If you're a UK business paying more than 1% on a typical card transaction in 2026, you are almost certainly overpaying. Card processing has become significantly cheaper over the last five years, but most merchants are still locked into pricing models that were designed before contactless became the default.

The three pricing models you'll see

Almost every UK card processor uses one of three pricing structures. Understanding which one you're on is the first step to working out whether your rate is fair.

  • Blended — a single headline rate for every card type. Easy to read on a statement but typically the most expensive once you account for premium cards (corporate, rewards, international).
  • IC++ (interchange plus plus) — you pay the wholesale interchange fee, the scheme fee, and a fixed acquirer margin on top. Cheaper for most businesses with a healthy mix of consumer debit cards, but harder to read at a glance.
  • Tiered — the worst of both worlds: cards are split into "qualified" / "mid" / "non-qualified" tiers with no transparent rule for which transaction lands where. Avoid.

What "fair" looks like in 2026

For a UK SME doing under £100k a month in card volume with a normal mix of UK consumer debit, credit, and contactless, a competitive blended rate sits around 0.99% to 1.4%. On IC++, a fair acquirer margin is 0.2% to 0.4% plus a per-transaction fee of 1–4p. If you're being quoted 1.75%+ on a blended deal, or 0.6%+ acquirer margin on IC++, you're paying for someone else's profit.

The hidden costs nobody talks about

The headline rate isn't the whole story. The fees that quietly inflate your processing bill are usually:

  • Monthly account / PCI fees — often £15–£40/month, easily avoidable with the right provider.
  • Authorisation fees — a per-transaction fee even on declined transactions; £0.02 is fair, £0.05+ is high.
  • Terminal rental — £20–£35/month is typical. Anything over £40 needs a justification.
  • Minimum monthly service charges — a clawback if your processing volume drops. Walk away from these.
  • Settlement timing — anything slower than next-day in 2026 is a cash-flow tax.

How Monek compares

Monek's standard UK rate is from 0.99% with no monthly account fee, no PCI surcharge, and next-day settlement included. For most SME merchants that works out 25–36% cheaper on a like-for-like basis vs Stripe, SumUp, or WorldPay's standard tariff.

If you'd like a no-obligation comparison against your current rate, our team will read your last statement and tell you exactly what we could save — usually within an hour.