make POS takings available in the PayPal Business balance quickly. Other providers have different settlement options and paid upgrades.

If cash flow is tight, settlement can matter more than saving a tiny amount on the transaction percentage.

Refunds and disputes

Check how easy it is to find an old transaction and issue a full or partial refund.

If you sell higher-value work, keep good records such as invoices, signed approvals and proof of delivery. Those records can help if a customer disputes a legitimate card payment.

PCI DSS and card security

Using an approved reader normally means sensitive card details are handled by the payment provider rather than sitting inside your own systems.

You still have security responsibilities, but the setup is generally much simpler than manually handling or storing card information.

See our PCI DSS guide.

Best card reader for a sole trader

Start with Square Reader, SumUp Solo Lite or Tide Nano if you already use Tide.

For most sole traders, the most important things are low upfront cost, no long contract, easy receipts and reliable connectivity. You usually do not need a sophisticated POS system.

See our sole trader card machine guide.

Best reader for tradespeople

A plumber, electrician, builder or other mobile trade normally needs something quick rather than a complicated till.

A small phone-paired reader or Tap to Pay will usually do the job. Being able to take payment before leaving the job can also reduce the amount of time you spend chasing invoices later.

Best reader for markets and craft fairs

Square and SumUp are good starting points because fixed costs are low. Tide Nano can also be attractive if you already use Tide.

Take a power bank and make sure you have a reliable mobile connection. Tap to Pay gives you another route if the reader has a problem.

Read our craft fair card reader guide.

Best reader for cafés, pubs and restaurants

Hospitality businesses should stop looking only at the cheapest reader.

Staff sharing, table payments, speed, tipping, connectivity and EPOS integration matter far more when customers are waiting to pay. Dojo and Clover become much stronger comparisons here, alongside Square Terminal and SumUp Terminal.

See our hospitality card machine guide.

When should you move beyond PAYG?

PAYG readers are excellent when you are starting because there is little commitment and pricing is easy to understand.

But if you are putting £10,000, £20,000 or more through cards each month, a tailored rate can become worth investigating. The saving on processing can outweigh a monthly terminal or service cost.

Questions to ask before choosing

1. Do I need my phone to use the reader?
2. Will staff need to share the device?
3. What is the normal consumer-card rate?
4. Are there fixed pence-per-transaction fees?
5. What do commercial and overseas cards cost?
6. Is there a monthly fee or contract?
7. How quickly does the money reach my account?
8. How long does the battery last?
9. Can I send digital receipts or print them?
10. What happens if the reader stops working?
11. Would a tailored merchant-service quote be cheaper at my turnover?

Frequently asked questions

Our verdict

For most UK sole traders and micro-businesses, Square Reader and SumUp Solo Lite remain the two easiest card readers to start with.

Square is the stronger all-rounder if you want useful POS software around your payments. SumUp has the slightly lower standard PAYG percentage and keeps the proposition very simple.

Tide Nano is now a much more credible low-cost option, particularly for existing Tide users. PayPal makes sense if PayPal already handles a lot of your business payments. Dojo and Clover become stronger choices when you run a busier premises and payment reliability or POS functionality matters as much as price.

The main thing is not to overbuy. A one-person business taking a handful of payments a day does not need the same card setup as a packed restaurant. Choose what works now, then upgrade when your turnover or business becomes complicated enough to justify it.