Irish payment fee guide
Cheapest card reader Ireland
The cheapest card reader depends on how much you take in person and how steady it is. Flat pay-as-you-go pricing wins at low or seasonal volume, while a lower card rate with a monthly fee can win once volume is steady.
Short answer
For the sample scenario on this page, Revolut Business has the lowest estimate at €96.89/month. The gap to SumUp is about €460 per year.
Treat that as a starting point, not a final recommendation. The result can move when average sale value, international cards, in-person share, VAT treatment or hardware costs change.
Fee estimate for this scenario
Public standard rates only. Open each row to inspect the fee components.
€96.89/mo
1.21% effective rate
Baseline
vs lowest
Annual €1,162.67
| Provider | Monthly | Annual | Rate | vs lowest | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €96.89 | €1,162.67 | 1.21% | Baseline | Visit provider | |
| €135.20 | €1,622.40 | 1.69% | +€38.31/mo+€460/yr | Visit provider | |
| €154.31 | €1,851.73 | 1.93% | +€57.42/mo+€689/yr | Visit provider | |
| €155.58 | €1,866.99 | 1.94% | +€58.69/mo+€704/yr | Visit provider | |
| €164.41 | €1,972.91 | 2.06% | +€67.52/mo+€810/yr | Visit provider |
Providers worth checking
The right list depends on price, how you take payments and whether the provider supports the channels you actually use.
SumUpSimple card readers and pay-as-you-go pricing for market stalls, mobile sellers and micro-businesses.Details
SquareSimple point-of-sale focus with predictable blended in-person pricing.Details
myPOSCard machines, online payments and merchant account services with published pay-per-transaction pricing.Details
DojoCard-machine provider focused on fast in-person payments and next-day payouts.Details
Revolut BusinessAppeals to businesses already using Revolut banking, with competitive EEA card rates.DetailsFlat-rate readers vs monthly-fee machines
Pay-as-you-go readers charge one rate with no fixed monthly cost; card machines with a monthly or minimum charge often have a lower percentage rate that only pays off at steadier volume.
Checks to make
- SumUp uses one flat rate with no monthly cost, which suits low or irregular trading.
- Dojo adds a monthly terminal fee and a minimum monthly charge in exchange for a lower in-person rate.
- myPOS and Square sit in between, with no monthly cost on standard plans but different rate and VAT treatment.
Look past the headline rate
Hardware cost, payout speed, VAT treatment and your card mix all change the real cost of a reader beyond the advertised percentage.
Checks to make
- Card reader hardware is a separate one-off cost that is not in the processing estimate.
- Square adds VAT to its fees, which matters most if you are not VAT registered.
- International and commercial cards can cost more, so check your real card mix.
Source-backed estimate
Praghas can estimate 5 of 10public-rate providers for this scenario. The calculator shows source links, review dates and notes for unsupported providers.