Why UK businesses
choose Monek over Stripe
Stripe is excellent at what it does. For UK SMEs taking sterling card payments and settling into a UK bank account, it usually isn't the cheapest, the fastest to settle, or the easiest to get a human on the phone. Here's a straight comparison.
Five reasons UK merchants switch
1. Lower effective rate for most UK SMEs
Stripe's standard UK rate is 1.5% + 20p for domestic cards. Monek's Growing Business plan starts at 0.99% with no per-transaction fee on the gateway side. On a £30k/month store that's typically £150–£250/month saved before premium-card surcharges.
2. Next-working-day UK settlement
Stripe settles on a rolling T+2 schedule (often T+3 for new accounts). Monek settles into your UK bank account the next working day, with no holding period and no rolling reserve.
3. Direct FCA authorisation (FRN 920628)
Stripe operates in the UK via Stripe Payments UK Ltd. Monek is directly FCA-authorised as a payment services provider — your safeguarded funds sit in designated UK trust accounts that we operate, not in a chain of intermediaries.
4. Named UK account manager
Stripe support is email and chat first, with phone access limited to higher tiers. Every UK Monek merchant has a named account manager reachable by phone and email — particularly useful when a payment fails and you need an answer in minutes, not hours.
5. Predictable, plain-English pricing
Stripe's UK tariff has separate rates for domestic, EEA, and international cards, plus fees for currency conversion, 3-D Secure overrides, instant payouts, and disputes. Monek's pricing is a single rate (or IC++ above £200k/year), no surprises on the statement.
Monek vs Stripe — line by line
A side-by-side view of the things that actually drive the bill. Comparisons assume a standard UK SME taking domestic consumer cards.
| Monek | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| Headline rate, UK consumer debit | From 0.99% | 1.5% + 20p |
| Premium-card surcharge (corporate, rewards) | Passed through at interchange (IC++) or built-in (blended) | +0.5% + 20p (UK), +1.6% + 20p (international) |
| Monthly account / PCI fee | £0 | £0 on standard plan |
| Settlement timing | Next working day | T+2 (T+3 for new accounts) |
| UK bank settlement | Direct, no FX | Direct, no FX |
| Currency conversion fee | n/a — sterling-only by default | 1% on top of the FX rate |
| FCA-authorised in own right | Yes — FRN 920628 | Yes — Stripe Payments UK Ltd |
| Phone support | Yes — named manager | Higher tiers only |
| Pay by Link / hosted invoicing | Included, no per-link fee | Included, but charges apply on Stripe Invoicing tier |
| WooCommerce plugin | Free, official | Free, official |
| Xero integration | Native — included free | Native — included free |
| IC++ pricing available | Yes (above £200k/year) | No — blended only |
Stripe pricing taken from the published UK rate card at stripe.com/gb/pricing, May 2026. Both providers offer custom pricing for high-volume merchants.
What the difference looks like in pounds
Illustrative monthly cost at three typical UK SME volumes. Actual savings depend on card mix and the specific Stripe tier you're on — these are blended approximations.
Coffee shop · £15k/month
Stripe
£270
Monek
£165
Mostly UK consumer debit, contactless, in-store. Headline-rate difference flows straight through.
Online retailer · £75k/month
Stripe
£1,275
Monek
£900
Mix of domestic + 10% international cards. Monek's flat-rate avoids Stripe's international surcharge.
Multi-site hospitality · £200k/month
Stripe
£3,200
Monek
£1,950
Qualifies for Monek IC++. Bespoke acquirer margin replaces the blended Stripe rate.
"We had assumed we were getting a competitive rate because Stripe is the default. We were wrong by about a third."
Finance Director, Avantis Direct
Avantis processes £180k/month in card sales. After three years on Stripe (1.62% effective rate, T+2 settlement), they switched to Monek IC++ — landing at 1.07% effective with next-day settlement, no premium-card surcharge, and £15,000/year saved.
Read the full case study →Switching from Stripe takes about 2 days
Send us a statement
We read your last full month and quote you a like-for-like rate within an hour. No commitment.
Underwriting
If the savings stack up and you'd like to proceed, our UK underwriting team turns most applications around in 2 working days.
Integration swap
WooCommerce, Shopify, and Magento merchants swap plugins in minutes. Bespoke integrations are handled by our developer team in parallel with your test environment.
Settlement starts
First transaction lands the same day approval comes through. Funds settle next working day from day one — no holding period.
Frequently asked questions
Is Monek actually cheaper than Stripe?+
Does Monek work with the same integrations as Stripe?+
How long does it take to switch?+
What happens to my pending Stripe transactions?+
Is the support actually different?+
What if I'm a global business, not just UK?+
Send us a Stripe statement
We'll quote you a like-for-like UK rate within an hour. No commitment, no obligation, and an honest answer if you're already on a fair deal.