Cash-only is an increasingly costly stance for a small business, since customers expect to tap a card or phone. Setting up card payments is easier than it once was, but the pricing is layered and easy to misread. This guide from The Finance Reveal explains how to accept card payments, part of our Making Money section. This is general information, not financial advice, and fees and providers vary by country.

What You Actually Need

To accept card payments you need a way to capture the card details and a path for the money to reach your bank account. Traditionally that meant a merchant account plus a separate payment processor, a setup with applications, underwriting, and contracts. Most small businesses today instead use a payment service provider that bundles everything together, letting you sign up quickly and start taking payments without a lengthy approval process.

What form that takes depends on how you sell. In person, you need a card reader or terminal, which can be a small device paired with a phone or tablet or a full countertop terminal. Online, you need a payment gateway integrated into your website or an invoicing tool that sends a payment link. Many providers cover both, which matters if you sell in more than one way, and the money typically lands in your business bank account on a set schedule, the kind of cash flow timing our guide to the cash flow statement makes visible.

Understanding the Costs

Card acceptance is never free, and the charges come in several layers. The table below breaks them down.

The headline cost is the per-transaction fee, usually a percentage of the sale plus sometimes a small fixed amount. Rates commonly differ depending on how the card is presented: in-person tapped or inserted payments are typically cheaper than online or manually keyed transactions, because the fraud risk is lower. Beyond that sit hardware costs, possible monthly or account fees, and charges for specific events such as chargebacks when a customer disputes a payment, refunds, or payments in another currency, where the conversion costs our guide to currency conversion describes come into play. Settlement timing matters too, since some providers pay out faster than others, and slower payouts affect your working capital.

Choosing and Setting Up

The practical approach is to start from how you actually sell and at what volume, then compare providers on total cost rather than the advertised rate alone. A low headline percentage paired with a monthly fee may cost more than a slightly higher rate with no fixed charges if your volume is modest, so run the numbers against your realistic sales. Also weigh payout speed, ease of setup, whether it integrates with tools you already use, and the quality of support when something goes wrong mid-transaction.

For setup, you will generally need business details and a business bank account, and providers will verify your identity and business as part of onboarding. Once running, build the fees into your pricing rather than treating them as a surprise, since they are a genuine cost of doing business that belongs in your margin calculations, as our guide to margin versus markup explains. The essential message is that accepting card payments means choosing a provider, getting a reader for in-person sales or a gateway for online ones, and understanding a layered fee structure of per-transaction charges plus hardware, account, and event-based costs. Comparing providers on total cost for your actual sales pattern, and pricing those fees into your margins, is what keeps card acceptance a benefit rather than a drain. For related basics, see our guide to how to start a business, and explore the full Making Money section.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you start accepting card payments?

Choose a payment provider, then set up the tools that match how you sell: a card reader or terminal for in-person sales, or a payment gateway or invoicing links for online sales. Most small businesses use a payment service provider that bundles the merchant account and processing together, so signup is quick. You will generally need business details and a business bank account, and the provider will verify your identity and business during onboarding.

How much does it cost to accept card payments?

Costs come in layers. The main one is a per-transaction fee, usually a percentage of the sale plus sometimes a small fixed amount, and rates often differ by how the card is presented, with in-person payments typically cheaper than online or manually keyed ones. On top of that sit hardware costs, possible monthly or account fees, and charges for chargebacks, refunds, or foreign currency payments. Compare total cost for your actual volume, not just headline rates.

Do you need a merchant account?

Traditionally, yes, a merchant account plus a separate processor was required, involving applications, underwriting, and contracts. Today most small businesses use a payment service provider that bundles these together, allowing quick signup without a lengthy approval process. This is simpler and faster to start with, though very high-volume businesses sometimes find a traditional merchant account arrangement more economical as they scale.

How long does it take to get paid?

Settlement timing varies by provider, with some paying out to your bank account faster than others, often within a few business days but sometimes longer or, for a fee, faster. This matters more than it might seem, since slower payouts tie up your working capital and can strain cash flow for a small business. It is worth checking each provider’s standard payout schedule when comparing options.

The Bottom Line

Accepting card payments requires a way to capture card details and a path for money to reach your bank account. While that traditionally meant a merchant account plus a separate processor with applications and contracts, most small businesses now use a payment service provider that bundles everything, enabling quick signup. What you need depends on how you sell: a card reader or terminal for in-person sales, ranging from a small device paired with a phone to a countertop terminal, or a payment gateway integrated with your website or invoicing tools for online sales, with many providers covering both. The costs come in layers and deserve careful attention. The headline charge is a per-transaction fee, typically a percentage plus sometimes a small fixed amount, and rates commonly vary by how the card is presented, with tapped or inserted in-person payments usually cheaper than online or manually keyed ones because fraud risk is lower. Beyond that sit hardware costs, possible monthly or account fees, and event-based charges for chargebacks, refunds, and foreign currency payments. Settlement timing also matters, since slower payouts tie up working capital. The practical approach is to start from how you actually sell and at what volume, then compare providers on total cost for your realistic sales rather than advertised rates alone, since a low percentage paired with a monthly fee can cost more than a slightly higher rate with no fixed charges. Also weigh payout speed, setup ease, integration with tools you use, and support quality. Finally, build these fees into your pricing, since they are a real cost of doing business that belongs in your margin calculations. For related guides, see our articles on margin versus markup, the cash flow statement, and how to start a business, and explore the full Making Money section. This article is general information, not personalized financial advice, and fees and providers vary by country.