Can I leave my SumUp contract early?

SumUp's standard pay-as-you-go terms have no fixed period, so in most cases there is nothing to exit. Check any add-on subscriptions you may have taken separately, then simply stop using the reader.

Will switching interrupt my card payments?

No. Keep the SumUp reader active until your new terminal has arrived and taken its first payment. Nothing has to be turned off before the replacement is working.

At what turnover does moving from SumUp start to pay off?

It is a straight percentage comparison with no rental on either side, so the saving begins immediately and grows with volume. Put your monthly card turnover into our calculator and it will show the figure for your business.

Compare providers

Looking for a SumUp alternative?

Name: Shift4 Card Machine
Telephone: +447543804014
Price range: Free

SumUp is where a great many UK businesses start, and for good reason: you buy a reader outright, there is no contract, and the pricing is a single published percentage. For a market stall doing a few hundred pounds a month that is hard to beat on simplicity.

The reason people look for an alternative is volume. A flat percentage that feels irrelevant at £500 a month becomes the largest controllable cost in the business at £15,000 a month. Our offer is a free terminal, no monthly rental and 0.85% blended, which is where the arithmetic starts to separate.

Get your free quote →07543 804 014

SumUp published pricing vs our 0.85% blended

	SumUp	Shift4
Debit card rate	1.69%	0.85% blended
Credit card rate	1.69%	0.85% blended
Monthly rental	£0	£0
Authorisation fee	None published	None
Card machine cost	Bought outright	£0
Payouts	Next working day	Next working day, including Saturdays

Our rate is 0.85% blended across debit, credit, Amex, Apple Pay and Google Pay, with £0 monthly fees and no charge for the machine. SumUp figures above are their published rates; a blended comparison assumes a typical 60% debit and 40% credit split.

What switching involves

Coming from SumUp is usually the easiest switch there is, because there is normally no contract to unwind. You apply for a merchant account, the terminal arrives, and you keep the SumUp reader in a drawer as a spare if you want to.

The main practical difference is that a merchant account is underwritten, so you will be asked for ID, bank details and some trading information up front rather than signing up in five minutes. That is the trade-off for the lower rate.

Contract-end considerations

SumUp's standard terms are pay-as-you-go with no fixed term, so there is generally nothing to cancel and no exit charge to consider. Check your own account in case you have taken any add-on service on separate terms.

Because our terms are rolling with no lock-in, moving does not swap one commitment for another.

SumUp alternative FAQs

Get your free quote in 15 minutes

Send us a recent statement and we will show you, line by line, what you would pay with us. No pressure, no obligation.

07543 804 014

Compare other providers

Dojo alternative Square alternative Worldpay alternative Takepayments alternative Zettle alternative Barclaycard alternative

Competitor pricing from publicly published rates, last checked August 2026. Always confirm directly.