Trust Payments for Business UK: Fees, Features and Honest Review (2026)

Trust Payments is a UK-based payment gateway and merchant services provider formed in 2019 when Trust Payments acquired Secure Trading, a gateway that had been operating since 1999. The combined business serves online, in-person and telephone-based merchants across the UK and internationally, with a particular focus on mid-market and enterprise businesses in travel, financial services, gaming and retail. Pricing is negotiated individually under an interchange-plus model. Typical blended rates range from around 0.75% for high-volume, low-risk merchants up to around 2.5% for smaller or higher-risk accounts. Trust Payments Ltd is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Payment Institution (FRN: 900709). It is not a plug-and-play option for very small businesses or sole traders who need instant onboarding and published flat-rate pricing.

Key Facts: Trust Payments UK

Who Is Trust Payments For?

Trust Payments is built for businesses that process higher volumes and need a more configurable payment setup than a standard plug-and-play provider offers. The platform suits online retailers, subscription businesses, travel companies and financial services firms that require multi-currency processing, advanced fraud tools and support for complex checkout flows. If you are turning over more than £500,000 a year in card payments, Trust Payments is worth a serious look.

The provider also has a strong track record in higher-risk verticals. Gaming, travel and financial services businesses often struggle to get straightforward terms from mainstream acquirers. Trust Payments has dedicated experience in these sectors and can offer specialist underwriting that many high-street bank processors will not. It is one of a small number of UK-based processors with specific experience in casino payments and online gambling merchant accounts.

Very small businesses and micro-traders are unlikely to be a good fit. Trust Payments does not publish flat-rate pricing, and the onboarding process is more involved than services like Square (1.75% per in-person UK card transaction, no monthly fee) or SumUp (1.69% per transaction, pay-as-you-go). If you are processing less than £10,000 a month, you will almost certainly find simpler and cheaper options elsewhere.

Trust Payments Features

• Payment gateway (formerly Secure Trading): The core online payment gateway supports card-not-present transactions, hosted payment pages and direct API integration. It handles 3D Secure 2 authentication natively, which is required under UK Strong Customer Authentication rules introduced under PSD2.
• Multi-currency processing: Trust Payments supports over 150 currencies, making it practical for UK businesses with significant international sales. Dynamic Currency Conversion is available for in-person terminals.
• Fraud and risk tools: The platform includes a rules-based fraud screening engine, velocity checks and device fingerprinting. Merchants can configure custom rules rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach, which reduces false declines on legitimate orders.
• Recurring billing and tokenisation: Card tokenisation allows merchants to store payment credentials securely for subscriptions, instalments and repeat purchases without handling raw card data directly.
• In-person terminals: Trust Payments offers countertop, portable and mobile card machines for face-to-face environments. Terminal options include models from established hardware manufacturers, available to purchase outright or via a lease agreement.
• MOTO payments: Mail order and telephone order processing is supported through a virtual terminal, useful for call-centre and phone-based sales operations. The Secure Trading virtual terminal heritage means this is a mature, well-tested product.
• Open banking payments: Trust Payments has added open banking payment options to its platform, allowing merchants to offer bank transfer at checkout as an alternative to card payments. See our guide to open banking for UK businesses for context.
• Reporting and analytics: The merchant portal provides transaction-level reporting, dispute tracking and settlement reconciliation. Multi-user access with role-based permissions is included as standard.

Trust Payments Fees and Pricing

Trust Payments does not publish a standard price list. All fees are quoted individually after an underwriting review and depend on your business type, monthly card turnover and risk profile. This is standard practice among mid-market and enterprise gateway providers, but it does make upfront comparison harder than with flat-rate providers.

Based on market intelligence and merchant feedback gathered by Compare Card Fees, typical blended transaction rates for UK businesses range from around 0.75% for low-risk, high-volume merchants up to around 2.5% for smaller or higher-risk accounts. A business processing £100,000 a month might realistically negotiate a blended rate in the region of 0.9% to 1.3%, though your specific quote will depend on your chargeback history and sector. That same business on a negotiated 1.0% blended rate versus a competitor's flat 1.8% saves around £800 a month, or £9,600 a year. That gap is worth negotiating hard for. Our guide on how to negotiate card processing fees explains how to approach that conversation.

Monthly platform or gateway fees are charged separately from transaction rates. These typically range from around £25 to £75 per month for standard gateway access, with additional charges possible for advanced fraud tools, multi-currency modules or dedicated account management. Hardware costs for card terminals are either purchased outright or included in a lease. Expect to pay in the region of £150 to £400 to purchase a terminal outright. PCI DSS compliance support may carry an additional monthly charge. Always request a full written schedule of fees before signing anything. See our guide to interchange-plus vs blended pricing for help understanding which model suits your business.

Trust Payments vs Competitors: At a Glance

Stripe charges 1.5% + 20p per UK card transaction with no monthly fee and no contract, making it simpler and often cheaper at lower volumes. Trust Payments can undercut that at higher volumes under interchange-plus, but requires a longer contract commitment. Adyen also offers transparent interchange++ pricing with no fixed term, making it a strong alternative for merchants uncomfortable with multi-year lock-in. See the Adyen review and Stripe review for direct comparisons.

Trust Payments for Casino and Gaming Merchants

Trust Payments has built dedicated payment infrastructure for licensed gambling operators in the UK. This includes support for Gambling Commission-compliant payment flows, responsible gambling checks and the kind of specialist underwriting that most mainstream acquirers refuse to provide. Casino and gaming operators face particular scrutiny from acquiring banks, and finding a UK-regulated processor willing to take them on is often the first practical hurdle.

Casino payments support includes multi-currency processing, chargeback management tools and the ability to handle the high transaction volumes typical of online gaming platforms. If you operate a UK-licensed casino or gaming site and are struggling to secure payment processing, Trust Payments is one of a small number of FCA-authorised processors worth approaching directly. Be prepared for a more detailed underwriting process and potentially higher transaction rates than low-risk merchants receive. Our guide to high-risk merchant accounts in the UK explains what to expect.

Pros and Cons of Trust Payments

Pros

• Strong sector expertise in higher-risk verticals: Travel, gaming and financial services businesses get specialist underwriting and risk management that mainstream processors often will not offer.
• Genuine interchange-plus pricing available: Unlike blended flat-rate providers, interchange-plus means you pay the actual card cost plus a fixed margin. A business on 1.0% interchange-plus versus a blended 1.8% flat rate saves around £800 a month at £100,000 monthly volume.
• Configurable fraud rules: You can set your own fraud screening thresholds rather than accepting the provider's defaults, which reduces false declines on legitimate orders.
• Multi-currency support across 150+ currencies: Useful for UK merchants selling internationally who want to price in local currencies and reduce cart abandonment.
• FCA-authorised with direct authorisation: Trust Payments holds its own FCA Payment Institution authorisation (FRN: 900709), not a pass-through or agent licence, giving merchants a direct regulated relationship.
• Mature gateway technology: The Secure Trading heritage means the gateway has been in production since 1999. That is a long track record for uptime and stability.

Cons

• No published pricing: Every quote requires a sales conversation and underwriting review. This makes it difficult to compare costs quickly against competitors, and smaller businesses may find the process time-consuming.
• Longer contract terms with early termination fees: Agreements of 12 to 36 months are common, and early termination charges can be substantial. Merchants locked into a 24-month deal have limited room to manoeuvre if their business needs change. Read our guide to early termination fees in merchant contracts before signing.
• Not suited to very small businesses: The onboarding process, minimum volume expectations and absence of instant-access pricing make Trust Payments a poor fit for businesses processing less than around £10,000 a month.
• Customer support quality is inconsistent: Reviews on independent platforms cite variable response times and difficulty reaching knowledgeable support staff outside business hours. This is a genuine concern for businesses running 24-hour operations.
• Integration complexity for smaller development teams: The API is well-documented for enterprise teams, but smaller developers and agencies report that the integration process is more involved than working with Stripe or Opayo.

Is Trust Payments Safe?

Trust Payments is safe to use as a payment processor. Trust Payments Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Payment Institution (FRN: 900709), which means it is subject to ongoing FCA supervision and must meet regulatory standards for client money handling and security. You can verify this directly on the FCA Financial Services Register at fca.org.uk. The platform is PCI DSS compliant and uses 3D Secure 2 authentication, required under UK Strong Customer Authentication regulations. Merchants processing through Trust Payments are not handling raw card data directly, as tokenisation handles credential storage.

No payment provider is entirely without risk. Disputes, chargebacks and account terminations can affect any merchant, but Trust Payments operates within a UK regulatory framework with defined complaints and redress processes. For merchants in higher-risk sectors, the FCA authorisation and specialist underwriting are meaningful protections compared to using an unregulated payment facilitator.

Is Trust Payments Right for Your Business?

Trust Payments is a solid choice for UK businesses that have outgrown simple plug-and-play processors and need something more configurable. Roger Milne, founder of Compare Card Fees, puts it plainly: Trust Payments is reliable, competitive, transparent on reporting and well-respected within the industry. That assessment holds especially for mid-market and enterprise businesses in travel, financial services and gaming, where the platform's specialist underwriting and fraud tools offer real advantages over generalist providers.

The honest caveat is that pricing opacity and longer contract terms mean you need to go into negotiations with your eyes open. Getting a second or third quote is not just advisable. It is essential. A difference of 0.3 percentage points on a monthly card volume of £80,000 works out at £240 a month, or £2,880 a year. That is worth spending time on before you sign anything.

Compare Card Fees is a free, independent advisory service that has helped UK businesses find better card payment deals since 2012. If you are considering Trust Payments or want to see how its pricing stacks up against alternatives such as Nuvei, Acquired or Adyen, the team can gather quotes on your behalf and help you read the small print before you commit. Compare merchant services quotes through Compare Card Fees at no cost to you.

Updated September 2026