Seven best merchant accounts for UK businesses in 2026

Key takeaways

• A merchant account is necessary for any business that wants to accept card payments – whether that’s in-person, online, or over the phone.

• Merchant accounts are steadily being replaced by full-stack payment acceptance tools, combining merchant accounts, payment gateways, and business accounts.

• Airwallex is one such direct acquirer, offering full merchant services along with multi-currency settlement, low-cost FX and international transfers, and other financial tools.

85% of UK spending is made via debit and credit card.¹ It’s hard to think of many businesses that wouldn’t benefit from accepting card payments, but it’s not quite as straightforward as putting paper money in a till.

A merchant account is an essential part of the process. Choosing your merchant services provider is a big step and this article will make the decision easier for you. 

We’ll highlight some great options for businesses of different sizes and sectors, then get into a bit more detail about how you can refine your search as you go. 

Best merchant accounts for UK businesses in 2026

You’re stacked with options for merchant accounts, so we’ve gathered a cross-section of providers that should suit a wide range of businesses. Do your own research, too, but these providers are a strong starting point.

Airwallex

Offering full-stack merchant services, your Airwallex account is all you need to take payments and run your business’ financial universe.

Built for businesses that are growing on the global stage, Airwallex stands out for providing flexibility with currencies and payment methods – as well as low-cost FX and international transfers.

Stripe

Stripe serves millions of businesses around the world, offering an integrated system for taking payments, analysing data, and building our revenue.

Businesses of all sizes can use Stripe, with services ranging from plug-and-play checkouts to fully customisable, API-first systems.

Tyl by NatWest

Tyl is NatWest’s proprietary payment acceptance tool, with an online gateway accompanying its in-person terminals and hardware.

You don’t have to be a NatWest customer to use Tyl, but it feeds in nicely if you’re already in the NatWest ecosystem (e.g. banking and using their free FreeAgent offer).

Worldpay

Another major player in payments, Worldpay is a popular choice around the world. They claim to process over one billion transactions per week, so scale is no problem.

Worldpay offers a variety of payment acceptance methods, from online and in-store all the way to agentic commerce.

Barclaycard Payments and Smartpay

Barclaycard Payments is another merchant account (and gateway) provider connected to a high-street bank. Payments is its POS and card reader solutions, whereas Smartpay is the name for its gateway (including online payment acceptance).

As with Tyl by NatWest, this option is most attractive if you’re part of the Barclays and Barclaycard ecosystem.

Adyen

Adyen is one of Europe’s largest and oldest payment processors. They claim to have processed just under €1 trillion in 2023, so they’re more than capable of handling payments at scale. 

Their target market is enterprise-sized customers, with sales volumes over £5 million per year. Smaller businesses can use Adyen, but might get better rates elsewhere.

Clover

Clover predominantly serves retailers with terminals and POS hardware, but it also offers a full payment gateway for ecommerce.

Fiserv is the ultimate owner of Clover, but has kept the brand separate since acquiring it in 2012.

Comparing merchant accounts side-by-side

There are dozens of comparison points we could use for different providers of merchant accounts and direct acquiring services. To keep things simple, we’ve created the table below with some essentials – just bear in mind that there’s more to consider than these four criteria.

*Data gained from their online calculator, assuming £250,000 annual card turnover and average sale value of £50.

How Airwallex helps UK businesses accept payments without legacy merchant accounts

With Airwallex, all of your merchant services are handled in one platform. As well as our payments capabilities, you also get access to a suite of other tools that will help your business grow and earn more:

• Low-cost FX and international transfers

• Multi-currency accounts and settlement

• Spend management software

• Company and employee cards

• API for embedded finance

Airwallex is affordable, fit for modern business, and future-proofed for your business. No matter how far you grow or widely you sell, Airwallex will keep up.

What is a merchant account (and do UK businesses still need one)?

A merchant account holds the money customers pay you until the transactions are processed. Once processed, the funds are released to your main bank account. 

This ringfencing makes it easier to process refunds and manage failed or fraudulent payments. It is a bank account, but not like your current account – you can’t make manual payments in or out of it.

If you’re processing card payments from your customers, you need a merchant account. That includes your online and physical checkouts, payments from digital wallets, and recurring card payments.

In the past, merchant accounts were provided separately from payment gateways (the system used to take payments). Today, they’re usually bundled together into one package (called ‘direct acquiring’). It’s still possible to arrange a merchant account and gateway from separate providers, more commonly with large businesses.

Key criteria for choosing a merchant account in 2026

When reviewing your options for merchant accounts, make sure you investigate these criteria. These are the fundamentals that a merchant services provider needs to get right, but there will be lots of other factors for you to consider:

• The number of payment methods they support (e.g. cards, wallets, bank transfers).

• Fees and pricing: Interchange vs. blended, account fee, any setup costs, their FX rates, and chargeback policies.

• Their settlement times and payout currencies.

• Contract terms and conditions.

• Ease of integration and setup.

• Compliance (e.g. PCI DSS), fraud controls, and their customer support policies.

Airwallex’s direct acquiring is the modern merchant go-to

Ringfencing recent card payments is essential for every business. However, the solution has evolved from merchant accounts and into direct acquiring: Bundling your payment gateway, payment processing, and merchant account into one product.

The result is a more simple and efficient process – moving much faster than the old, disjointed approach.

As commerce has become increasingly global, not all financial services have kept up. Multi-currency payments and settlement (as you get with an Airwallex Business Account) have become essential for global businesses. One of the keys to growing worldwide is being able to move your capital across currencies with little to no friction. A direct acquirer with an international edge is the only sensible choice.

FAQs

What’s the difference between a payment gateway and a merchant account?

They are separate, but equally important, parts of accepting payments from your customers. A payment gateway securely gathers and transmits your customer’s payment information. A merchant account is a holding pen for customer payments, releasing the money to your bank account when the transaction is fully processed.

What businesses need a merchant account?

If your business accepts card payments, it needs a merchant account. This is because, when you take a card payment, it goes through a multi-step process. Until the whole process is authorised, processed, and complete, the money needs to be kept aside. That’s what a merchant account does.

Is a merchant account the same thing as a bank account?

Merchant and current accounts are both types of bank account, but they behave quite differently. A merchant account is a ringfenced account for your customers’ card payments, kept safe while the payment is processed. You can’t use your merchant account to run payroll or pay Direct Debits. That’s what your current account is for.

What do I need to set up a merchant account?

As part of your onboarding process with a merchant account provider, you’ll have to pass some Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering checks. You should expect to be asked for evidence including proof of identity, address, incorporation/shareholdings – for the business and its shareholders. Other requirements will vary by provider.