Flatpay

A card payment provider for small and growing businesses — shops, restaurants and service venues — that want to accept cards without the complexity and hidden fees of traditional processors. It offers a card terminal and a POS system on flat-rate pricing, so you pay the same percentage on every transaction regardless of card type. The appeal is transparency and low friction: no tiered interchange tables to decode, no monthly fees, no lock-in. It's aimed at owner-operated businesses that value predictable costs and a simple setup over squeezing out the absolute lowest effective rate through complex pricing.

It depends on your volume. For small and mid-sized merchants, a single flat rate is simple, predictable and often competitive, and it avoids surprise fees. However, high-volume venues that would qualify for a materially lower effective rate on an interchange-plus plan elsewhere may end up paying more with a flat rate. So the honest answer: Flatpay's flat pricing is excellent for transparency and smaller businesses, but if you process large volumes, compare your projected cost against an interchange-plus provider first — the convenience of flat pricing can cost you at scale.

A few. The flat rate that makes it simple can be more expensive than interchange-plus for high volume. There's a documented minimum monthly turnover (~€1,300), so very low-volume merchants may not qualify. POS kits are a separate, significant upfront cost rather than bundled. Rates also differ by region (EU vs UK), so confirm yours. And buyers needing enterprise compliance docs such as SOC 2, SSO, data deletion and full retention records may not find everything they require. None of this undermines its core simplicity, but confirm rates, minimums and compliance for your situation.

It offers both a standalone card terminal and a full POS system, priced differently. The card terminal is advertised free to start, with you paying the flat per-transaction rate. A full POS kit is a separate upfront purchase — reviews cite ~€1,495 (basic) and ~€2,495 (premium) — so if you need a complete till system, factor in that hardware cost. For a small shop that only needs to take card payments, the free terminal plus flat rate is the low-cost route; for a restaurant or retailer wanting a full POS, budget for the kit on top.

Small and growing shops, restaurants and service businesses that want simple, predictable card payments with no monthly fees, no contract and an easy setup — and that process enough to clear the minimum turnover but not so much that interchange-plus would save them significantly. It's ideal for owner-operators who value transparent flat pricing over optimizing every basis point. It's a weaker fit for very high-volume merchants (cheaper on interchange-plus), very low-volume businesses that can't meet the minimum turnover, and organizations needing strict enterprise compliance docs. Match it to small, transaction-steady businesses that prize simplicity and predictable costs.