SumUp

SumUp provides payment acceptance and financial tools for small businesses, spanning card readers, Tap to Pay on a phone, point of sale, self-service kiosks, invoices, online payments, payment links, an online store, bookings and order and pay.

The financial products alongside payment acceptance are what make SumUp more than a card reader company. A business account, cash advances, expense management and Making Tax Digital support turn the payment terminal into the front end of a banking relationship. That progression is deliberate and it is the strongest position a payments company can hold with small merchants, because the processor already sees the revenue and can therefore underwrite a cash advance more confidently than a bank looking at filed accounts.

Tap to Pay deserves separate mention because it removes hardware from the equation entirely, letting a phone accept contactless cards directly. For a market stall, a food truck or a mobile trader, that is the difference between carrying a device and carrying nothing extra at all.

Industry coverage is unusually granular, with tailored material for restaurants, coffee shops, bars and clubs, market stalls, food trucks, grocery shops, quick service restaurants, fast food, pizza and bakeries, alongside retail and clothing. Gift cards and loyalty cover the sell-more side. Pricing on the POS bundles is published: POS with Connect Plus is 199 dollars a month for businesses ready to grow, adding customer rewards, automated marketing and two standard SMS and email promotions monthly; POS with Connect Pro is 289 dollars a month for businesses serious about growth marketing, adding unlimited marketing.