Comparison · Updated September 18, 2026
SumUp vs myPOS for UK card machines
SumUp
B+
A pay-as-you-go card reader and POS provider with flat published rates, no monthly fee and no contract. Strong for small and mobile sellers; the recurring complaint is account freezes and held funds with slow resolution.
myPOS
B
myPOS is a London-headquartered payments company founded in 2012 by Christo Georgiev and owned since February 2024 by the private-equity firm Advent International in a deal reported at around €500 million, after which the founder exited and Mario Shiliashki, formerly of Mastercard and PayPal, became chief executive. It sells card machines outright — the myPOS Go 2 at £39, Flex at £59, Go Combo at £169 and Ultra at £179, all excluding VAT — with no monthly fee, and settles every card payment instantly into a free myPOS e-money business account with a Mastercard business card, a model it says it pioneered in 2014. The UK rate card is published for businesses under £10,000 a month: 1.10% + 7p on domestic consumer cards, 2.20% + 7p on EEA consumer cards, 2.45% + 7p on American Express and 2.85% + 7p on everything else in person, and 1.30% + 15p domestic, 2.50% + 15p Amex and 2.90% + 15p other cards online; larger businesses get a custom quote. UK, Gibraltar and Swiss services are provided by myPOS Payments Ltd, an electronic money institution authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (reference 900826), and the group says it serves more than 400,000 merchants in over 30 countries with 15 physical stores, up from the 170,000 small businesses Reuters reported when the sale was agreed. Its Trustpilot profile is 4.2 from nearly 22,000 reviews, 70% five-star and 13% one-star, and the one-star reviews are about unexplained application rejections, slow deliveries and support that is hard to reach.
VS
Overview
SumUp and myPOS are the two pay-as-you-go card machines a UK sole trader or small shop is most likely to weigh, and both are London-based, FCA-authorised e-money institutions with no contract and no monthly fee. They price in opposite ways. SumUp (a B+ on Payment Review) charges a flat 1.69% on every in-person card — domestic, EEA, Amex, business cards alike — and 2.5% online, and pays out free to any UK bank account in one to two business days, or by 7am the next day into its own Business Account. myPOS (a B) charges 1.10% + 7p on domestic consumer cards in person and 1.30% + 15p online, but 2.20% + 7p on EEA cards, 2.45% + 7p on Amex and 2.85% + 7p on business and non-EEA cards, settles every payment into its e-money account within seconds, and charges £1.50 to move money to your bank. On a domestic consumer card the two cost the same at a ticket of about £12: below that SumUp's flat rate is cheaper, above it myPOS is. Which cards your customers carry matters as much as the ticket — a business taking many corporate or Amex cards pays far more on myPOS.
Key Takeaways
- ✓myPOS is cheaper on domestic consumer cards for anything but small tickets: 1.10% + 7p in person against SumUp's 1.69%, with the crossover at a ticket of about £12; online it is 1.30% + 15p against SumUp's 2.5%, crossing at about £12.50.
- ✓SumUp is cheaper on every other card: its 1.69% covers Amex, EEA and business cards, where myPOS charges 2.45% + 7p, 2.20% + 7p and 2.85% + 7p.
- ✓myPOS settles each payment into its e-money account in seconds but charges £1.50 per transfer to a UK bank; SumUp pays out free to your own bank in one to two business days, or by 7am next day (weekends included) into its free Business Account.
- ✓SumUp's readers start cheaper (Solo Lite £25 against myPOS Go 2 £39, both excluding VAT), though the Solo Lite pairs with a phone while the Go 2 is standalone; SumUp also sells a £249 countertop Register that myPOS has no equivalent for.
- ✓Both have no contract, no monthly fee and identical 4.2 Trustpilot scores; myPOS advertises free 24/7 support while SumUp's support is in-app chat with no email channel.
SumUp
SumUp suits cafés, market traders and anyone with small average tickets or a card mix heavy in Amex and corporate cards, and businesses that want takings paid free into the bank account they already run.
myPOS
myPOS suits trades, services and shops with larger tickets paid on ordinary UK consumer cards, and owners who want every payment available to spend within seconds and will treat the myPOS account as their working account.
The Verdict
It Depends on Your Needs
Why?
Two numbers decide it: your average ticket and the share of cards that are not ordinary UK consumer cards. On a domestic consumer card myPOS's 1.10% + 7p beats SumUp's 1.69% on any sale above about £12, and its 1.30% + 15p beats SumUp's 2.5% online above about £12.50 — a tradesperson taking £300 jobs pays £3.37 on myPOS and £5.07 on SumUp. But myPOS charges 2.20% to 2.85% plus 7p on EEA, Amex and business cards, where SumUp's flat 1.69% does not move, so a shop in a tourist area or a B2B supplier can end up paying more on myPOS despite the lower headline. Then the money: myPOS makes every payment spendable within seconds but keeps it in its own e-money account and charges £1.50 each time you move it to your bank; SumUp pays out free to any UK bank in one to two business days, or by 7am the next day into its own account. Both are contract-free with no monthly fee, and both score 4.2 on Trustpilot. Payment Review grades SumUp a B+ and myPOS a B; the site's own edge to SumUp reflects the wider product and the free route to your own bank rather than the transaction price.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
Filter Options
Card rates (GBP, UK pay-as-you-go pricing under £10,000 a month, September 2026)
| Feature | SumUp | myPOS |
|---|---|---|
| In person — domestic consumer card | 1.69% | 1.10% + 7p Winner |
| On a £10 sale SumUp costs 16.9p and myPOS 18p; on £50, 84.5p against 62p. The two are equal at a ticket of about £11.86, so myPOS is cheaper on almost any sale above £12. | ||
| In person — American Express | 1.69% Winner | 2.45% + 7p |
| In person — EEA consumer card | 1.69% Winner | 2.20% + 7p |
| In person — business, commercial and non-EEA cards | 1.69% Winner | 2.85% + 7p |
| This is the row that catches B2B traders and tourist-area shops: a £100 corporate card costs £1.69 on SumUp and £2.92 on myPOS. | ||
| Online and payment links — domestic consumer card | 2.5% | 1.30% + 15p Winner |
| Crossover at £12.50. myPOS charges 2.50% + 15p for Amex online and 2.90% + 15p for other cards; MOTO is the online rate plus 0.5%. SumUp's 2.5% covers all cards online. | ||
| Optional monthly plan | Payments Plus £19 a month: 0.99% on domestic debit and credit cards in person, 1.69% on premium and Amex, 2.5% online | None — pay-as-you-go only |
| Payments Plus costs £189 a year paid annually, has a 7-day trial and can be cancelled any time. Whether it beats myPOS on domestic consumer cards depends on how many sales you take, since the £19 is recovered from 0.11% of turnover plus 7p a sale: roughly 210 sales of £20 a month (about £4,200 of card turnover) is the break-even. | ||
| Custom pricing threshold | £10,000+ a month | £10,000+ a month |
In person — domestic consumer card
SumUp
1.69%
myPOS
1.10% + 7p
Winner
On a £10 sale SumUp costs 16.9p and myPOS 18p; on £50, 84.5p against 62p. The two are equal at a ticket of about £11.86, so myPOS is cheaper on almost any sale above £12.
In person — American Express
SumUp
1.69%
Winner
myPOS
2.45% + 7p
In person — EEA consumer card
SumUp
1.69%
Winner
myPOS
2.20% + 7p
In person — business, commercial and non-EEA cards
SumUp
1.69%
Winner
myPOS
2.85% + 7p
This is the row that catches B2B traders and tourist-area shops: a £100 corporate card costs £1.69 on SumUp and £2.92 on myPOS.
Online and payment links — domestic consumer card
SumUp
2.5%
myPOS
1.30% + 15p
Winner
Crossover at £12.50. myPOS charges 2.50% + 15p for Amex online and 2.90% + 15p for other cards; MOTO is the online rate plus 0.5%. SumUp's 2.5% covers all cards online.
Optional monthly plan
SumUp
Payments Plus £19 a month: 0.99% on domestic debit and credit cards in person, 1.69% on premium and Amex, 2.5% online
myPOS
None — pay-as-you-go only
Payments Plus costs £189 a year paid annually, has a 7-day trial and can be cancelled any time. Whether it beats myPOS on domestic consumer cards depends on how many sales you take, since the £19 is recovered from 0.11% of turnover plus 7p a sale: roughly 210 sales of £20 a month (about £4,200 of card turnover) is the break-even.
Custom pricing threshold
SumUp
£10,000+ a month
myPOS
£10,000+ a month
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
Café, kiosk or market stall with tickets under £12
Recommended
SumUp
Below about £12 SumUp's 1.69% flat rate is cheaper than myPOS's 1.10% + 7p on every sale, the Solo Lite is the cheapest reader of the pair, and takings arrive by 7am next day into the Business Account or free into your own bank.
Plumber, electrician or mobile service taking £100+ on consumer cards
Recommended
myPOS
On a £150 job myPOS costs £1.72 and SumUp £2.54, the money is spendable from the myPOS card within seconds of the customer tapping, and a Go 2 or Flex is a self-contained 4G device that needs no phone.
Shop in a tourist area or B2B supplier taking corporate cards
Recommended
SumUp
myPOS charges 2.20% + 7p on EEA cards, 2.45% + 7p on Amex and 2.85% + 7p on business and non-EEA cards; SumUp charges 1.69% on all of them, and the difference on a card mix like this outweighs myPOS's advantage on domestic consumer cards.
Business that wants takings in its existing bank account
Recommended
SumUp
SumUp pays out to any UK bank account at no charge. myPOS settles only into its own e-money account and charges £1.50 for each transfer out, which adds up for a business that sweeps daily.
Online seller or invoicer on payment links, average order £30+
Recommended
myPOS
myPOS's 1.30% + 15p online rate is well under SumUp's 2.5% at that order size — 54p against 75p on £30, and the gap widens with the ticket.
Retailer that wants a countertop till, not just a reader
Recommended
SumUp
SumUp sells a £249 dual-screen Register and a £39-a-month POS Plus tier; myPOS's range tops out at the Ultra handheld and has no countertop equivalent.
SumUp: Best for 4 use cases
myPOS: Best for 2 use cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
For ordinary UK consumer cards, myPOS on anything above a £12 ticket: 1.10% + 7p in person and 1.30% + 15p online against SumUp's 1.69% and 2.5%. For Amex, EEA and business cards, SumUp, because its 1.69% covers them all while myPOS charges 2.20% to 2.85% plus 7p. Neither has a monthly fee, and both switch to custom pricing above £10,000 a month in card sales.
No. Both are pay-as-you-go with no contract, no monthly fee and free account closure. myPOS does charge a £15 inactivity fee after ten months without a transaction, and SumUp's optional Payments Plus plan is a £19 monthly subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
myPOS settles each card payment into its e-money account within seconds, around the clock, and you can spend it on the myPOS Business Mastercard straight away; moving it to a UK bank costs £1.50 per transfer. SumUp pays out to your own bank account in one to two business days at no charge, or by 7am the next day — weekends and bank holidays included — if you use its free Business Account.
No, and neither is SumUp's Business Account. Both companies are FCA-authorised electronic money institutions: your balance is safeguarded in segregated accounts but is not covered by the £85,000 FSCS guarantee that a bank deposit carries. The practical difference is that SumUp will also pay out free to a bank of your choosing, while myPOS keeps the money in its own account until you pay to move it.
Yes. SumUp charges Amex at its standard 1.69% in person and 2.5% online. myPOS charges 2.45% + 7p in person and 2.50% + 15p online — more than double its domestic consumer rate.
SumUp's Solo Lite is the cheapest entry at £25 excluding VAT (£15 on promotion when checked), against the myPOS Go 2 at £39 — but the Solo Lite pairs with your phone while the Go 2 works on its own. For a touchscreen standalone device myPOS's Flex at £59 undercuts SumUp's Solo at £79. Both include mobile data at no charge on their standalone devices, and both offer Tap to Pay on a phone with no hardware at all.
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