The card machine for smarter businesses

A card machine, also known as a credit card reader or PDQ machine, securely processes payments from a customer's bank account to a business's account. The process involves several key steps:

• Customer payment: The customer taps their contactless card or device (like a phone with Apple Pay or Google Pay), or inserts their card and enters their PIN. 

• Secure connection: The card machine securely connects to the business's payment processor, which then routes the information to the relevant card network (like Visa, Mastercard, or Amex).

• Bank authorisation: The card network asks the customer's bank to authorise the payment. 

• Confirmation: The approval message travels back through the network to the card machine, which then confirms the transaction is complete, usually by showing "Approved" on the screen.

While the tap itself is instant, the actual transfer of funds from the customer's bank to the business's account typically happens within 1-2 business days.

For a complete breakdown of the technology, the security behind every transaction, and what it all means for your business, read our detailed guide: Beyond the Tap: How Credit Card Machines Work.

Zeller Terminal accepts Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, and American Express. It also supports contactless mobile wallets including Google Pay and Apple Pay.

Zeller’s card machine has clear and transparent pricing, so you always know what you're paying. There are no annual fees, joining fees, or monthly terminal rental fees to use Zeller. You will just pay 1.3% per tapped, dipped, or swiped domestic card payment. Zeller card machines start at a low price of £99 for Zeller Terminal 1x, or £149 for Zeller Terminal 2.

Zeller charges a flat fee of 1.3% per transaction for all in-person card payments for Visa and Mastercard and 1.99% for all other cards (including Amex) and 1.5% for keyed-in or over-the-phone transactions.

Zeller Terminal is available to purchase online from the Zeller Shop with free express shipping.

Whether you’re starting a new business or scaling up, one of the best things you can invest in to support your growth is the right technology to manage payments. An all-in-one card machine is a critical business tool that will not only get funds settled into your account quicker, but will also allow you to monitor your cash flow and sales to optimise your operations.

Zeller Terminal is a card machine that offers merchants the ability to accept payments from all cards and devices and connects reliably via Wi-Fi, 4G SIM card, and Ethernet. With a card machine like Zeller Terminal, payment can be taken at the customer’s table, on the job, or anywhere around your store.

Zeller Terminal 2 with free POS software

With Zeller Terminal 2, merchants can enjoy all these benefits with the added convenience of a built-in POS system. Designed for micro, small, and mobile businesses, Zeller Terminal 2’s free, easy-to-use POS lets you build an item library (that can be synced with Zeller’s online invoices), records sales, and delivers a fast and secure customer checkout experience.

Powerful card machine features

The best card machines for your business enable you to accept every payment from every customer, and access those takings quickly to pay bills, staff, and suppliers. Keep reading to discover how Zeller, the leading card payments solutions provider, can help your business grow.

Zeller Terminal feature: broad card acceptance

It’s important that every customer is able to purchase with their payment method of choice. If your portable payment terminals cannot accept common payment methods, you risk losing more than just a sale.

Zeller Terminals accepts contactless cards, chip cards, magstripe cards (Zeller Terminal 1 only), and digital wallets. As new payment methods emerge and shape how Brits pay, Zeller Terminal will adapt to support UK businesses to grow.

Zeller Terminal feature: fast payments

The faster your credit card machine processes transactions, the less likely you'll have to deal with queues. When you use Zeller Terminal, transactions are processed in seconds. To make payment, a customer can:

• tap their smartphone, watch, or other NFC-enabled device to the payment terminal

• tap their contactless card to the card machine

• insert a chip card into Zeller Terminal and, if needed, securely enter their PIN

• swipe their card on Zeller Terminal and enter their PIN

• call you and read their card details over the phone

Zeller merchant card machine feature: low fees and no hidden charges

Some merchant payment services providers sneak hidden fees into their credit card machine contracts, such as merchant terminal rental fees, establishment fees, and monthly business bank account fees.

Minimising your terminal costs helps keep more money in your business.  Zeller Terminal starts at just £99 to purchase outright, and accepts every in-person card payment for one low fee of 1.3% (Visa and Mastercard). Transactions processed over the phone and manually entered into the card machines incur a fee of 1.5%. There are no hidden charges or fees with Zeller.

Zeller payment terminal feature: real-time visibility

Visibility of your business’s incomings and outgoings is critical. Having the ability to quickly see how your business is performing at any point in time enables you to quickly analyse your short-term cash flow, track progress towards sales targets, and ultimately make smarter business decisions.

Zeller Dashboard provides insight into the financial health of your business at a glance — tracking every payment processed through your payment terminal in real-time, and providing a snapshot of your takings at any given moment.

Where to buy a Zeller card machine

Over 80% of business owners using clunky, bank-issued payment terminal machines regularly consider switching providers. Expensive fees, slow settlement that impacts cash flow, and a lack of local support are all common reasons for businesses looking to switch credit card machine providers. Zeller is a next-gen card machine alternative, built to help UK businesses grow.