10 Best Credit Card Machines and Terminals for Small Businesses

Credit card machines and terminals can accept payments, print receipts and make transactions easier for businesses. Depending on your business, the best credit card machine might work offline and scan barcodes, or it may have a customer-facing screen and print receipts.

Below are the best credit card machines for small businesses, with a summary of the key features.

To see a quick summary of the options, check out our comparison table.

» MORE: NerdWallet's best POS systems

Style: Handheld.

POS monthly fee:

Hardware cost: $499.

Payment processing:

Why we like it: The Clover Flex lets customers swipe, dip and tap credit cards and accepts the trio of digital wallet payments: Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. The 5-inch touch screen displays transaction details. It also includes a receipt printer and barcode scanner for faster checkout, and has a free monthly plan available with limited point-of-sale, or POS, features for those on a budget.

Pros:

• Accepts credit card payments, including magstripes and digital wallets.

• Features a 5-inch touch screen.

• Prints receipts.

• Scans barcodes.

• Allows offline payments.

• Works without a smart device.

Cons:

• Device is relatively expensive.

» MORE: Clover POS system review

Style: Tabletop.

POS monthly fee:

Hardware cost: $149.

Payment processing:

Why we like it: Despite being the cheapest tabletop reader on this list, the Square Stand offers small businesses a lot of value. Working in tandem with the Square Reader (which is a separate device), the Stand uses an iPad as a screen, giving you the feeling of a register-style terminal without the high price. It also swivels so customers can see transaction details and accepts all types of credit cards, digital wallets like Apple Pay and QR codes through Cash App. You'll need to purchase accessories to print receipts or scan barcodes with this terminal.

Pros:

• Accepts credit card payments, including magstripes (via the Square Reader), digital wallets and QR codes.

• Features a swivel screen so customers can see transaction details.

• Comes with Square Reader for contactless and chip payments.

• Allows offline payments (requires Square Reader to work).

Cons:

• Requires an iPad to use as a screen.

• Can’t print physical receipts on its own.

• Can’t scan barcodes on its own.

» MORE: Contactless payments: How they work, how your business can accept them

Style: Handheld.

POS monthly fee: $0.

Hardware cost:

Payment processing:

Why we like it: The SumUp Plus comes with all the basic features for a card reader and a low price. It connects to a smart device to process payments and features a small screen to display transaction totals for swiping, dipping and tapping credit cards and accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay. While the Plus doesn’t print receipts, you can send digital receipts to customers’ email addresses.

Pros:

• Accepts credit card payments, including magstripes and digital wallets.

Cons:

• Displays only minimal details on screen.

• Requires a smart device.

• Can’t print physical receipts.

• Can’t scan bar codes.

• Doesn’t process offline payments.

Style: Tabletop.

POS monthly fee:

Hardware cost:

Payment processing:

Why we like it: The Clover Station has two screens (one facing each side of the counter), processes credit card and digital payment options and prints receipts, giving customers a smoother checkout. It also comes with a cash drawer for an all-in-one setup. Clover offers two POS options for the Station Duo, one for retail and one for restaurants.

Pros:

• Accepts credit card payments, including magstripe and digital wallets.

• Has a 14-inch main screen and a 7-inch screen for customers.

• Prints physical receipts.

• Comes with a cash drawer.

• Accepts offline payments.

• Works without a smart device.

Cons:

• Device is relatively expensive.

» MORE: How to choose a POS system for your business

Style: Handheld.

POS monthly fee: $9.95.

Hardware: $349.95.

Payment processing:

• 2.69% for in-person transactions.

• 3.49% + $0.19 for online, keyed and virtual terminal transactions.

Why we like it: The Payanywhere Smart Terminal lets small businesses print receipts on the go and comes with a 5-inch touch screen to show transaction details. It also scans barcodes for faster checkout and accepts credit card payments, including some digital wallets. However, it doesn’t accept Google Pay. Payanywhere’s POS features include reporting, employee tracking and inventory management.

Pros:

• Accepts credit card payments, including magstripe and digital wallets.

• Has a 5-inch touch screen.

• Prints physical receipts.

• Scans barcodes.

• Accepts offline payments.

• Works without a smart device.

Cons:

• Charges monthly $3.99 inactivity fee after 12 months.

Style: Handheld.

POS monthly fee: $0.

Hardware cost:

Payment processing:

• 1.90% for QR code transactions over $10; 2.4% if below $10; $2.29 plus 9 cents if through third-party integrator.

» MORE: See our full rundown of PayPal's fees

Why we like it: PayPal’s Zettle goes one step further by letting customers pay by QR code directly from their PayPal accounts — just create a unique QR code on the card reader and let the customer scan the code with their phone to initiate payment. QR code payments are charged a lower fee. It’s also a handheld design that’s easy to take on the go, accepts chip and contactless payments and has a screen to display simple transaction details.

Pros:

• Accepts credit card payments, including chip and contactless payments and digital wallets.

• Creates QR codes for an additional payment method.

Cons:

• Doesn’t swipe magstripe credit cards.

• Requires a smart device to work.

• Doesn’t support offline payments.

• Doesn’t print receipts.

• Doesn’t scan bar codes.

Style: Tabletop with two screens.

POS monthly fee:

Hardware cost:

Payment processing:

Why we like it: The Square Register accepts digital wallets and all credit cards and also lets customers pay via QR code through Cash App. This option can help businesses avoid the higher processing fees associated with card-not-present transactions and is available for customers online if you set up a Square Online website. The system also comes with two screens: a 13.25-inch screen for the cashier and a 7-inch screen for the customer. While it doesn’t scan bar codes or print receipts, you can order additional hardware to set up these features.

Pros:

• Has two screens, one for the business and one for customers.

• Accepts credit card payments, including magstripe and digital wallets.

• Accepts QR codes for Cash App.

• Accepts offline payments.

• Works without a smart device.

Cons:

• Doesn't print receipts.

• Doesn’t scan bar codes.

Style: Handheld to tabletop conversion.

POS monthly fee:

Hardware cost: $299; add $39 for accessories hub.

Payment processing:

Why we like it: On its own, Square’s Terminal can work as a handheld credit card reader for when you're on the go, but connect it to a tablet and you’ve got a tabletop terminal for when customers come to you. It accepts all payment types and can print receipts for a smooth checkout process. Although it requires an internet connection and won’t work on cellular data, it can connect to Wi-Fi or ethernet and can accept offline payments when Wi-Fi isn’t available.

Pros:

• Accepts credit card payments, including magstripe and digital wallets.

• Can connect to a screen to create a tabletop model.

• Prints receipts.

• Accepts offline payments.

• Works as a handheld reader independently of a smart device.

Cons:

• Works only with an internet connection.

• Can’t scan bar codes.

» MORE: Cash App money transfer: What it is, how to use it

Style: Handheld with two screens.

POS monthly fee: $19.95.

Hardware cost: $549.95.

Payment processing:

• 2.69% for in-person transactions

• 3.49% + $0.19 for online, keyed and virtual terminal transactions

Why we like it: Payanywhere’s Smart Flex has several features that make it great for on-the-go transactions, including a second screen for customers to see transaction details. It can also print receipts and scan barcodes. It accepts all payment types and can process offline transactions.

Pros:

• Accepts credit card payments, including magstripe and digital wallets.

• Has two screens, one for the business and one for customers.

• Prints receipts.

• Scans barcodes.

• Accepts offline payments.

• Works without a smart device.

Cons:

• Double-screen setup is smaller than some competitors' screens.

• Charges monthly $3.99 inactivity fee after 12 months and a $49.95 setup fee.

Style: Handheld.

POS monthly fee:

Hardware:

• $0 for pay-as-you go hardware plan.

• $609 for pay-upfront hardware plan, plus $69 per month.

Payment processing:

Why we like it: Toast’s Go 2 was built with food service in mind, with a 24-hour battery life and an exterior that can stand up to spills and being dropped. Working with Toast’s restaurant POS, it lets you submit orders and check out customers at the table. The handheld reader works well for food trucks and smaller cafes and also integrates into Toast’s larger kitchen system if you decide to expand. You can accept all types of payments and never worry about losing sales with the ability to accept offline payments.

Pros:

• Designed for a food service environment.

• Accepts credit card payments, including magstripe and digital wallets.

• Has a 6.4-inch screen.

• Accepts offline payments.

• Works without a smart device.

Cons:

• Doesn’t print receipts.

Check out these articles to learn more about credit card readers and POS systems for your small business:

• Best Credit Card Readers for Small Businesses

• Best Credit Card Readers for iPhone

• NerdWallet's Best Retail POS Systems

• NerdWallet's Best Restaurant POS Systems

• Best Free POS Software