Table: sorted by transaction cost, promoted deals first
Card readers make payments quick and effortless and come in a range of shapes and sizes to meet different business requirements.
Barclaycard offers 3 types of card machines: the Flex Mobile card reader, which costs £15 a month, the Smartpay Anywhere card reader, which has no monthly fee but a one-off rental charge of £29 and the Smartpay Touch, which has a monthly rental charge of £29.
The Flex Mobile and the Smartpay Touch readers have 2 different pricing plans. The first is a pay-as-you-go option with a 1.6% transaction fee, which is suitable for seasonal traders or if your annual card turnover is less than £200,000. The second is a tailored pricing option with a variable monthly transaction fee, which is suitable if you take over £200,000 in card payments a year.
Barclaycard Anywhere works on a pay-as-you-go basis.
More about Barclaycard card readers
Below are the key features for each of the Barclaycard card readers:
Barclaycard Flex Mobile
Monthly cost of plus VAT
contract
Accepts up to 700 sales a day on a full charge
Light and travel-friendly
transaction fee (for pay-as-you-go pricing plan)
Accepts all payment types, in store, on the move, by phone and by mail
Flexible Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPRS connectivity
Barclaycard Anywhere
One-off rental fee of plus VAT
Pay-as-you-go contract
transaction fee
Accepts credit, debit and digital payments in store or on the move
Manage payments in real-time via the app
Export data to make accounting easier
Add multiple users on a single account
Option to issue digital receipts and give refunds from your online personalised dashboard
Barclaycard Smartpay Touch
Monthly rental fee of £29 plus VAT
12 month contract
1.6% transaction fee (variable depending on plan)
Accepts credit, debit, digital and telephone payments in store or on the move
Manage payments in real-time via the app
Battery life: Designed to last all day
Settlements take 1-2 working days
How to order a Barclaycard card machine
After you have researched and chosen the best card reader for you or your business, you can start the application process.
To apply for a Barclaycard card reader, head over to Barclaycard's online application, which takes 10-15 minutes to complete. Once your application is accepted, your card reader will be couriered to you.
Pros and cons of Barclaycard card readers
Pros
Different pricing options
Card readers can be used in store and on the go
Barclaycard Anywhere makes it easy to track sales
Easy application process
Can pay with Chip and PIN as well as contactless on the same device
Cons
Fees apply
Approval of application depends on your financial circumstances and borrowing history
Barclaycard Anywhere only accepts Visa, Mastercard and JCB cards
App features are somewhat limited
18-month contract for Barclaycard Flex Mobile
Payment settlements can be up to 7 working days if you don’t have a Barclaycard account
Our verdict
With 3 different types of card readers to choose from, plus flexible pricing plans and the option to take payment in store and on the move, there’s certainly a lot to like with Barclaycard.
However, there are also some downsides to consider, particularly with Barclaycard Anywhere. For a start, it doesn’t accept American Express, Diners Club International or Union Pay cards, and secondly, its app is not as advanced as some of its competitors. For this reason, it’s worth checking out other card readers on the market first before making your decision.
Barclaycard customer reviews
Barclaycard doesn’t score well on Trustpilot. It has a rating of 1.3 out of 5 stars, based on over 3,000 reviews, which is considered a “bad” rating (updated October 2023). However, this is based on reviews for Barclaycard as a whole, including all reviews by personal and business credit card users, so the rating doesn’t necessarily represent the views of business customers who use Barclaycard’s credit card readers.
Frequently asked questions
When taking a payment, simply ask a customer to insert their card into the machine and enter their PIN or to tap their card on the device if they are using contactless. You can also take payments over the phone by entering the customer’s 16-digit card number, expiry date and 3-digit security code on the machine.
When you receive your Barclaycard Anywhere card reader you should charge it fully and then switch it on. Log into your Anywhere app on your phone or tablet and then use Bluetooth to pair your card reader with your mobile device.
No, it doesn’t. Barclaycard Anywhere only accepts Visa, Mastercard or JCB cards. Barclaycard Flex, on the other hand, accepts all payment types.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
In this guide, we compare the most popular card reader products from SumUp and Barclaycard.
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