What UK Businesses Actually Save with SSV SmartPay (2026 Guide)
A pure-maths look at what a UK business really pays in payment-processing fees — and what those fees become on SSV SmartPay’s Pay by Bank pricing. With worked annual savings at four real merchant sizes.
UK SMEs typically save between £1,000 and £18,000 a year by switching from a card machine to SSV SmartPay’s Pay by Bank pricing — 0.5% per transaction over £50, 20p flat under £50, with no monthly fees, no terminal rental, and no PCI compliance charges. How much you specifically save depends on your monthly volume, your average ticket, and what your current provider is charging.
How the Maths Actually Works
Before the worked examples, a quick orientation on what’s actually being compared. The 0.5% headline rate isn’t the only number that matters — and neither is the 1.5%–3% range card providers quote. The real cost picture has two layers: the per-transaction fee, and the fixed monthly fees you pay whether you sell anything or not.
A flat percentage on every transaction above £50. No surcharges for premium cards, no international markup, no tier system.
A flat 20p per transaction below £50, irrespective of value — so a £10 transaction costs the same as a £40 one in fee terms.
That’s the entire SSV SmartPay fee schedule. No monthly service fee. No terminal rental. No setup. No PCI compliance charge. No chargeback fees. The first 7 days are transaction-fee-free.(1)
For comparison, a typical UK SME running a card terminal pays:
Per-transaction processing fees: 1.5%–3%
The headline rate, blended across debit (0.3%–0.6%), credit (1.4%–1.9%), premium credit, business cards, and international cards. The advertised 1.75% from “simple” flat-rate providers tends to be a debit-card best case; the real-world blended rate most SMEs pay is around 2%.(2)(3)
Monthly terminal rental: £15–£30
Per terminal, per month. Pay it whether you take £100 or £10,000 that month — our worked examples assume £20.(4)
Monthly merchant account fees: £5–£25
The merchant account itself, on top of the terminal. Most providers also charge a minimum monthly service fee that kicks in if your processing fees don’t reach a threshold. Our worked examples assume £10.(4)
PCI compliance fees: £5–£25
An annual or monthly charge for the merchant’s PCI DSS data-security compliance, with extra costs for ASV scans and non-compliance penalties. Our worked examples assume £5.(4)
Chargebacks: £15–£25 per dispute, plus the lost sale
A real, recurring cost for businesses with any fraud or dispute exposure — and Pay by Bank doesn’t have this category at all.
For the worked examples below, we’ll use a conservative card-terminal assumption: 2% blended processing + £20 terminal + £10 merchant account + £5 PCI = £35/month in fixed costs. Real-world figures vary by provider, but this is a defensible midpoint that won’t be challenged.
“The headline transaction rate is only half the story. The fixed monthly fees — the bit that doesn’t appear on the brochure — is what really decides the annual bill.”
Worked Savings at Four Merchant Sizes
Four real merchant profiles, each with annual totals. The card-machine column uses the conservative 2% + £35 monthly fixed assumption. The SSV SmartPay column uses 0.5% (since these example averages put most transactions above £50). All figures exclude VAT.
£5,000 monthly volume — sole trader, small service business
SmallerA barber, mobile beautician, single-chair salon, or part-time tradesperson. Roughly 100 transactions a month at £50 average.
£20,000 monthly volume — independent retailer or busy salon
Mid-marketA neighbourhood retailer, mid-range restaurant, busy hair-and-beauty salon, or a tradesperson with steady commercial work. Around 320 transactions at £62 average.
£50,000 monthly volume — established multi-site or growth business
EstablishedA multi-site restaurant, well-established retailer, two or three-location service business, or a thriving B2B service trade. Around 700 transactions at £71 average.
£100,000 monthly volume — scaling SME, larger venue
ScalingA larger restaurant, regional retailer chain, busy clinic, or established legal/professional services firm. Around 1,200 transactions at £83 average.
What these numbers don’t include. Settlement-speed value (instant vs 1–3 working days), eliminated chargeback fees, removed PCI compliance burden, and the time staff don’t spend waiting at the card machine. All of these compound the cost-saving case further — but they don’t show up in the headline maths above.
Work Out Your Own Savings
Enter your monthly card volume below to see your specific potential saving. Calculations use the same assumptions as the worked examples above — a conservative 2% blended card rate plus £35 of fixed monthly costs (£20 terminal + £10 merchant + £5 PCI). Adjust the card rate if you know yours precisely.
Live calculation. All figures exclude VAT.
Estimate only — actual savings depend on your real card mix, contract terms, transaction count, and whether you have any chargebacks or PCI penalties. Calculator uses 0.5% SSV SmartPay rate (suitable for transactions averaging above £50); for low-ticket businesses, the 20p flat rate applies below £50.
The ‘No Monthly Fee’ Multiplier
Look at the calculator and adjust the volume slider down to small numbers. Notice what happens: a card machine still costs £35 a month even at £500 of volume. SSV SmartPay’s cost scales proportionally to volume — quiet months cost less, busy months cost more.
For a seasonal business — a market stall, summer-pop-up, event caterer, holiday-let host — this matters disproportionately. You pay nothing in fixed costs when you’re not trading. A card terminal sat idle in a back room over winter still bills you £420 a year in fixed fees alone.
Over five years, a £20K-volume merchant saving £4,020 a year accumulates just over £20,000 in payment-processing savings. Not invested — just kept in the business. That’s an entire small van, a mid-tier point-of-sale upgrade, or six months of an additional staff salary.
It’s also worth noting that SSV SmartPay’s pricing is one schedule for all transactions — no premium card surcharge, no business-card markup, no international interchange surprise. Card processing brochures rarely show the inter-card-type variance because it makes the headline rate misleading; with Pay by Bank, there isn’t any.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the 20p flat rate work below £50?
Any transaction under £50 is charged a flat 20p, regardless of value. On a £10 transaction the fee is 20p (an effective 2%). On a £25 transaction the fee is 20p (0.8%). On a £49 transaction the fee is 20p (0.4%). The percentage falls as transactions get closer to £50, then switches to a flat 0.5% above £50. For most retailers, restaurants, and service businesses with average tickets above £50, the 0.5% is the dominant rate.
Why use 2% as the typical card-machine assumption?
Reported UK card-processing rates vary widely depending on the provider, the card mix, and whether the source is a flat-rate processor (Stripe, Square, SumUp), a traditional merchant account, or an industry average. Public 2026 data ranges from 1.5%–3.5% per transaction. The blended real-world rate most SMEs pay falls between 1.75% and 2.25%. We use 2% as a conservative midpoint that won’t be challenged by anyone running a typical UK merchant account.(2)(3)
Do these calculations include VAT?
No. SSV SmartPay fees are quoted excluding VAT, in line with industry standard. VAT-registered businesses reclaim VAT on payment-processing as a business input, so the post-reclaim cost matches the headline rate. Non-VAT-registered businesses should add 20%.
Are there any hidden SSV SmartPay fees?
No. 0.5% over £50, 20p flat under £50, the first 7 days free. No monthly service charge, no terminal rental, no minimum monthly fee, no setup, no PCI compliance charge, no chargeback fees, no early-termination fee. Full pricing is published at ssvsmartpay.co/our-pricing.
What about my existing card-terminal contract?
Most card-terminal contracts run 12 to 48 months with early-termination penalties. The cleanest route is to keep the terminal running until contract end while switching primary payment collection to SSV SmartPay — the terminal cost stops growing in proportional terms as your card volume drops. Many merchants ultimately keep a card terminal as backup for edge cases (international customers, credit-card-only customers) and the terminal pays for itself even at low utilisation.
How long does it take to start saving?
Sign-up takes minutes. KYC verification is typically completed within 24 hours. The first 7 days are transaction-fee-free, after which the standard SSV SmartPay pricing applies. For a £20K-volume business saving £365/month, the switch effectively pays back the time spent on it within the first month.
Continue exploring SSV SmartPay
References
- Open Banking Limited. Open Banking Impact Report — 2025. Available at: https://www.openbanking.org.uk/insights/
- Compare Your Business Costs. How Much Do UK Businesses Really Pay for Card Processing Fees in 2026? Available at: https://compareyourbusinesscosts.co.uk/card-processing-fees
- UK Finance. UK Card Payments — Industry statistics and merchant fee structures. Available at: https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/data-and-research/data/card-spending
- Merchant Savvy. Credit Card Processing Fees — UK 2026. Available at: https://www.merchantsavvy.co.uk/card-processing-fees/
Important information
Illustrative figures only. All worked examples, the savings calculator, and the headline savings range are estimates based on representative UK SME assumptions. Actual savings will vary depending on the specific contract terms, card-type mix (debit, credit, premium, business, international), monthly volume, average ticket value, transaction count, chargeback exposure, PCI compliance status, and other variables of your current payment provider.
Assumptions used. Card-machine calculations assume a 2% blended processing rate plus £35 per month in fixed costs (£20 terminal rental, £10 merchant account fee, £5 PCI compliance). Real-world figures vary by provider. UK card-processing rates can range from 0.7% to 3.5% depending on card type and provider; fixed monthly costs commonly range from £25 to £70. SSV SmartPay calculations use 0.5% per transaction on transactions over £50 and a flat 20p on transactions under £50. All figures exclude VAT.
Not financial advice. This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. UK businesses should consult their own advisers and review their existing provider agreements (including early-termination terms) before making any decision to switch payment providers.
SSV SmartPay terms. Full pricing, terms, and conditions are available at ssvsmartpay.co/our-pricing. SSV SmartPay Limited is registered in England and Wales (CRN 15424021). SSV SmartPay is not directly FCA-regulated; payment initiation services are provided by FCA-authorised Payment Institution partners.
T&Cs Applied
Start saving from day one
First 7 days transaction-fee-free. No contract, no setup fee, no card terminal required. Sign up in minutes; UK businesses are typically approved within 24 hours.
Start free trial Download the app Or get in touch with the team →
