What does your card machine really cost?
Type two numbers from last month's statement. You see what you pay, what you should pay for your volume, and the difference over a year.
Based on UK interchange caps and providers' published price lists, September 2026. No bank details, no card numbers.
Type your card sales and fees above.
- The smallest merchants pay more than four times the rate of the largest.Payment Systems Regulator, 2021
- Interchange is capped at 0.2 % on debit and 0.3 % on credit. Everything above that is scheme fees and margin.Interchange Fee Regulation
- Most small businesses pay 1.69 to 1.75 % on a card reader. The realistic rate for the same volume is 0.8 to 1.1 %.Providers' published prices, September 2026
Send one statement
A PDF, a photo, or the two numbers above. Last month is enough. A statement shows your sales totals and the fees charged. It has no card numbers and gives no access to your money. We read it for this audit only and delete it afterwards.
Within 24 hours on working days you get one page back: your effective rate, the best realistic rate for your volume, every fee worth questioning, and one recommendation. Keep, change plan, renegotiate, or switch.
What we look at
Every line here is either negotiable or should not be there. Most statements carry three or four of them.
- Authorisation fee per transaction2p to 5p, sometimes charged on declines and refunds tooquestionable
- PCI compliance fee£4.80 to £15 a month, plus a £15 to £30 penalty if a form was never filled inquestionable
- Minimum monthly service charge£10 to £30 whether you sell or notquestionable
- Terminal rental£12.50 to £30 a month, often on a separate 18 to 48 month hire with its own exit feecheck contract
- Premium, commercial and non-UK cardsbilled at 1.5 to 2.75 %, or as a surcharge on top of the headline ratenegotiable
- The headline ratethe percentage itself: your provider's margin plus the fees they pass throughnegotiable
- Early terminationthe remaining contract value, on the card contract and the terminal hire separatelycheck contract
We handle the change. You pay from the saving.
Most providers lower the rate when asked with the numbers in hand. If not, we handle the switch. Nothing changes without your say.
The check is free. If you go ahead and the saving is real, our fee is a share of the first year's saving, invoiced only after your next statement shows the lower rate. Nothing to save, nothing to pay. If you are already on a good rate, we tell you that in writing, and it costs nothing.
Example figures. The realistic rate for that volume in September 2026 is 1.08 %, with no contract. Yours is calculated from your own statement.
Send a statementQuestions
Is it safe to send my statement?
It shows your sales totals and the fees charged. It contains no card numbers and gives no access to your money. We read it for this audit only and delete it afterwards.
Do I have to switch provider?
No. Most providers lower the rate when asked with the numbers in hand. Switching is the fallback, and only if you want it.
What if I am in a contract?
We read the end date and the exit terms. Often the terminal hire and the card contract have different dates. We time the change around them.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a cost analysis based on your statement and public price lists. We do not sell insurance, credit or investments.
What does it cost?
The check is free. If we find a saving and you go ahead, our fee is a share of the first year's saving, invoiced after your next statement confirms the lower rate.
Which providers can you audit?
Any. Worldpay, Barclaycard, Dojo, Elavon, Lloyds Cardnet, Takepayments, Teya, SumUp, Zettle, Square, Stripe and the rest.
Send a statement
Last month's statement is enough. Attach it, or type the numbers. We reply within 24 hours on working days.