Card fees · Worked example
SumUp vs The Payments Expert: which one's actually cheaper?
We ran the numbers on a typical UK hospitality business — £30,000 a month across the card machine. Here is what you would actually pay each month with each provider, not just the headline rate.
The catch in the cheaper plan
SumUp Standard charges 1.69% on every in-person transaction. The Payments Plus plan drops that to 0.99% for £19 a month — but only on domestic consumer cards. Amex, premium and international cards stay at 1.69%, so the more business, corporate and overseas custom you take, the further your real cost drifts above the headline.
Interchange-plus pricing has no such cliff. You pay the card scheme cost plus a fixed, disclosed margin, on every card type, and the structure gets better with volume rather than worse.
What changes when you switch
Full EPOS, not a dongle
Clover gives you a proper till system — stock, staff, reporting, table service — not just a card reader stuck to your phone.
Real UK support
A person answers the phone. No chatbot loop, no waiting days for an email reply.
One structure, every card type
No consumer-card carve-out. Commercial, premium and international cards are priced on the same disclosed basis rather than quietly dropping back to the standard rate.
Why merchants switch
Why merchants switch off flat-rate providers
20–40%
Typical saving on card processing
depending on card mix and volume
Same day
Statement comparison turnaround
in writing, free, no obligation
£1/month
Clover Flex for the first 6 months
terminal rental on switching
SumUp vs Square vs us, on the same numbers
£30,000 a month in card turnover at a £50 average transaction — 600 transactions. We have used £30k because it is roughly where the flat-rate model stops being the cheap option and starts being the expensive one.
| Provider | Rate structure | Monthly fee | Total monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| SumUp Standard | 1.69% flat | Dongle (one-off) | £507 |
| SumUp Payments Plus | 0.99%* | £19/mo | £316 |
| Square | 1.75% flat | Dongle (one-off) | £525 |
| The Payments ExpertBest value | 0.45% + 1p/txn | Clover terminal from £20/mo | £161 |
You could save
£346 a month — £4,152 a year
That is against SumUp Standard at this turnover level. Against SumUp Payments Plus it is £155 a month (£1,860 a year); against Square, £364 a month (£4,368 a year).
SumUp's 0.99% Payments Plus rate covers domestic consumer cards only. Amex, premium and international cards stay at 1.69% — so the more business, corporate or overseas custom you take, the further your real cost drifts above the headline. Ask what your blended rate actually came to last month.
Indicative example — your actual rate depends on your card mix. We will calculate your exact numbers free from a statement.
Rate calculator
Run your own numbers
Put your monthly card turnover and average transaction in and see the gap on your figures rather than ours.
Adjust the sliders for your card turnover and Clover Flex monthly terminal price
Indicative interchange+ rates for a Clover Flex on our standard merchant plan. Final pricing is confirmed on your signed agreement.
Free same-day estimate
Send us your last SumUp statement
We will rebuild your cost on interchange-plus and come back the same business day with the two numbers side by side. If SumUp is genuinely cheaper for you, we will tell you that.
Leave your details and we’ll come back the same day. Add last month’s statement too if it’s handy and we’ll make the comparison exact — it’s not required.
Office
+44 1442 899 544Email
hello@thepaymentsexpert.com
Questions from SumUp merchants
- Is Payments Plus not already cheap enough?
- It depends entirely on your card mix. The 0.99% only covers domestic consumer cards — if a meaningful share of your takings is business, premium or international cards, those sit at 1.69% and your blended cost lands well above the headline. A statement tells us which case you are in.
- Is there a contract?
- Yes — a fixed term, which is what lets us price below a public flat rate in the first place. The rate is locked for the term; interchange changes pass through but our margin does not move.
- Do I have to replace my hardware?
- You move onto Clover hardware, which is a full EPOS rather than a card reader. Terminal rental is £1 a month for the first six months. SumUp readers are SumUp-only, so they cannot come with you.
- At what turnover does switching stop being worth it?
- Below roughly £10,000 a month in card sales the difference is small enough that SumUp is a perfectly reasonable choice. Above that the gap widens quickly, and by £30,000 a month it is thousands a year.
- What do you need from me to quote?
- One recent statement or a SumUp sales summary showing your monthly volume and card mix. That is enough to build an exact comparison — no site visit needed.
Not sure what you're really paying?
Send us your current statement and we will show you exactly where the markup is hiding — free, no obligation. If SumUp is genuinely cheaper for you, we will tell you that.