Restaurants & cafés
Card machines for restaurants, cafés and bars
Hospitality lives and dies on table turnover. A card machine that prints, takes tips and never drops connection mid-service is worth far more than the few pounds you save on hardware.
What gets in the way
The payment problems we hear most
Slow payment at the table
Walking a bill to the counter and back costs you covers on a Friday night. A handheld terminal closes the table where the guests are sitting.
Tips handled badly
Staff lose out when tipping is awkward. Prompt for a tip on the screen and it becomes the default, not an afterthought.
Rented terminals with long contracts
Most hospitality operators are still renting terminals on multi-year agreements with monthly minimums that bite in January.
Our recommendation
Terminal for restaurants & cafés
Terminal is the natural fit for hospitality: it prints receipts, handles order taking and works over Wi-Fi or mobile data, so service keeps moving when the router does not.
From £135 + VAT
- Integrated receipt printer — no separate box on the pass
- Tipping prompts built into the payment flow
- Wi-Fi plus mobile data so the terminal works across the floor
- Item and menu management for quick service
- Split and part payments handled at the table
The range
Compare the options
Our pick is highlighted, but every reader takes payments at the same rate — choose the hardware that suits your day.
Solo Lite
Best for getting started
From £25 + VAT
The affordable entry point into card payments. Solo Lite pairs with the SumUp Business App on your smartphone, so you can start taking contactless, Chip & PIN and mobile wallet payments without a large upfront outlay.
- Pairs with your smartphone
- Contactless, Chip & PIN and mobile wallets
- Pocket-sized and genuinely portable
- Long battery life for a full working day
Solo
Best all-round card reader
From £79 + VAT
A standalone card reader that works entirely on its own. Solo has its own touchscreen, a built-in SIM with free mobile data plus Wi-Fi, so it keeps taking payments even when your phone is flat or out of range.
- Works without a smartphone
- Built-in SIM with free mobile data, plus Wi-Fi
- Touchscreen with product catalogue and sales history
- Charging station and optional printer solutions
Terminal
Best for busy businesses
From £135 + VAT
The premium all-in-one. Terminal combines card payments, an integrated receipt printer and point-of-sale functionality in a single handheld device — ideal if you are replacing a traditional rented terminal.
- Integrated receipt printer
- Point-of-sale and order taking built in
- Item and product management
- Wi-Fi plus built-in mobile connectivity
Tap to Pay
No card reader required
No hardware to buy
Turn a compatible smartphone into a contactless card machine. Tap to Pay uses the SumUp Business App to accept contactless cards and mobile wallets with no separate reader.
- Uses a compatible smartphone you already own
- Accepts contactless cards and mobile wallets
- Nothing extra to carry or charge
- A useful backup alongside a physical reader
Savings calculator
See what you'd save
Enter your monthly card turnover and current rate for an instant estimate.
Your current setup
Three numbers from your last statement is all it takes.
Estimates are for illustration only. Actual fees depend on card type, transaction type, existing provider charges and SumUp's applicable pricing.
Estimated result
£802a year
Around £66.80 a month lower than your current costs, on Payments Plus.
- Your current monthly cost
- £165.00
- SumUp Pay As You Go (1.69%)
- £135.20
- Payments Plus (0.99% + £19)
- £98.20
Payments Plus overtakes Pay As You Go at roughly £2,714 of monthly card turnover on eligible domestic consumer cards.
FAQs
Restaurants & cafés: common questions
Yes. Tipping can be enabled so the customer is prompted on screen before they pay, which typically increases both the number of tips and the average tip left.
Get a quote for your restaurants & cafés setup
Two minutes, no obligation. Tell us what you take in card payments and we'll show you the setup and rate that actually fits.