Barclaycard Merchant Services Review & Fee Analysis

Barclaycard are one of the 5 largest merchant acquirers in the UK along with Elavon, Global Payments, Lloyds Bank Cardnet and Worldpay although many of businesses may use their acquiring services indirectly via one of their Independent Sales Organisations (ISOs) such as TakePayments.

It’s future as a major provider of merchant services in the UK is in doubt as Reuters reported in August 2023 that Barclays had hired consultants to advise “whether some of the payments businesses should be expanded or combined with other providers through a merger or joint venture.”

Barclaycard offers the standard three payment processing services:

• Card payment machines for payments in person
• Payment gateways for online payment
• A virtual terminal to input card details for payments taken by phone

Each of these services have international payment processing capabilities. They process payments in over 100 international currencies and converting them into one of 14 major currencies.

Barclaycard Card Machines

Barclaycard currently offers 3 card payment machines with different contract terms and transaction fees.

For start-ups and low turnover businesses Barclaycard offer fixed transaction fees at 1.6% for debit and credit cards and their basic Barclaycard Anywhere card reader or the Ingenico Move 5000.

For businesses already taking payments, or businesses with high card payment volume or high-value average transactions, Barclaycard offer two card machines on a monthly contact – the highly rated PAX A920 smart terminal on 12 month contract for £29+VAT per month or the Ingenico Move 5000 on an 18 month contract for £15+VAT.

For card machines leased on a monthly contract, the transaction fees charged will vary depending on your business type and transaction (volume and average transaction values). Typically, the fees charged for debit, credit and business card transactions will cheaper overall than a fixed 1.6% rate charged on their pay as you go contract.

* The transaction fees will vary depending on the card processing volume with higher card volume typically resulting in lower fees.

Payment Gateway Options

Barclaycard also offers three tiers of online payment solutions for different size companies. They used to white label Ayden’s payment gateway for ecommerce solutions (called branded Smartpay) but this is no longer the case.

For start-ups and small businesses: Smartpay Checkout. This is a simple payment gateway suitable for small businesses that process some payments online and don’t need much functionality in your online payment system.

For mid-sized businesses looking to integrate other ecommerce platforms or processing international payments: Smartpay Fuse. This can be intergrated into most websites and allows customers to pay using mobile payments, digital wallets, bank transfers or a wide range of card types.

For larger enterprise clients and SME’s looking for an omni-channel gateway they offer Smart Advance. This gives combines all offline and online payment channels and offers far more flexibility for customisation and integration with third-party software.

Virtual Terminals

Barclaycard provides a virtual terminal service if you want to accept payments by mail or over the phone (MOTO). Their virtual terminals come with no monthly management fees and are best suited for small businesses that are looking for an integrated solution. 

You can add up to 5 users before additional fees apply and process multiple payments simultaneously on any laptop, tablet or smartphone where the virtual terminal software is installed. The cost of transactions made via a virtual terminal depends on the type of card used as well as the volume and value of payments but an illustrative example is below. 

Compare the features and fees against with other virtual terminal providers here. 

Barclaycard Transaction Fees

The typical transaction fees offered Barclaycard will depend on a range of factors such as the type of business (i.e. the merchant category code), the annual card turnover and average transaction size.

The fees below are for a business with a retail merchant category code with an annual card turnover under £240,000 and and average transaction value up to £40.

• Authorisation fee: 3p
• Chargeback fee: £20.00
• Card Machines: £15+VAT – £29+VAT per terminal per month
• Payment Gateway: £20.00 per month
• PCI DSS service fee: £4.80 per month
• Minimum monthly service charge (MMSC): £20.00
• Cards Accepted: Visa, Mastercard, Diners, JCB, UPI, American Express, Maestro
• Settlement speed: Next day

The table below shows how how Barclaycard decrease their merchant service charge (MSC) as card turnover increases. The data above is for the same type of business as above (retail with ATV up to £40).

Rates are taken from Barclaycards merchant quotation tool required by the PSR and accurate as of 24th Nov 2023. 

Note: these rates are a guide and bespoke rates will be given for your business (unless you are a start-up or micro business happy to pay a fixed 1.6% transaction free for the their pay as you go contract).