The offer in plain English

Xepay's homepage states that the 0.49% rate applies to eligible UK-issued personal debit and credit cards, with different rates possible for other categories. Its FAQ also specifies a separate 1p authorisation charge per successful transaction and describes eligible payouts as next working day in most cases. Source: Xepay homepage and FAQs.

The pricing page lists an Ingenico 3500 terminal at £9.99 a month and a PAX A920 at £14.99 a month, each with a three-month free promotion. The homepage separately advertises a 12-month free-terminal offer, with conditions for continuation. These are different published presentations, so confirm which offer your application receives.

That is the main reason to request a complete schedule before comparing. It is possible to calculate a very attractive cost using one page's rate and another page's rental promotion, then discover that your written agreement is different.

How much does 1p per transaction matter?

For a £5 eligible sale, 0.49% is 2.45p. Adding 1p makes a modelled charge of 3.45p, equivalent to 0.69% of the sale. For a £50 eligible sale, the same calculation is 24.5p plus 1p, or 25.5p, equivalent to 0.51%.

These are mathematical illustrations before the provider's rounding rules, rental, VAT where applicable and other charges. They show why a low percentage needs to be read alongside the fixed transaction amount.

A coffee kiosk and a furniture shop can process the same monthly turnover through very different numbers of sales. Multiply the transaction count on your statement by £0.01 to see this component, then add the appropriate percentage charges and fixed costs.

Do not round every example casually when projecting a bill. Your provider's method may calculate and round charges differently. The purpose here is to compare the structure; the supplier should provide an estimate using its actual billing method.

A first-year example for a small retailer

Suppose a hypothetical shop takes £8,000 a month through 400 transactions, all eligible for the advertised 0.49% rate. The percentage component is £39.20 and the 1p transaction component is £4, giving £43.20 a month before rental and other charges.

If its written agreement uses the pricing page's £9.99 rental with three free months, the illustrative first-year total is 12 × £43.20 + 9 × £9.99 = £608.31. A full year at that rental, with no promotion, would be £638.28 under the same assumptions.

This is not a quote and it assumes a very specific card mix. It excludes VAT where applicable, additional services, refunds, disputes and any other charges. If the shop receives a different promotion, the calculation needs to change.

Now suppose £2,000 of those monthly sales attract a hypothetical 2% rate instead of 0.49%. The additional percentage cost is £30.20 a month: £2,000 multiplied by the 1.51 percentage-point difference. The 2% figure is an assumption for sensitivity testing, not a verified Xepay rate.

That extra £362.40 over a year is much larger than the difference between a few months of free rental. Get the rates for the cards you actually accept before focusing on the promotion.

Which terminal would suit your working day?

Start with where the customer pays. A shop where every sale happens at one counter has different needs from a restaurant carrying a terminal between tables. Ask for the precise model, connections, charging equipment and receipt arrangement in your quote.

Xepay's pricing page describes the Ingenico option as a standalone Wi-Fi device and the PAX A920 as a touchscreen terminal with a printer. Those are useful starting points, but test the supplied configuration with your premises and workflow. Source: Xepay device pricing.

If you need mobile data, ask whether it is included and how the connection is provided. Do not assume a device's hardware capability means the service activates that capability without an additional charge.

At a demonstration, process a sale, cancel an amount before payment, issue a refund and print the report you would use at closing. Let a member of staff try it. Screen design, receipt handling and the steps for correcting an error matter when a customer is waiting.

Our Ingenico guide and smart POS guide help you distinguish hardware features from the surrounding service. A touchscreen does not automatically give you full stock or booking software.

Xepay and XEPOS: separate the payment service from the till

Xepay's EPOS page advertises a £99 offer powered by XEPOS and lists stock, reporting, staff controls and integrated payments. Ask exactly what the £99 covers, whether it includes equipment, and what subscription, VAT and payment conditions apply. Do not treat that headline as the complete long-term cost.

If you already have a till that works well, first ask whether the payment arrangement can connect to it. Get confirmation for your exact POS product and version. Replacing a working till simply to access a payment rate can create training and migration costs that offset the saving.

If you need a new POS anyway, build the demonstration around your business. A salon should test deposits and separate staff access. A café should test modifiers and refunds. A retailer should test product variants and returns. Ask which features are included, which require another service and who sets them up.

Read our EPOS comparison guide before committing to both payments and software. Keeping the decisions connected is sensible; assuming they are the same decision is not.

Payouts, support and what happens when something goes wrong

Ask Xepay to confirm your payout destination, cut-off time and weekend arrangements. If stock invoices come out on Monday, you need to know which trading days fund that payment. A general next-day phrase does not answer every cash-flow question.

Request the support contact and hours included in your package. Then ask a specific question: if the terminal fails at 6pm on a Friday, what happens next? You need to know the troubleshooting route, replacement arrangements and any cost for damage or delivery.

Keep a fallback procedure appropriate to your business and agreed payment setup. Staff should know how to check an uncertain transaction before retrying it. A second charge can be more difficult to resolve than taking a moment to confirm the first attempt.

For a new account, allow time for approval and setup rather than promising customers you can take cards on the strength of a delivery slogan. Do a small authorised test sale and refund, then confirm the reporting and payout before relying on the system for a busy event.

What does no contract mean in practice?

Even a flexible service has terms. Xepay's website terms page identifies XEPAY Ltd and mainly covers use of the website. It is not a substitute for the merchant and equipment agreements you need before activation.

Ask for the minimum commitment, cancellation notice, device-return deadline and return address. Confirm whether a promotional period affects any of those conditions and what happens if equipment is damaged, missing or returned late.

Also ask who the acquiring provider is and whether its agreement is separate. A terminal-return instruction does not, on its own, explain every possible payment-service obligation. Keep written confirmation of the package and any closure request.

If you are switching from another provider, calculate the remaining cost of that agreement too. Do not cancel a working service until the replacement is approved and tested, and plan how you will handle refunds for older transactions.

Alternatives worth comparing

Build your own comparison before the sales call

Bring three recent payment statements if you already trade. Record monthly sales, transaction count, the mix of cards and the equipment you need. New businesses should use cautious estimates and ask how pricing changes if actual turnover is lower.

Write down the complete year-one total, the ordinary year-two total and the cost of leaving. If one proposal has an introductory rental waiver and another does not, keep those differences visible rather than burying them inside an average.

Our card-machine comparison can help you choose a shortlist. The cost checker below is a general planning tool; it does not replace Xepay's written tariff or confirm your eligibility for its promotion.