Square has quickly become one of the most popular merchant account providers for small businesses in the UK.
The Square Payment Gateway is the brand’s online payment processor. It allows you to accept payments through online checkout, invoicing, and recurring payments.
Plus, with Square Online, you can have an integrated store or integrate the Square Payment Gateway into your own web shop. Of course, Square is best known for its POS terminals and card readers.
How does its online payment gateway stand up to the competition? And, does it deserve its spot as one of the best payment gateway providers in the UK? Let’s find out!
What is Square Payment Gateway?
Square Payment Gateway is an online payment processing service that integrates into websites. You link it to checkout pages so that when customers check out with products, they can pay.
Square accepts all common payment methods including credit and debit cards, Afterpay, Cash App Pay, digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, and even custom Square Gift Cards.
That gives you the freedom to decide which payment methods you want to accept.
Key Features of Square Online Payment Gateway
Square’s Online payment gateway is a full-service sales manager and payment processor.
UK customers also get predictable fees and monthly fees. That makes it a great choice for even small businesses looking for a payment gateway.
Accepts Everything
Square accepts almost all payment options. That includes:
- Credit/Debit. That means Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, and UnionPay at standard rates. You’ll get cheaper rates for UK cards than for international cards
- Digital wallets like PayPal, Google Wallet, Samsung Pay, Afterpay, and Apple Wallet.
- Custom gift cards
That means you’ll only need one payment processor to accept all of your online payments.
Integrates Into Your Existing Website
You can use Square Online to build your own eCommerce website, similar to Shopify. However, you can also use Square to integrate directly into your existing online checkout.
Square also offers direct integrations into common eCommerce platforms like:
- BigCommerce
- WooCommerce
- Magento
- GoDaddy
- Wix
- EcWid
- OpenCart
- Zen Cart
- X-Cart
- Prestashop
You can also use tools like M2E Multichannel Connect and SKUIQ to synchronise sales from Square to other marketplaces. Plus, with an open SDK and developer tools, you can integrate your Square Online Payment Gateway into even custom solutions.
Predictable Fees
Square charges a simple processing fee plus a flat rate monthly payment. For small businesses, Square Payment Gateway is free.
If you have a larger sales volume or need more features, it can go up to £29 per month. You’ll also pay 1.4% + 25p for UK cards and 2.5% + 25p for all other payment methods. That makes it easy to figure out what you’re paying.
For example, some competitors charge vastly different rates ranging from 0.5-4% depending on which card your customer is using. Square makes it easy.
Ease of Use
Square Online offers a simple dashboard where you can adjust payment settings, change payment methods, adjust your checkout, and more.
Square also integrates with a few clicks into most online shops and sales platforms. It’s designed to be code-free wherever possible, so anyone can use it. That makes it a great choice for non-developers, because you can easily customize and create personalized checkout systems and payment pages, without code.
Square also offers extensive documentation, an easy to navigate user interface, and an app where you can update your online payment gateway right from your phone.
Multichannel Sales
Square Online means you can set up a payment gateway across every sales channel you have, using the same payment system. Except, of course, if you’re using a solution like Amazon or eBay, with proprietary payments.
This means you can funnel all sales from online, in person, different online channels, invoices, etc., through the same merchant account. You’ll also pay the same fees, have funds visible in one place, and can easily track and see data in one place.
Full-Service Online Sales
Square does everything. You can use Square’s payment gateway as a standalone product. However, you can add on other products to finish your store setup or fully build your online sales.
- Square Online – Build out fully functional online stores with web hosting, website themes, and product managers. Your entire online store can be hosted on Square.
- Square Checkout – With Square Checkout, you can offer an integrated checkout page so you don’t need a separate shopping cart for your store.
- Square POS – Point of sale means you can manage sales, inventory locations, and allow customers to check out themselves, even in person. For example, you can make sales from your online store directly from an in-person kiosk. Plus, if you also want to make in-person sales, card readers feed into the same system.
- Square Inventory Management – Square can also manage your online inventory and inventory locations. That means you won’t need a separate eCommerce tool to make sales online. Instead, you can add products and locations directly to Square, set up merchandising, set up a website, and have everything, including payment processing in one place.
Essentially, Square is a great choice for startups and first-time eCommerce sellers, because it truly offers everything you need to get started.
How do Square Online Payments work?
Square Online payment gateway is a payment processor that handles every step of the checkout process. That means you can use Square to handle shopping carts to checkout to payment to completed transaction. You can also use Square just for payment.
Merchant Account – Square negotiates transfers between card schemes, digital wallet providers, and payment platforms. It handles the entire process of completing a card transaction, ensuring that money is available, validating the transaction, and approving the sale. From there, funds are moved into the Square balance.
Payment Platforms and Wallets – Square accepts payments from many online payment platforms and digital wallets. These funds are transferred using secure transactions through that platform’s protocol. This allows you to accept payments such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, PayPal, Klarna, and After Pay.
Transfers – Once payments are processed, funds arrive in your Square balance. You can schedule payouts to your bank account as “Standard”, “Next Business Day”, or “Instant”. New users have an instant transfer limit per day, which is usually about £3,500 per day. You can increase this by talking to customer support. Standard transfers are free. Here, you receive funds the next day, including on weekends. Instant transfers move funds to your bank account within minutes. However, you need a minimum of £15 in the Square balance. In addition, you’ll pay a 1% fee. You can also turn off standard transfers and use manual transfers, so you control when money moves to your account.
Secure – Square offers leading payment processing security. That includes standard necessities like PCI DSS L1 compliance. You also get account security with encryption, 2FA, and system monitoring. In addition, Square offers proactive fraud prevention. You also get dispute assistance and risk management in case things go wrong.
Essentially, you get everything you need in a payment platform, all in one place. Plus, with all payment methods in one checkout option, Square reduces friction for consumers, making checkout more likely.
Benefits of Square Payment Gateway
Square offers one of the top-rated payment gateways in the UK. That makes sense, considering it has a lot to offer. Here are some of the benefits of going with Square.
Everything in One Place
Square Payment Gateway comes complete with payment processing, data, analytics, checkout, optional online stores, and much more. You can also add on extras like in-person checkout.
Plus, with the option to accept all major payment methods except Amazon Pay, and it’s as complete as you’re going to get from any payment gateway.
Beginner Friendly
Square offers no-code and low-code solutions for almost every online platform. You can build a website. You can also integrate Square into your existing eCommerce platform.
Often, you’ll get a simple plugin, add-on, or app to install into that platform. That means the only thing you have to do is click a few buttons and adjust settings. That’s it. In many cases, you can even do most of the work with your mobile phone.
Scales
Square is ideal as a payment gateway for small businesses. At the same time, it scales as much as you want.
Square serves small-to-medium businesses across the UK and the globe. The only reason you’d want to stop using Square is that you scale to a level where you can negotiate better rates with a larger provider. And, even then, Square might be able to offer you a similar deal.
Transparent Pricing
Square’s transparent pricing is refreshing in a world of traditional payment gateway providers.
Big banks and payment processors often have complicated fee schedules. You’ll also have to look out for hidden fees, extra costs for exceeding transaction limits, etc.
With Square, you get a simple rate of 1.4% + 25p for online UK cards and 2.5% + 25p for all other online payment methods. Plus, you might pay an additional 1% fee if you decide to withdraw money right away instead of waiting for the next day, and you can upgrade to a paid plan with fees from £29 per month.
Square Payment Gateway Pricing UK
You can use Square’s payment gateway with the free Square plan. That means you’ll pay no startup fee, no monthly fees, and no costs but processing fees.
Fees are:
- 1.4% + 25p for UK credit and debit cards (commercial and personal)
- 2.5% + 25p for all other cards
- £0- £29 per month for subscription
- 0%-1% fee for withdrawals to your bank account
No complicated fees means no headache, no surprises, and no having to figure out what you’re actually earning from a payment.
Square Payment Gateway Reviews from Customers
Square is one of the best-reviewed online payment gateways in the UK.
| Online Store | Trustpilot | Capterra | GetApp | Google Play | Apple App Store |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square App Rating | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
| Number of Reviewers | 5,743 | 2,564 | 2,966 | 238,436 | 518,000 |
Square users rave about ease of use, value for money, integrations, and customer service. Plus everyone is appreciative of low and transparent fees.
Comparing Square to Competitors
Square’s biggest competitor for online payment gateway is Shopify. In fact, in the UK, Shopify is the only competitor to offer every product and payment service that Square does. However, if you’re just looking for a payment gateway, there are dozens of alternatives on the market.
Let’s take a look at how Square stacks up to other popular payment gateway providers in the UK:
| Payment Gateway | Monthly Fee | Transaction Fee (UK) | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square | £0-£29 | 1.4% + | 4.5 |
| PayPal Braintree | None | 1.9% + 20p | 4.0 |
| Shopify Payments | £25-£239 | 1.6% + 25p+ | 4.5 |
| Ayden | None | 3% + 10p | 4.7 |
| Amazon Pay | None | 2.7% + 30p | 4.6 |
| Checkout.com | None | 2.3% + 30p+ | 3.8 |
| Tide | None | 1.9% | 4.1 |
| takepayments | None | 0.3%-3.3% | 4.9 |
| SumUp | £0-£19 | 0.99%-2.5% | 4.5 |
| Zettle | None | 1.7% | 4.6 |
| Worldpay | £19.95, £49.95+ | 1.5%-3.3% | 4.2 |
| PayPal | None | 1.2% + | 4.6 |
| GoCardless | None | 1%-1.5% | 4.0 |
| FiServe | £0+ | 0.3%-4.4% | 3.5 |
| Stripe | None | 1.5% + 20p | 4.7 |
| Elavon | £0+ | 0.99% | 2.8 |
| Tyl by Natwest | £14.95 | 1.39%+5p - 1.99%+5p | 4.7 |
Square stands out for simplified payments, low transaction fees, and high consumer ratings.
In addition, if you need other features, it offers lower rates than Shopify, while offering most of the same features. That makes Square a top choice for any business owner looking for an online payment gateway.
Conclusion
Square is a top-rated online payment gateway provider. Square Online is definitely one of the top picks for online payment processing in the UK. However, there’s no one size fits all solution. With dozens of options on the market, it’s important to shop around, figure out which solution works best for your needs, and choose the best deal. If you need help, use the form below to share your needs. We’ll negotiate rates with top payment gateway providers in the UK and send you the best quotes tailored to your business.