Card Terminals for European Live Music Touring
Cash is on the decline (almost) everywhere, and being able to accept card payments is basically essential to any touring merch seller. However, once you leave the UK, you can run in to issues with some of the more common readers.
This is a run down of the major card payment terminals available to artists and merch sellers in the UK, and the pros and cons of each.
SumUp
Connection: None. Requires a Phone or tablet with wifi or cellular.
Reader Cost: From ~£29
Charges: Transation Fee of 1.69%
Works: Pretty much everywhere
Currencies: Just the currency of your account (probably GBP)
SumUp is probably the reader I’d recommend for smaller artists or musicians touring Europe relatively infrequently. It will work anywhere you are, has a low up-front cost and transparent pricing. It’s super easy to use and quick to set up - i’ve had an account up and running in a couple of minutes in a pinch, and even with some of the other services below, I’d carry one of these as a spare for emergencies.
You can enter the products you have available for sale in to the app, and simply tap each one to ring it up in the system. You can use the app to record cash payments as well as card payments if required.
I’ve not had much chance to use it yet, but their app can also allow you to receive payments without a terminal using the NFC chip in many smart phones - so no need to even pick up a terminal
The down side is that they only operate in the currency of your home account - so you can’t switch and charge in euros or other local currencies while on the road. You can however charge customers in GBP, though it might require a small explanation of the exchange rate. They also require a phone with cellular / wifi or other device connected to wifi.
MyPOS
Connection: Wifi and Cellular
Reader Cost: £249 for the MyPOS Carbon.
Charges: 1.69%, with a small fee for converting between currencies
Works: Pretty much everywhere including non EU countries.
Currencies: True multi-currency support.
Less well known, but this would be my first choice if you’re touring the EU regularly, or are a growing or mid sized artist. The account is a nightmare to set up if you don’t have the right documentation for your business entity, but it allows you to charge in basically any currency, anywhere in the world and their MyPOS Carbon reader has cellular and wifi onboard. It’s basically an android phone in a card reader shell.
Annoyingly, changing currency requires a hard reset of the terminal and a two factor code, but it only takes a couple of minutes when you’re used to it. The back end is also complicated and confusing if you aren’t financially minded.
Zettle by PayPal
Connection: None. Requires a Phone or tablet with wifi or cellular.
Reader Cost: From ~£59
Charges: Transation Fee of 1.75% for most cards
Works: Home country only
Currencies: Just the currency of your account (probably GBP)
Zettle (or the old PayPal readers before) used to be my go to. You’re probably already using PayPal for your web store, so why not use the same reader for everything right? If you’re just touring the UK this might be the best solution for you, but (last time I checked) the readers didn’t work at all in the EU - requiring you to have GPS enabled on your phone to confirm your location so you can’t even get around it with a VPN.
The reader needs to be connected to your phone or tablet for a connection to the internet, it’s a little more expensive than SumUp to buy and its ongoing transaction charges, so financially it’s a little harder to shout about too.
Square Reader
Connection: None. Requires a Phone or tablet with wifi or cellular.
Reader Cost: From ~£19
Charges: Transation Fee of 1.75%
Works: Home country only
Currencies: Just the currency of your account (probably GBP)
One of the OG mobile card readers, Square has really high brand recognition, especially in the US but is relatively new to the UK. It’s basic reader is super cheap, their fees are simple and their app interface is extremely intuitive - but it only works in your home country, in the currency of your account - so not great for UK artists touring outside of the UK.