UK BUYER’S GUIDE · 5 PRODUCTS
Payments and merchant services
Can customers pay through our required channels, and can finance explain every pound reaching the bank?
Compare payment acceptance, settlement, failed-payment recovery and reconciliation for UK merchants, with card and bank-payment specialists kept distinguishable.
YOUR SHORTLIST STARTS HERE
Compare the options.
Highest documented score first. Fit adds up the 20 feature checks below, including AI, across documented plans. Entry prices may exclude scored capabilities. The upper end of a range represents unverified points.
5 of 5 products · Highest documented score first
| Product / good fit for | Pricing context | Documented fit | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
Stripe Stripe Online businesses with developer-led payment workflows or several revenue models. | Request pricingsuccessful payment VAT basis not stated usage | 65–100/100 documented fit65% evidence coverage | Details ↗ |
GoCardless GoCardless Businesses collecting predictable bank payments and wanting automated failed-payment recovery. | Request pricingtransaction excl. VAT usage | 50–100/100 documented fit50% evidence coverage | Details ↗ |
Worldpay Worldpay Merchants considering acquiring and omnichannel payments with tailored commercial terms. | Request pricingmerchant contract VAT basis not stated quote | 40–100/100 documented fit40% evidence coverage | Details ↗ |
Square Square Retailers combining simple payment processing with stock and shop operations. | £0.00location/month VAT not applicable free | 35–100/100 documented fit35% evidence coverage | Details ↗ |
SumUp SumUp Small merchants comparing pay-as-you-go acceptance with a fuller shop-management upgrade. | Request pricingtransaction VAT basis not stated usage | 20–100/100 documented fit20% evidence coverage | Details ↗ |
Prices retain their original currency, billing basis and VAT status. Check the evidence and plan requirements before buying.
| Capability & demo question | Stripe65–100/100 documented fit | GoCardless50–100/100 documented fit | Worldpay40–100/100 documented fit | Square35–100/100 documented fit | SumUp20–100/100 documented fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Core workflowOnline card acceptance5.0 points availableAsk in the demoComplete a test UK card purchase and inspect its payment status. | ✓ Supported UK online card payments. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm online card acceptance. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported UK online card acceptance. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Online UK card processing. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm online card acceptance. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Core workflowApple Pay and Google Pay5.0 points availableAsk in the demoDemonstrate the wallet checkout on a supported device. | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm apple pay and google pay. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm apple pay and google pay. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported Apple Pay and Google Pay checkout. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Apple Pay and Google Pay accepted. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm apple pay and google pay. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Core workflowHosted checkout or payment links5.0 points availableAsk in the demoCreate a hosted checkout link without rebuilding the website. | ✓ Supported Payment Links and Checkout available. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Branded hosted pages and embedded forms. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Hosted checkout and payment links. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Online Checkout is documented. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Payment Links in the business app. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Core workflowRecurring payment collection5.0 points availableAsk in the demoCreate a recurring collection and show the customer's authorisation. | ✓ Supported Billing supports subscriptions; separately priced. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Subscriptions, instalments and memberships. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm recurring payment collection. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm recurring payment collection. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm recurring payment collection. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Core workflowUK bank payments or Direct Debit5.0 points availableAsk in the demoDemonstrate a UK bank-payment or Bacs mandate journey. | ✓ Supported Bacs Direct Debit priced explicitly. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Direct Debit collection and mandate setup. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm uk bank payments or direct debit. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm uk bank payments or direct debit. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm uk bank payments or direct debit. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Core workflowFull and partial refunds5.0 points availableAsk in the demoRefund part of a settled sale and inspect both accounting entries. | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm full and partial refunds. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm full and partial refunds. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm full and partial refunds. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm full and partial refunds. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm full and partial refunds. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Core workflowTransaction and settlement reporting5.0 points availableAsk in the demoFind a payment and reconcile its fees to the net settlement. | ✓ Supported Reporting and cost dashboards documented. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm transaction and settlement reporting. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm transaction and settlement reporting. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported Sales tracked together with retail reporting. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Payment reporting in the app. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Workflow depthConnected in-person payments5.0 points availableAsk in the demoTake a terminal payment and locate it alongside online activity. | ✓ Supported Terminal supports in-person payments. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm connected in-person payments. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported In-store terminal product available. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Contactless and chip-and-PIN payments. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Card acceptance and Tap to Pay. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Workflow depthStrong customer authentication workflow5.0 points availableAsk in the demoShow a 3DS challenge, failed authentication and the return to checkout. | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm strong customer authentication workflow. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm strong customer authentication workflow. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Authentication service listed; exact flow requires confirmation. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm strong customer authentication workflow. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm strong customer authentication workflow. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthStored payment credentials5.0 points availableAsk in the demoSave a customer payment method with permission and reuse it safely. | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm stored payment credentials. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm stored payment credentials. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm stored payment credentials. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm stored payment credentials. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm stored payment credentials. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthFailed-payment recovery5.0 points availableAsk in the demoSimulate a failed recurring payment and inspect the retry schedule. | ✓ Supported Billing includes recovery workflows. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Success+ recovers failed payments. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm failed-payment recovery. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm failed-payment recovery. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm failed-payment recovery. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthDispute evidence management5.0 points availableAsk in the demoLocate a chargeback, submit supporting evidence and track its deadline. | ✓ Supported Dispute responses and evidence tools. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Protect+ supports chargeback challenges on Pro. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Dispute-management product listed. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm dispute evidence management. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm dispute evidence management. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthInternational currency acceptance5.0 points availableAsk in the demoCollect in a foreign currency and explain conversion and settlement fees. | ✓ Supported International cards and FX supported. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported International collection with Wise-powered conversion. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Multicurrency customer payments. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm international currency acceptance. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm international currency acceptance. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthAccounting or commerce integrations5.0 points availableAsk in the demoTrace a payment into the accounting or shop system. | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm accounting or commerce integrations. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported Named accounts and billing integrations. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Named commerce integrations. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported WooCommerce POS integration. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported POS Pro connects to accounting packages. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ |
Workflow depthDocumented payment API5.0 points availableAsk in the demoShow API documentation for creating and inspecting a transaction. | ✓ Supported Create and retrieve PaymentIntents. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Documented customers, payments, refunds and payout endpoints. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm documented payment api. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported Payments API documentation. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm documented payment api. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthWebhooks and payment-event handling5.0 points availableAsk in the demoDemonstrate receipt, retry and deduplication of a payment event. | ✓ Supported Webhook delivery, signatures and retries documented. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ✓ Supported Signed event notifications and handler guidance. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm webhooks and payment-event handling. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm webhooks and payment-event handling. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm webhooks and payment-event handling. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
Workflow depthRestricted operational permissions5.0 points availableAsk in the demoLet support refund within its authority without changing bank details. | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm restricted operational permissions. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm restricted operational permissions. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm restricted operational permissions. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm restricted operational permissions. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm restricted operational permissions. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
AIMachine-learning fraud screening5.0 points availableAsk in the demoInspect an ML risk decision and the merchant's available response. | ✓ Supported Radar Lite uses AI fraud protection. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm machine-learning fraud screening. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported FraudSight uses proprietary machine learning. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm machine-learning fraud screening. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm machine-learning fraud screening. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
AIPredictive acceptance or retry optimisation5.0 points availableAsk in the demoShow how model-driven timing or routing differs from a fixed rule. | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm predictive acceptance or retry optimisation. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ✓ Supported ML selects retry timing; merchant sets timeframe. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm predictive acceptance or retry optimisation. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm predictive acceptance or retry optimisation. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm predictive acceptance or retry optimisation. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
AIReviewable AI decisions or evidence5.0 points availableAsk in the demoInspect the signals, evidence or review queue behind an AI recommendation. | ✓ Supported Smart Disputes drafts evidence that merchants can supplement. 5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm reviewable ai decisions or evidence. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Link analysis exposes suspicious relationships; merchant review controls unverified. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 pointsEvidence ↗ | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm reviewable ai decisions or evidence. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points | ? Not verified Not verified in the reviewed material; confirm reviewable ai decisions or evidence. 0.0–5.0 / 5.0 points |
“Not verified” means the recorded evidence does not settle this specific check. It does not mean the feature is absent. Read the scoring method.
Focus on up to three products →ASK BETTER QUESTIONS
Before you buy payments and merchant services software.
What to look for
- Compare the same transaction mix and average order value across quotes.
- Run a failed payment, refund and disputed payment through the finance workflow.
- Ask whether terminal, gateway, acquiring and software contracts end together.
What changes the cost
- Domestic versus overseas card mix, fixed fees and currency conversion.
- Hardware, gateway charges, minimums and optional fraud tools.
- Refunds, disputes, faster settlements and recurring-billing services.
What to watch out for
- Comparing headline percentages without fixed fees or average basket size.
- Assuming a bank-payment specialist also supplies card acquiring.
- Treating settlement availability as guaranteed for every merchant.
Common questions
Is the lowest transaction rate the cheapest option?
Not necessarily. Fixed charges, payment mix, FX, disputes and software fees can change the total.
Can I compare Direct Debit and card payments?
Yes, but identify which channels are mandatory. A specialist may fit recurring bills while another handles checkout.
Does fraud AI remove chargeback risk?
No. Review merchant responsibilities, exclusions and evidence workflows rather than assuming an AI feature guarantees protection.