Worldpay UK: a guide to the payment service provider

4.7 out of 5

• Pricing
  3.7
• Features
  4.5
• Customer Support
  5
• Customer Score
  3.8

Worldpay is the UK’s leading payment provider and earns an impressive 4.7 out of 5, overall, in our independent research. Based on our unique methodology and scoring system, it is our best payment gateway for small businesses. 

Our research highlights Worldpay for its excellent 24/7 customer support, and clear, and easy-to-understand pricing. But, Worldpay offers over 300 different payment methods, including card payments, online payments, and phone payments.

So what to choose, and where to start? With so many rising costs amid the recession, you can’t afford to pick a payment provider or fee structure that will come back to haunt you or your business.

In this guide, we’ll go through Worldpay’s pricing, merchant services, and customer support. We also compare it with its top competitors, so you can check how its pros, cons, and costs stand up against rival providers.

For a detailed breakdown of Worldpay’s fees and benefits, we’ve put all of our expert knowledge into the guide below.

What is Worldpay?

Worldpay’s payment gateway also offers:

• Flexibility – Worldpay has a package built for businesses of all shapes and sizes
• Business Manager Tool – This built-in feature lets you manage all of your transactions, as well as access key reports and insights
• Fraud protection – Worldpay is known for its advanced fraud protection, reliability, and user-friendly system

We went out and actively engaged with the local business community in London to establish connections with various enterprises and delve into their user experiences with the card readers. Our intention was to gain firsthand experience and a more comprehensive understanding of their dynamics – from identifying both the commendable aspects, and the areas for improvement.

Kameron Patel, the manager at Nisa Local described the Worldpay machine as “a basic payment reader”, but this description was emphasised in a positive way. He further explained that it hadn’t ever caused him any hassle, and did what it was meant to do efficiently with no problems.

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Worldpay has plenty of card machine and payment gateway support, available over the phone and online, 24/7.

If you want to switch your small business payment systems to Worldpay, there are dedicated teams available to make the process as smooth as possible.

But how do small businesses rate Worldpay’s customer support? Worldpay has a very respectable score of 4.2 out of 5 on the review site, Trustpilot. Some praise the “great customer service”, and others have complaints about technical issues and wait times.

Customer score

Worldpay scores high for customer score and satisfaction, mostly for the ease of their payment features, affording them an excellent overall score of 5 out of 5 for customer service.

Customers don’t even need to leave your site to make a payment. Instead, they can follow these three simple steps:

• Add items to their online shopping basket
• Enter their card details on a Worldpay hosted payment page or an integrated payment page
• Their details are then sent to the payments gateway, where the payment is authorised

The payment gateway gives your customers more ways to pay through the Virtual Terminal and pay per link features.

These handy touches make online payments as simple as possible, helping ensure more of your customers make it to checkout.

Payment Options

The Worldpay online gateway lets you take safe and secure credit card, debit card, and PayPal payments through your website.

Worldpay and PayPal are both known for top-notch security and user-friendly payments, but Worldpay’s fees are easier to get your head round. This knowledge makes all the difference for small businesses needing to plan costs.

Worldpay card readers

An example of Worldpay card machine

Worldpay offers a range of card machines and readers to cater for merchants’ differing business needs, including countertop card machines, portable card machines, and mobile card machines.

We spoke to Kameron Patel, the manager at Nisa Local, who provided a positive description of the Worldpay card machine, referring to it as a “simple yet efficient” payment reader. He expressed satisfaction with its performance, highlighting that it had never caused him any inconvenience and fulfilled its intended purpose seamlessly.

Kameron acknowledge an occasional sluggishness in connectivity, but clarified that this is dependent on the broadband server and not Worldpay’s fault. To mitigate such situations, he suggested that small businesses should consider having a backup system in place for emergencies.

Prior to adopting Worldpay, Kameron had been using Paymentsense, which he regarded as the worst machine he had encountered, even worse than those provided by HSBC or Barclays. He described Paymentsense as outdated, antiquated, and slow, noting that it printed double receipts, which he considered wasteful to the environment.

According to Kameron, Worldpay is highly competitive, and he expressed contentment with the terms of his contract.

Take a look at our review of the best card machines for small businesses to see where Worldpay ranks.

Why choose Worldpay’s monthly package?

Worldpay’s tidy monthly plans are ideal for business owners who like:

Simplicity

One monthly fee that includes all standard charges; suitable for growing businesses

Fixed monthly payments

Pay the same price each month, including transaction and terminal rental; suitable for businesses that want to know costs in advance

Custom packages

Combined regular monthly charges and transaction fees that vary depending on volume and card; suitable for established businesses

Why choose Worldpay pay-as-you-go?

Designed to simplify charges, the pay-as-you-go payment structure is perfect for business that are seasonally focused, and don’t take payments all year round.

Here’s why:

1. There are no sign up fees
2. You just pay a flat rate of 2.75% plus a 20p transaction charge
3. The service doesn’t tie you into expensive or lengthy contracts, so you can stop using it whenever you need to
4. You get the same transaction rates for both debit and credit card payments

Worldpay’s pay-as-you-go service can be used online, as well as on mobile phones and tablets.

Worldpay add-ons

How much bang do you get for your buck? All Worldpay packages and payment types can be upgraded with a range of optional bolt-ons, including:

• My Business Dashboard: manage transactions and finances online
• Virtual terminal: take payments over the phone
• Pay by link: take payments via an email link
• Online payments gateway: offer payments through a website
• Risk management: check your payments for any fraud
• Future Pay: offers internet versions of traditional recurring payment methods

How does Worldpay keep my money safe?

Cashflow is so important for small businesses and startups, and you’re not alone in asking ‘will my money (and my customers’ payment details) be safe with Worldpay?’

Worldpay has over 25 years of experience when it comes to processing card payments, so you don’t have to worry about them dropping out of the game any time soon. Worldpay takes security very seriously, and you can benefit from:

1. Robust fraud protection: a number of risk management monitors will flag anything fishy, plus you can set your own security standard (with CVC and AVS to verify online payments).
2. PCI compliance: there’s a lot to get your head around when you start accepting card payments, but providers like Worldpay take care of the data compliance for you, using secure servers and anonymised tokens.

Building a good transaction experience into your sales process is proven to keep customers happy (and coming back).

Is there a free plan?

There is no free plan with Worldpay, unlike some of its competitors – Square, Paypal and Stripe for example.

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Card Reader Worldpay	Card Reader Square Online	Card Reader SumUp	Card Reader Zettle by PayPal
Device Cost £17.95/month	Device Cost £19 (inc. VAT)	Device Cost £29	Device Cost £29 for one reader (£59 for each subsequent device)
Transaction Fee 2.75% + 0.25p	Transaction Fee 1.75%	Transaction Fee 1.69%	Transaction Fee 1.75%
Settlement time 3-4 days	Settlement time Instant deposits available (1% fee applies).	Settlement time 3 business days	Settlement time 2-3 business days

Use our simple tool to get comparable costs for your business needs Compare Costs

Our methodology: how did we evaluate Worldpay for small businesses?

When it comes to deducing a score, we look at our research and the statistics of each provider’s features, both individually and overall in the marketplace. We then combine these to reach a conclusion about each provider.

We evaluated Worldpay on five key factors:

• Price
• Taking payments
• Features
• Customer support
• Customer score

According to our readers, these are the top areas they look at when choosing a merchant account. Our researchers the compile the data so that you can rely on our ratings, and know that they aren’t simply pulled out of thin air. The information consists of what is being offered in the current market, the dynamics of the key segments within the market and, of course, to ensure that we’re providing you (our readers) with the most accurate, thorough, and well-researched information at all times.

Worldpay: Final Verdict

Worldpay is the UK’s leading payments provider and our number one choice for small business owners. As a reputable brand, it’s simple, safe to use, and boasts reliable customer support.

Here are the key points to remember:

1. Faster payments: Worldpay makes payment a smooth process for you and your customers.
2. Safer payments: safety comes first for Worldpay, with robust fraud protection and PCI compliance.
3. Simpler payments: clear pricing is good for businesses that need predictable cashflows, though some rivals, like Zettle by PayPal, offer competitive fees.
4. Flexibility: choose between Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go, and upgrade with any bolt-ons you want.
5. 24/7 support: expert support is available whenever you need it.

Worldpay specialises in making your life easier, making your payments safer, and helping more customers through the check-out.

Some of the newer kids on the block are able to offer lower transaction fees but, if they come with a bunch of hidden fees and cashflow drama, you may not not really be making a saving. This is why it’s a good idea to consider all of your options.

Next steps

Finding the right merchant provider depends on your individual needs, and the best way to decide who will give you the best deal is to talk directly to the suppliers.

That’s where we can help. Tell us what your business needs using our free, handy 🔍cost comparison tool, and we’ll use our expertise to match you with the best merchant account service providers. The process is also a fast and free way to discover the best merchant rates for your business!

Worldpay

4.7

Worldpay is a complete online payments service that gives you the ability to take payments directly from your website or app.

• Price Minimum £19 + VAT
• Fees 0.75%-2.75% Monthly: £19/mo + 2.75% (credit cards) & 0.75% (debit card) Pay as you go: 2.75% + £0.20 (for both credit and debit cards)

• Offers 100+ integrations - the most out of all providers we reviewed by far
• The only provider out of the ones we reviewed with a 24/7 phone number
• Highest rated for Customer Service

Summary Worldpay is a complete online payments service that gives you the ability to take payments directly from your website or app. Easy to integrate and easy to use, our API helps developers to create bespoke checkout forms that can be activated and ready to take payments within 24 hours.

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