Tap to Pay lets UK businesses accept contactless card payments directly on a compatible iPhone or Android phone, with no separate card reader or card machine required. Also known as SoftPOS (software point of sale), it works by turning the phone's own NFC chip into a contactless terminal, so customers simply tap their card, phone or watch on the merchant's phone to pay. SumUp, Square, Zettle (PayPal) and Dojo all offer it to UK businesses today, each using the same transaction fee as their standard card-present rate.
Key Takeaways
- Tap to Pay (also called SoftPOS) turns a compatible iPhone or Android phone into a contactless card terminal, with no extra hardware needed.
- SumUp, Square, Zettle (PayPal) and Dojo all support Tap to Pay for UK businesses, each charging the same rate as their standard card-present transaction fee, from 1.69% to 1.75%.
- Apple requires an iPhone XS or later; most providers also require the latest iOS. Android support requires NFC and, depending on provider, Android 8.0 or 11 or later.
- Stripe and Worldpay both offer Tap to Pay technology, but mainly through platforms and apps built on their systems rather than as a direct, ready-to-use small business product in the way SumUp, Square, Zettle and Dojo are.
- Tap to Pay is different from MOTO (phone/mail order) payments, which involve manually keying in card details read out over the phone rather than a contactless tap - see our separate guide on accepting phone payments (MOTO) if that's what you need.
- There's no setup cost with any of the four main providers, making Tap to Pay a low-risk way to test taking card payments or add a backup payment method.
What Is Tap to Pay (SoftPOS)?
Tap to Pay uses the near-field communication (NFC) chip already built into modern smartphones to read a contactless card, phone or wearable, the same technology used in a traditional card machine, but running as an app instead of dedicated hardware. Apple and Google both opened this capability to third-party payment apps from 2022 onwards, and by 2026 it is supported in the UK by every major card-machine-free provider aimed at small businesses.
The industry term for this category of technology is SoftPOS (software point of sale). You will see both "Tap to Pay" and "SoftPOS" used, generally interchangeably, depending on the provider: Apple, Square and Zettle favour "Tap to Pay," while Worldpay and some payment-industry commentary use "SoftPOS" as the umbrella term for the underlying technology.
How Tap to Pay Works
A member of staff opens the provider's app (for example the SumUp Business app, Square Point of Sale, the Zettle app, or the Dojo for Business app) on a compatible phone, enters the amount, and holds the customer's contactless card, phone or watch near the back of the device. The transaction is authorised over the same card networks as a physical card machine, and funds settle into the business's account on the provider's normal timescale.
No card is ever inserted or swiped, and Apple's and Google's own security models mean the merchant's phone never stores the customer's card number: authentication happens inside a secure hardware component on the device, then the transaction is passed to the payment provider's servers in the same way as a conventional terminal.
Device Requirements by Provider
| Provider | iPhone Requirement | Android Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| SumUp | Latest iOS | Android 11 or later, with NFC |
| Square | iPhone XS or later, latest iOS | Not specified for UK Tap to Pay |
| Zettle (PayPal) | iPhone XS or later, latest iOS | Android 8.0 or later, with NFC and Google Play services |
| Dojo | iPhone XS or later (excludes iPhone SE), iOS 16.4 or later | Not currently offered |
Every provider that supports Tap to Pay on iPhone excludes older handsets: Apple's own Tap to Pay technology requires an iPhone XS or later, so an iPhone X or earlier cannot be used with any of these apps regardless of provider.
Which UK Providers Offer Tap to Pay, and What It Costs
The four providers below all let a UK business start taking Tap to Pay payments today via a free app, with no card reader to buy. All four charge the same rate for a Tap to Pay transaction as they do for a standard card-present transaction, so there is no separate "Tap to Pay surcharge" on top of a provider's normal pricing.
| Provider | Tap to Pay Fee | Monthly/Setup Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SumUp | 1.69% pay-as-you-go, or 0.99% for domestic consumer cards on the Payments Plus plan | Free to start; Payments Plus is £19/month | PIN entry required by the customer above roughly £100 per transaction |
| Square | From 1.75% per tap | Free to start | Uses the free Square Point of Sale app |
| Zettle (PayPal) | 1.75% per transaction | £0 monthly or setup fees | Funds available within minutes in your PayPal Business account, then same-day or within two hours to your bank |
| Dojo | Uses your existing Dojo merchant rate (from 1.4% for UK debit cards) | No additional hardware cost | Debit-card rate only; Dojo's overall blended rate depends on your card mix, so isn't directly comparable to the flat rates above |
Stripe and Worldpay: Available, But Not the Same Kind of Product
Stripe and Worldpay both support Tap to Pay technology in the UK, but neither offers it as a simple, download-the-app product for a small business the way SumUp, Square, Zettle and Dojo do. Stripe's Tap to Pay is built for platforms and developers building their own point-of-sale apps via the Stripe Terminal SDK, examples include Shopify's own POS and booking platforms like FareHarbor, rather than something a business owner installs directly. Worldpay similarly frames Tap to Pay as a technology category ("select a solution offering Tap to Pay") rather than a single first-party Worldpay app. If your business already uses Stripe or a Worldpay-powered platform for other payments, it's worth asking your existing provider whether Tap to Pay is available through their platform, rather than expecting a standalone Worldpay or Stripe Tap to Pay app.
Tap to Pay vs a Card Machine vs MOTO (Phone Orders)
It's easy to confuse Tap to Pay with taking a payment "over the phone," but they are different things. Tap to Pay is an in-person, card-present method: the customer and their card are physically present, tapping against the merchant's phone. MOTO (Mail Order and Telephone Order) is the opposite: the customer reads their card number out over an actual phone call, and staff type the numbers into a virtual terminal because the customer and card are not present at all. MOTO carries meaningfully higher fraud liability and cost than Tap to Pay or a card machine, precisely because there is no card or chip to verify. See our guide on how to accept phone payments (MOTO) in the UK if that's the scenario you're dealing with.
Compared to a traditional card machine, Tap to Pay has no hardware cost, no delivery wait, and no terminal rental fee, useful for a new business testing demand, a mobile trader who doesn't want to carry a separate reader, or as a backup if a main card machine fails. The trade-off is that it relies entirely on the merchant's own phone: battery life, a good data or Wi-Fi connection, and phone screen visibility to the customer all become part of the payment experience in a way they aren't with dedicated hardware.
Is Tap to Pay Secure?
Tap to Pay uses the same EMV contactless standard and card network authorisation as a physical card machine, so it carries the same fraud protections as any other card-present, chip-verified transaction, including the standard contactless spending limit and step-up PIN prompts on higher-value taps. Apple's implementation explicitly does not store card numbers on the iPhone or on Apple's own servers; card data is handled inside the same secure hardware Apple uses for Apple Pay, then passed directly to the payment provider.
Getting Started With Tap to Pay
To start taking Tap to Pay payments, sign up for a free account with your chosen provider, download their app (SumUp Business, Square Point of Sale, Zettle, or the Dojo for Business app), and confirm your phone meets the device requirements above. No card reader, terminal rental agreement, or hardware delivery is required, and all four providers let you take your first payment the same day you sign up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tap to Pay as safe as a card machine?
Yes. Tap to Pay uses the same contactless EMV standard, card network authorisation, and PIN step-up rules above the contactless limit as a physical card machine. The main practical difference is that security also depends on your phone's own settings, such as keeping its operating system and payment app up to date.
Does Tap to Pay cost more than a card machine?
No. SumUp, Square and Zettle all charge the same rate for a Tap to Pay transaction as they do for a standard card-present transaction on a card reader, from 1.69% to 1.75% depending on provider. You save on hardware cost, not on the per-transaction rate.
Can I use Tap to Pay without buying a card reader?
Yes, that's the entire point of Tap to Pay: your phone's own NFC chip acts as the reader, so no separate card machine or dongle is needed with SumUp, Square, Zettle or Dojo.
Can I accept card payments on my phone?
Yes. UK businesses can accept card payments on their phone directly, with no separate card reader needed, using Tap to Pay (also called SoftPOS). SumUp, Square, Zettle (PayPal) and Dojo all support it today, charging the same rate as their standard card-present transaction fee (1.69% to 1.75%), using the phone's own NFC chip to read the customer's contactless card, phone or watch.
Which providers let me take phone payments with Tap to Pay?
SumUp, Square, Zettle (PayPal) and Dojo all offer Tap to Pay to UK businesses directly through their own free apps. Stripe and Worldpay support the underlying technology but mainly make it available through platforms built on their systems, rather than as a standalone app for a small business to download directly.
Does Tap to Pay work without an internet connection?
No. Every Tap to Pay provider requires an active data or Wi-Fi connection on the phone to authorise the transaction in real time, the same requirement as a standard card machine or online checkout.
What iPhone do I need for Tap to Pay?
You need an iPhone XS or later running a recent version of iOS. Dojo specifically also excludes the iPhone SE and requires iOS 16.4 or later; check your chosen provider's own requirements before assuming an older iPhone will work.
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