Since 1 May 2026, a Slovak business that has to record its sales in eKasa, the state's online cash-register system, must let customers pay without cash on any sale over €1. The rule is in the new sales-records act, Act No. 384/2025, and it does not require a card terminal: a QR code for an instant bank transfer counts. It does mean that every shop, café and market stall that issues eKasa receipts now needs some way to take a non-cash payment, and most will choose a card reader.
Slovakia has used the euro since 2009, so card fees work under the same EU rules as the rest of the euro area. Interchange, the fee your provider passes to the cardholder's bank, is capped at 0.2% of a consumer debit card payment and 0.3% of a consumer credit card payment. Slovak law then goes further than the EU minimum on surcharges: a shop may not charge the customer for paying by card or by any other payment instrument. Below is what providers publish for Slovakia, read on their Slovak pages on 4 November 2026. Card fees are per payment; hardware and monthly fees are flagged where the provider says they exclude VAT, which has been 23% at the standard rate since January 2025.
What card readers charge
These are the published in-person rates on consumer cards issued in the European Economic Area, which covers almost every Slovak customer and most visitors from the EU.
- SumUp (our grade: B+): 1.95% per payment with no monthly fee, on every card including American Express and premium cards. On its Payments Plus plan, at €19 a month, the rate falls to 0.99% on ordinary debit and credit cards, with premium cards and Amex still at 1.95%; SumUp says the plan pays for itself from €2,300 a month in card takings. Readers list at €34 for the Solo Lite, €79 for the Solo and €169 for the Terminal before VAT, and were discounted in a Black Friday sale when we looked (the Terminal at €99, or €121.77 with VAT). Takings arrive by 7am the next day, weekends and holidays included, at no charge.
- Revolut Business (our grade: B): from 0.8% + €0.02 in person and from 1% + €0.20 online, on its paid plans: Basic at €10 a month, Grow at €35 and Scale at €125. The Revolut Terminal costs €189 plus VAT and the Terminal Lite €139 plus VAT, with no maintenance or subscription fee, and Revolut says money settles within 24 hours. Revolut's full table of rates by card type was blocked when we tried to read it, so we can confirm only the starting rates; check the rate for commercial and non-EEA cards before you sign.
- myPOS (our grade: B): 1.69% + €0.05 on domestic and EEA consumer cards, 2.49% + €0.05 on American Express and 2.89% + €0.05 on other cards, for businesses taking up to €10,000 a month on cards, with no fixed monthly cost; above that it quotes a custom price. Devices are bought outright: €39 for the Go 2, €69 for the Flex and €179 for the Ultra, before VAT. Money lands at once in a myPOS account, and each SEPA or SEPA Instant transfer out to a bank costs €4. Its fee list includes a €15 inactivity fee.
- Viva.com (our grade: B): 1.69% on domestic and EEA consumer cards, with a €0.03 minimum, under prices effective from 16 September 2026. Commercial, UK and other non-EEA cards cost interchange and scheme fees plus 1.16%, and American Express 2.75%, with 0.40% more on an Amex card issued outside the EEA. Plans run from €0 (with a €4.99 minimum monthly charge) to €19.99 a month. Settlement is real time into a Viva account, which carries a Greek IBAN; an outgoing SEPA transfer costs €0.25.
- Teya (our grade: B): its Start plan, for businesses taking up to €2,500 a month on cards, charges 1.29% on top of interchange and scheme fees, so it is not a flat rate. The pricing page says a €25 monthly fee applies to customers below €2,500 of monthly turnover, while the FAQ on the same page calls Start a plan without monthly fees; ask Teya which applies before you sign. Above €7,500 a month it quotes a personal offer. Hardware costs €89 to €159 plus VAT.
- Stripe (our grade: A): Stripe Terminal is listed in Stripe's documentation as a private preview in Slovakia, and its Slovak Terminal page told us the product is not yet available in our country. Its published Slovak price is 1.4% + €0.10 on EEA and UK cards in person, but most shops will not be able to sign up for it yet.
Banks sell terminals too, and in Slovakia most of them do it through an acquirer rather than in-house. Slovenská sporiteľňa's terminals come from Global Payments s.r.o., a joint venture of Global Payments Inc., CaixaBank and Erste Group; its "Spolu" offer is priced at 0.99% + €0.05 with a monthly fee of €0 to €25. ČSOB advertises a final commission from 0.89%. VÚB and Tatra banka publish their ancillary fees but not their commission: VÚB's tariff from 1 January 2026 lists €40 for installation, €50 for removal, 2% on a manually keyed payment, €50 per chargeback and €0.05 on any card payment under €5, a fee worth noticing now that sales from €1 must be payable by card or QR. Comgate, a Czech payment institution that sells in Slovakia, publishes terminal prices: 1% on EU consumer cards on its Easy plan, with terminal rental of €12 a month waived above €4,000 a month in takings.
Many of these offers are discounted under "Slovensko platí kartou" (Slovakia pays by card), an industry campaign timed to the new rule. Tatra banka, for example, advertises 12 months without transaction fees, VÚB up to nine months without fees, and Comgate free card payments up to €2,000 a month for the first six months on its Start plan. Read what the price becomes when the promotion ends, because that is what you will pay for most of the contract.
Online card payments
For a website or app, the published Slovak rates on EEA consumer cards are:
- Comgate (our grade: B): 1% on EU consumer cards and 2% on business and non-EU cards on its Easy plan, with a monthly fee of €4 waived above €4,000 a month. Its Profi plan, for merchants above €120,000 a month, is 0.67% + €0.04. Comgate states that its prices include all fees and are final; refunds cost €0.20 and chargebacks €40. It was running a three-month introductory rate of 0.6% on the Easy plan when we looked.
- GoPay (our grade: B-): 0.95% on cards, online bank transfers and QR payments after an introductory period, with each settlement to your bank costing €0.50 and a chargeback €41. Its Slovak pricing page describes the free introductory period inconsistently (three, six and twelve months appear in different places), so get the term in writing.
- Stripe: 1.5% + €0.25 on standard EEA cards, 2.8% + €0.25 on premium EEA cards, 2.5% + €0.25 on UK cards and 3.15% + €0.25 on other international cards, with 2% more when currency conversion is needed. A dispute costs €20.
- myPOS: 1.30% + €0.20 on EEA consumer cards, 2.50% + €0.20 on Amex and 2.90% + €0.20 on other cards. Viva.com charges 2.19% + €0.24 on EEA consumer cards online.
- PayPal (our grade: A-): 3.4% + €0.35 on a standard PayPal checkout payment, 1.9% plus a fixed fee when a customer pays by card without a PayPal account A dispute costs €14. In person, PayPal's Slovak offer is QR code payments, at 0.9% + €0.10 on payments above €10 and 1.4% + €0.05 on payments of €10 or less; we found no PayPal card reader sold in Slovakia.
QR payments and instant transfers
The new rule treats a QR payment order as a valid way to offer non-cash payment, and the Financial Administration's free VRP2 app can generate one. It said in April 2026 that banks will not charge for payment notifications or for crediting these payments until the end of 2027 when its technical solution is used. Slovak banking apps already read PAY by square, a format for putting payment details in a QR code, which its developer says the Slovak Banking Association adopted as the banks' standard.
Instant transfers make this practical. Under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, every bank in the euro area has had to receive SEPA Instant payments since 9 January 2025 and send them since 9 October 2025, at a price no higher than an ordinary transfer, and to check the payee's name against the IBAN free of charge. Národná banka Slovenska notes that Slovak banks began joining the instant payment scheme in February 2022, well before the EU deadlines. For a small shop, a QR code is the cheapest way to comply; a card reader is what most customers will expect.
The rules
Who must accept non-cash payments
Section 15 of Act No. 384/2025 on sales records requires a business that must record sales in eKasa to allow non-cash payment on any sale over €1. Any payment instrument counts, including a QR payment order. The obligation is lifted while there is no internet signal or the confirmation systems are down. It applies from 1 May 2026. A business with permission to defer sending data from its online cash register is excluded. A first breach brings an instruction to comply rather than a fine; a second carries a fine of €500 to €15,000, and each one after that €3,000 to €40,000.
No surcharges on any payment method
Section 44(3) of the Payment Services Act (No. 492/2009) says a payee may not ask the payer for a fee for using a payment card or any other payment instrument. That is wider than the EU rule, which bans surcharges only on consumer cards covered by the interchange caps. A shop may still offer a discount for a particular way of paying, if it announces the discount before the payment.
Interchange caps
The EU Interchange Fee Regulation caps interchange at 0.2% on consumer debit cards and 0.3% on consumer credit cards. The caps do not cover commercial cards or most cards issued outside the EEA, which is why nearly every provider above charges more for them.
What to check before you sign
- The price after the promotion. Many Slovak offers are free or discounted for three to twelve months; compare the rate that applies afterwards.
- What you will actually be charged on business and non-EEA cards. A 1.69% headline rate can become interchange plus 1.16% on a company card, or 2.89% + €0.05.
- Whether the monthly fee depends on volume. Viva.com's free plan has a €4.99 minimum monthly charge, Comgate's fees fall away above €4,000 a month, and Teya's page contradicts itself.
- How and when you get paid. SumUp pays out free by the next morning; myPOS and Viva.com settle instantly into their own accounts and charge €4 and €0.25 respectively to move money to a bank.
- Whether a QR code is enough. If most of your sales are small and your customers bank in Slovakia, the free route under the new rule may cover you, with a card reader as a second option rather than the first.
For the same providers' prices in a neighbouring market, see our guide to card and QR payment fees in the Czech Republic, and for how quickly the money reaches you, our comparison of instant payout fees.
