As a self-employed hairdresser, barber or stylist, you don’t want to be stuck with the wrong card machine. The wrong setup can complicate transactions, bookkeeping and just be too expensive – but there are several very affordable card machines for hairdressing sole traders.
We have picked the six best UK payment companies offering card terminals for self-employed stylists, hairdressers and barbers. All these options are mobile too, ideal for events and home visits.
| Company | Terminal price* | Best for | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|
| SumUp | £39–£139 | Lowest contract-free transaction rate | |
| Square | £19–£149 | Unbeatable free POS features | |
| Revolut | £49 | Business account and Tap to Pay backup | |
| Zettle | £29–£199 | Stylish, all-round card readers with POS app | |
| Tide | £89-£199 | Standalone card readers for good price | |
| Handepay | Custom quote | Can buy you out of another terminal contract |
*Prices exclude VAT.
Things to consider when choosing a card machine
Before we cover the options, consider your needs. Perhaps you work your flair in a salon, but what if you’re visiting clients? What if you sell styling products? How do you manage commissions? Can card sales be linked to accounting? Key questions:
Do you want to itemise transactions into services and products?
If you offer your own styling products, it’s easier to use an app-based card reader.
SumUp Air, Square and Zettle come with a POS app with product library so you can itemise products on receipts and manage stock better, even if they are not physical products.
Traditional card terminals only deal with transaction amounts entered manually, unless linked with an external POS system.
Are you receiving or paying a commission from your sales?
If you get commission from products sold in a salon, the salon’s card machine should process those transactions. The payments will go to the salon’s bank account, and it is the owner’s responsibility to pass commissions onto you.
If you are renting a chair, room or booth in a salon and, instead of paying a fixed amount, you are paying the salon a commission from your transactions, there are two ways to go. Either you have your own card machine, in which case you receive payments in your bank account, then pass on commissions to the salon.
Or you use the salon’s card machine and rely on the owner to keep the commission and give the rest to you. Card machines can only be linked with one business and bank account, not multiple.
What reporting functions do you need?
If you need to export sales to Excel, most of the below solutions can do that for free. Integrating with Xero and other accounting software can cost extra.
Can you commit to a long-term contract and do you anticipate a steady card turnover?
Handepay typically has a lock-in of 1 year. Such a contract has the best rates with a history of existing card turnover and steady income.
If sales are less predictable and you can’t tell how much freelance work there’ll be, SumUp, Zettle or Square have very competitive fees while also allowing you to accept a wide range of cards without a contract. Revolut and Tide have no lock-in either, but accept considerably fewer cards.
SumUp is popular, not least because it has the lowest card rate of all contract-free card machines: 1.69% per transaction. There are two card reader models: SumUp Air that works with a payment app on a connected smartphone or tablet, and SumUp Solo with an inbuilt SIM card enabling it to work independently via 4G or WiFi.
Photo: Emily Sorensen (ES), MobileTransaction
SumUp Air at Martin James Hairstylists, London.
There’s no setup fee, monthly fees, monthly minimum sales charge or other ongoing costs. It’s simple to sign up, buy the card reader and start accepting cards. Payouts automatically reach your bank account within 2-3 working days, or the next day – even on weekends – in the online SumUp Business Account.
“We’ve always liked SumUp’s dedication to user-friendly transactions and shiny look of their terminals. I never had issues accepting cards with them.”
– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, MobileTransaction
Air is cheapest because it needs the SumUp payment app on a Bluetooth-connected phone or tablet. It is very easy to figure out, with a product library for adding services or hair products for clients.
The Solo card reader works independently so it’s pricier upfront, but then you don’t need a phone to authorise payments. You simply enter the amount and let the customer insert or tap their card, followed by PIN entry on the screen when requested. The terminal is lightweight, fits into regular pockets and can be paired with an optional SumUp Solo Printer for £139 + VAT when bought together.
SumUp App lets you send payment links, accept QR code payments, create a basic online store and send invoices for 2.5% per transaction. All SumUp merchants can use this without monthly fees.
Accepted cards
Although reports are available in the online dashboard, SumUp does not integrate with external accounting software. You can analyse sales, receive payout reports by email and export to Excel, though.
Customer support is available between 8am-7pm on weekdays and 7am-5pm on weekends, which is the most support hours offered by a commitment-free card reader.
Overall, SumUp is a great low-cost card machine for mobile hairdressers who are not ready to commit to a contract or know what their freelance income will be over the next year.
If you’re going for most features, the deceptively plan-looking Square Reader is your best card reader-with-app solution. It accepts chip (PIN on mobile app screen) and contactless cards. The lack of PIN pad means it’s the smallest of all card readers, and the most lightweight. It connects via Bluetooth to the Square Point of Sale app on your smartphone or tablet, using the mobile device’s data/internet connection when authorising card payments.
Photo: ES, MobileTransaction
Square Reader is very small, so it’s easy to bring to clients’ houses and back to your desk.
The transaction rate is 1.75% for all chip and contactless cards. In addition, you get invoicing, over-the-phone payments, ecommerce and payment links as free extra tools without monthly fees. You can accept contactless cards or mobile wallets directly on the phone through Tap to Pay in the app, if you’ve forgotten the card reader.
There are no fixed charges apart from the card rate. If you need scheduling, accounting or nearly any other tools, you can integrate with a big range of partner platforms to connect sales and features.
For an additional 1% fee, you can get instant payouts to your bank account, otherwise transactions will take one (max. two) working days to reach a bank account.
The free POS app has the most product and payment features out of all app-based card readers. For example, you can sell e-gift cards, get customer feedback through digital receipts and refund custom amounts.
Accepted cards
If you prefer a standalone card that doesn’t rely on a connected tablet or smartphone, there is also Square Terminal for £149 + VAT. This is a beautiful, portable touchscreen terminal with POS software built in. It only works on a secure WiFi connection, not mobile network, making it best for a fixed location.
Photo: ES, MobileTransaction
Square Terminal is wireless and versatile with plenty of checkout features.
Overall, Square is excellent for its ease of use and the quick, online sign-up. It only offers 9am-5pm customer support on weekdays, but most merchants would not need help given the user-friendly interface and lack of complicated terms. There’s no fixed contract, so you can simply stop using it any time, then resume when you need it next.
Square Reader with app: Tiny card reader with wealth of features
Price: £19 (offer here)
Square Terminal: Touchscreen terminal as a portable checkout
Price: £149 (offer here)
Those who don’t accept payments all day long every day could benefit from a Revolut Reader, a lightweight, black and white card reader that works with the Revolut Business app. As you’d imagine, this requires signing up for a business account with Revolut, then a Merchant Account to accept payments.
Photo: Emmanuel Charpentier, MobileTransaction
Revolut Reader looks very unique and is small and lightweight, but the display is not the best.
The card reader costs £49 + VAT to buy, and then there’s just a 0.8% + 2p transaction fee for domestic consumer cards or 2.6% + 2p for all other cards. Only Mastercard, Visa and contactless mobile wallets are accepted.
The card reader works okay once you’ve established a Bluetooth connection with the app, but we had some teething issues with that in the beginning. The display is touchscreen with a virtual PIN pad when needed, but pixellated and not that bright.
And because the Revolut Business app is primarily for managing the account, it can get a little tedious to navigate to the “request money” section to create a transaction for the card reader.
But the chat support is at least available 24/7, and the card reader will work for most users.
Accepted cards
“Once I got the hang of using the card reader through the app, transactions worked okay. But I personally preferred the Tap to Pay on iPhone function, since it avoided the connectivity issues I had with the card reader.”
– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, MobileTransaction
Still, hairdressers who need a business account should consider Revolut Reader. Most beauty clients in the UK tend to pay with a UK-issued consumer card, so the low rate (even with the fixed fee) will save money. Funds are generally quick to reach the business account too (after 24 hours).
Learn more: Revolut Reader – okay card reader, great as a whole package
Zettle Reader – previously known as iZettle Reader – is ideal for merchants wanting a cool-looking, pocket-sized card reader that can also pass as a mini POS system. The card reader connects via Bluetooth to the Zettle Go app on your smartphone or tablet, accepting payments over the mobile device’s internet connection.
Photo: Emily Sorensen, MobileTransaction
The black Zettle Reader is used by stylists in Kennaland hair salon in Hackney, London.
Zettle has no monthly fees, no minimum sales requirement, no setup fee – you only pay a 1.75% transaction fee per card reader payment. If you don’t sell anything, you pay nothing. There’s no contractual commitment either.
The POS app comes with a nice product library where you can add individual products and services, thereby track what’s been purchased. You can also send payment links, which have a higher transaction rate, 2.5%.
The software includes reporting tools, viewed fully in your Zettle account from any web browser. It integrates with Xero and QuickBooks for more accounting tools, if exporting sales to Excel does not cut it for your books.
Payouts automatically go to your bank account within 1-2 working days, which is a bit faster than many competitors.
As to customer service, you can phone Zettle between 9am-5pm on weekdays, or email any time (although replies only happen during weekday work hours).
Accepted cards
Small businesses and self-employed professionals speak highly of Zettle for its easy of use and affordability (we have tested it and talked with Zettle customers, so we know). That said, recent negative reviews online complain about customer service and issues not being dealt with promptly, especially since PayPal’s takeover of the company.
Learn more: Zettle Reader review – previously a leading card reader
An obvious competitor to Revolut Reader is Tide Card Reader, which is actually a choice of two card machines. They settle transactions in the Tide Business bank account within 3+ working days – not fast compared with Revolut’s next-day payouts.
The greatest advantage of Tide is perhaps the low cost of the standalone card machines: from £89 for the one without a receipt printer, or from £99 with a receipt printer. They don’t have contract lock-in, just a pay-as-you-go rate of 1.5% per transaction for any Mastercard or Visa payment.
Tide offers full-fledged bank accounts, and the card readers are a fairly recent addition with some limitations. For instance, refunds are not done instantly and require a Tide employee to action it. But users do not have to subscribe to a paid account to use one of the card machines, so it’s still a good deal with the relatively low fixed rate.
Accepted cards
Stylists, barbers and hairdressers who want a commitment-free card machine that works independently and on the go might like Tide Card Reader. We think it’s a promising solution, as long as you’re happy with Tide as a banking solution and willing to overlook a few of the shortcomings it might still have.
Learn more: Tide Card Reader review – still being improved
Handepay is an independent sales organisation (ISO) renting traditional Castles card machines to small businesses like sole traders. The mobile terminal has a SIM card and works independently via 4G. It won’t fit in a regular pocket, but it’s definitely portable and will appeal to those who prefer a traditional card machine. It does not link with a product library or POS software – it merely accepts amounts manually entered.
Handepay has no setup fee, minimum monthly service charge, authorisation fee (typically added to card rate), PCI-DSS compliance fees or charges for reporting access (expect basic reporting tools, while accounting integrations cost extra).
You can, however, expect early cancellation fees and must cancel a contract in writing before the end of a contract. And like other terminal providers, expect to pay for a separate contract if you want to accept Amex.
If you’re stuck in another card machine contract, Handepay will try to beat your current fees – or pay £1,000 if they can’t. Claiming this reward can be a little convoluted, but it shows confidence in their rates to publicise this offer.
Accepted cards
Handepay’s customer service is spread across a terminal rental company, Merchant Rentals, and the merchant account provider, Evo Payments or Worldpay. We’ve seen customer complaints that this has complicated issues further, since you’re dealing with disconnected teams. If you rent from Worldpay, more of the services are handled in-house because they provide the merchant accounts directly.
This is a solution that’s only really competitive with a consistent card turnover, as fees are based on this. If you don’t make any money during some months, you still pay the monthly fee that covers a certain number of card payments, so even if there are no minimum monthly turnover fees, the monthly cost is essentially a replacement for that.
Learn more: Handepay card machine review – what are the pros and cons?
In summary
| Company | Terminal price* | Best for | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|
|
£39–£139 | Low fees and user-friendly business tools | |
|
£19–£149 | Wide-ranging free payment features | |
|
£49 | Low UK card rate and good account features | |
|
£29–£199 | Ergonomic, all-round card readers | |
|
£89-£199 | Standalone terminals with good fixed rate | |
|
Custom pricing | Can buy you out of another terminal contract |
*Prices exclude VAT.
