Payment Processing for Healthcare & Medical UK 2026

This page is for UK healthcare and medical businesses deciding which card payment provider to use in 2026. That includes GP practices, dental surgeries, private clinics, physiotherapy and osteopathy practices, opticians, pharmacies, and any other regulated health business that takes card payments. The single most distinctive payment challenge in this sector is the split between appointment-based billing and walk-in or ad-hoc transactions. Many healthcare businesses need to hold card details against a booking, charge a no-show fee later, or take a deposit upfront. Not every card payment provider supports that kind of deferred or card-not-present charge without a separate payment gateway, and choosing the wrong setup can leave you unable to enforce your cancellation policy.

Why Appointment-Based Billing and Card-Not-Present Charging Define Healthcare Payment Needs

Most private healthcare businesses run on a fixed appointment structure. A patient books a slot, and if they do not show up, that slot cannot be resold. Enforcing a no-show fee means charging a card that is not physically present at the time of the transaction. That is categorically different from a retail tap-and-pay sale, and it requires your payment setup to support card-not-present transactions, either through a virtual terminal, a stored card token, or a payment link sent after the fact.

Providers like Square and SumUp are designed primarily for in-person tap-and-pay. Square does offer a virtual terminal at 2.5% per transaction, which covers telephone or manually keyed payments. That rate is noticeably higher than their 1.75% in-person rate, and if a significant share of your revenue comes from deposits and no-show charges, those extra basis points add up. A private physio practice taking 20 no-show fees a month at £50 each pays an extra £7.50 a month at Square's virtual terminal rate versus in-person. That is not catastrophic, but it is worth factoring in before you commit.

Stripe is structured differently. Its payment links, saved card credentials, and recurring billing tools sit within a single account and are designed for exactly this kind of deferred or remote charge. The trade-off is that Stripe requires more technical setup than a plug-and-play card reader. For a clinic already using practice management software with a Stripe integration, that is not a barrier. For a small sole-trader physio practice, it may be.

Dojo is increasingly used by private clinics and dental practices with higher card volumes. Its flat 1.2% blended rate on all UK card transactions for businesses under £100,000 annual card turnover covers in-person payments simply. For businesses above that threshold, Dojo moves to custom pricing, which tends to suit larger multi-practitioner clinics well. Dojo does not natively offer a hosted online checkout in the same way Stripe does, so confirm your specific requirement before signing.

Fee Comparison Table

Best Providers for Healthcare and Medical Businesses

Square

Square charges 1.75% per transaction for in-person UK card payments, with no monthly fee and a card reader costing £19 as a one-off purchase. That low barrier to entry suits sole-trader practitioners and small private clinics that are just beginning to accept card payments, or that want to avoid a rolling monthly contract. There is no minimum monthly volume requirement, which matters for practices with irregular appointment patterns.

The virtual terminal at 2.5% per transaction is the relevant tool for telephone bookings, deposit collection, and no-show charges. It works through a browser with no additional hardware needed. That makes it practical for a receptionist processing a patient's card details over the phone, though you must ensure your data handling process is PCI DSS compliant when doing so.

The honest limitation is that Square is not built for high-volume, high-value healthcare billing. A busy dental practice turning over £30,000 a month in card payments at 1.75% pays £525 in fees. A provider with a negotiated rate of 1.2% at that volume would pay £360. At scale, Square's simplicity costs money. Read the full Square review.

Stripe

Stripe charges 1.5% + 20p per transaction for UK card payments made online. For healthcare businesses, the more important feature is Stripe's support for payment links, saved card credentials, and automated billing. A clinic can send a patient a payment link before their appointment, store the card on file for future charges, and issue a no-show fee after the fact, all within the same Stripe account. That covers most of what appointment-based healthcare billing actually requires.

Stripe integrates with a wide range of practice management and booking software used in UK healthcare, including systems built on Stripe's own API. If your booking platform already has a Stripe integration, setup is largely a case of connecting accounts. If it does not, you will need some technical input to get the most from Stripe's tools.

The main weakness for healthcare is the absence of a physical card terminal designed for reception desk use. Stripe's hardware options exist but are less polished than Dojo or Square for front-desk in-person payments. A busy GP practice or dental surgery with high walk-in payment volume would find Stripe's in-person experience less smooth. Read the full Stripe review.

Dojo

Dojo's flat 1.2% blended rate on all UK card transactions for businesses under £100,000 annual card turnover is genuinely competitive for healthcare practices with steady in-person volume. Unlike percentage-plus-pence pricing, there is no per-transaction pence charge on top, which simplifies fee forecasting. A practice turning over £15,000 a month in in-person card payments pays £180 in Dojo fees, versus £262.50 at Square's 1.75% rate. That difference funds several months of Dojo's terminal rental cost.

Dojo settles funds fast, typically by 7am the next working day. For private practices managing payroll and supplier payments without a large cash buffer, next-morning settlement is a practical advantage over providers that take two or three days.

The honest limitation is that Dojo's in-person focus means it is less suited to practices that need a polished online booking checkout or remote deposit collection as a primary flow. It is strongest as a reception desk terminal provider. Above £100,000 annual card turnover, pricing moves to a custom quote, so larger practices will need to negotiate. Read the full Dojo review.

Pros and Cons by Provider Type

Dedicated Card Machine Providers (e.g. Dojo, SumUp, Zettle)

• Pros: Simple front-desk setup, fast in-person transaction flow, next-day settlement in most cases, tamper-evident hardware that patients recognise and trust
• Pros: Well-suited to opticians, pharmacies, and physiotherapy practices where most payments happen at the point of collection
• Cons: Limited or no built-in support for storing cards on file or charging patients remotely after the appointment
• Cons: A second provider or tool is usually needed alongside if no-show fees or telephone payments are part of your billing model

Payment Gateways (e.g. Stripe, Opayo)

• Pros: Designed for online, telephone, and saved-card transactions; covers deposit collection, no-show fees, and online booking payments within one system
• Pros: Strong integration with practice management software and booking platforms common in private healthcare
• Pros: PCI DSS compliance documentation is typically more thorough, useful for CQC-registered businesses
• Cons: Setting up a payment gateway correctly requires more technical work than plugging in a card reader
• Cons: Physical terminal hardware is secondary or requires a separate hardware provider, which adds complexity for practices with a busy reception desk

All-in-One Providers (e.g. Square, Worldpay with virtual terminal add-on)

• Pros: Handle in-person, virtual terminal, and online payments under one account and one reconciliation view
• Pros: Reduce the number of provider relationships to manage, which matters for small practice owners without dedicated finance staff
• Cons: Transaction rates for the less common payment type (e.g. virtual terminal vs in-person) are often higher than specialist alternatives
• Cons: An all-in-one rate that looks competitive on paper may not be the lowest available if your volume qualifies you for a negotiated deal elsewhere

Different Payment Needs Across Healthcare Sub-Types

Private GP Practices and Specialist Clinics

Private GP practices typically charge high transaction values, often £100 to £300 per consultation, with a mix of in-person payment at the appointment and remote billing for reports, letters, or follow-up services invoiced after the fact. The fee structure most relevant here is per-transaction cost at high value combined with reliable virtual terminal or payment link functionality. At £200 average ticket, even a 0.5% rate difference is £1 per transaction. For a practice with 200 patient-paying appointments a month, that is £200 a month. Stripe or a custom-quoted provider like Worldpay or Dojo at higher volumes are worth exploring over flat-rate entry-level readers.

Allied Health Practitioners (Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, Podiatry, Counselling)

Allied health practitioners, particularly those working as sole traders or in small group practices, typically see lower transaction values than private GPs but run entirely on a booked-appointment model. Transaction values of £50 to £90 are common. The key payment challenge is enforcing cancellation and no-show policies. A setup that supports payment links or card-on-file is more important here than squeezing the lowest possible per-transaction rate. Square's virtual terminal at 2.5% or Stripe's payment link infrastructure are both pragmatic fits. SumUp's 0.99% rate on the One plan is attractive if almost all payments are collected in person immediately after the session.

Pharmacies and Opticians

Pharmacies and opticians have a retail-like payment profile. Transactions are predominantly in-person, often at lower individual values for OTC pharmacy sales or contact lens supplies, but with occasional high-value transactions for complex spectacle frames or lens packages. Volume is the relevant variable. A pharmacy processing 80 card transactions a day at an average of £12 each benefits disproportionately from a lower per-transaction rate. SumUp's 0.99% on the One plan at £19 a month, or Dojo's 1.2% flat rate, are both meaningfully cheaper than Square's 1.75% at that kind of daily volume. Pharmacies dispensing NHS prescriptions will also receive some NHS-linked payments through separate NHS payment channels, which sit outside standard card processing entirely.