Compare PDQ Machine Costs: The Definitive 2024 Guide

PDQ machines, also known as credit card readers, allow you to process credit and debit card transactions quickly and securely. They’re essential for accepting in-store card payments at your business. Mobile PDQ machines can be acquired for less than £100, while top-range countertop machines

While PDQ machines play a key role in checkout, some of them come with eye-watering setup and transaction fees, which will eat into your business’s revenue. It’s important to minimise these fees and get the most affordable PDQ machine for your business in order to turn a profit.

In this guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about PDQ machine costs, compare the benefits of buying vs. renting, and explain how to get the right PDQ machine for your business.

Key Takeaways

• A PDQ machine reads a customer’s credit card and transmits information about a purchase to the bank that issued the card for authorisation.
• There are three types of PDQ machines: countertop, portable, and mobile. Countertop machines generally typically cost between £200 to £600, portable machines cost around £100 to £300, and mobile machines cost less than £100.
• While PDQ machines can be paid for upfront, providers will typically allow you to pay monthly if that works better for you.
• In addition to the cost of buying a PDQ machine, you’ll have to pay a one-time setup fee to your merchant account provider (usually £50 to £150) and monthly account fees for your merchant account. You’ll also have to pay credit card processing fees of 1.2% to 3% for every transaction.
• Buying a PDQ machine is typically cheaper than renting one from your merchant account provider. However, renting can be a good option if your business doesn’t have much cash to play with.

What Is a PDQ Machine?

‘PDQ machine’ is a generic term for any credit and debit card processing machine. PDQ stands for ‘Process Data Quickly’—a reference to the speed with which PDQ machines can communicate with a cardholder’s bank (the credit card issuer) to authorise a transaction and complete a purchase.

Today, PDQ machines are commonly called card readers or chip and PIN machines. If you want to accept in-store credit or debit card payments in the UK, the best way to do so is with a PDQ machine.

Types of PDQ machines

There are three common types of PDQ machines:

• Countertop PDQ machines: These are stationary PDQ machines that you physically connect to a point-of-sale using an ethernet cable. They work well for retail stores and cafes where customers come up to the register to make a purchase.
• Portable PDQ machines: These are Bluetooth or WiFi-enabled PDQ machines that connect remotely to a point-of-sale system. They work well for restaurants where your servers need to take your PDQ machine to a customer’s table.
• Mobile PDQ machines: Mobile PDQ machines use cellular data or WiFi so you can accept payments from anywhere. Some devices attach to your smartphone, piggybacking on its data connectivity to turn your phone into a mobile PDQ machine. These work well if you need to make sales at a festival or while travelling.

Depending on how your business operates, you may need multiple PDQ machines of different types. For example, a restaurant might use a countertop PDQ machine for its take-out window, several portable PDQ machines for customers seated at tables, and a mobile PDQ machine for its food truck.

All PDQ machines can process cards on the major credit card networks, including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.

PDQ Machine Costs: What to Expect

PDQ machines aren’t cheap and have several types of costs associated with them. Let’s take a closer look at the main ones.

PDQ machine purchase or lease

To get a PDQ machine, you need to either buy one or lease one—we’ll dive into the pros and cons of buying vs. leasing in more detail in the next section.

If you buy a PDQ machine, expect to spend around £100 to £300 for a portable machine or £200 to £600 for a countertop machine – although true top-of-the-range countertop machines can set you back as much as £800.

Mobile PDQ machines are much cheaper and typically cost less than £100. Costs for all types of PDQ machines vary a lot depending on what model you choose.

If you lease a PDQ machine from your merchant account provider, you’ll have to pay a monthly fee for the rental. You can usually negotiate this rental fee—you might be able to get a lower per-unit cost if you need a large number of PDQ machines, for example—but expect to pay £10 to £25 per PDQ machine per month..

Contract and setup fees

For your PDQ machine to function, your business must have a merchant account. Your merchant account provider acts as a middleman between your business and financial institutions. For example, it relays information from your PDQ machine to your customer’s bank and plays an important role in ensuring your business is paid for customers’ card purchases.

Many merchant account providers require a contract, which usually includes a one-time setup fee. You’ll have to pay this fee regardless of whether you’re using your own PDQ machine or buying or leasing one from your merchant account provider.

Some merchant account providers don’t require a contract, but they may still charge a setup fee for connecting your PDQ machine. Expect to pay around £50 to £150 for this one-time fee.

Monthly merchant account fees

Many merchant account providers charge a monthly account fee. This isn’t specifically related to your PDQ machine, but it’s a fee you’ll need to pay to process credit cards. Monthly merchant account fees can vary widely, but expect to pay £5 to £25 per month.

PDQ machine transaction fees

Every time you process a credit or debit card transaction using your PDQ machine, you’ll need to pay a fee to your merchant account provider. This credit card processing fee is usually around 1.2% to 3% of each transaction, and it can vary based on factors like the size of your transaction and what credit card company issued your customer’s card.

Importantly, many merchant account providers have what’s known as a minimum monthly service charge. This is the minimum amount you’ll have to pay in transaction fees each month. If you don’t meet this threshold through fees on your sales, your merchant account provider will round up your bill to this minimum amount.

Buying vs. Renting a PDQ Machine

One of the most important choices you’ll have to make when getting a PDQ machine for your business is whether you want to buy or rent your machine.

Most of the time, it’s much cheaper to buy a PDQ machine than to lease one from your merchant account provider. For example, say you could buy a portable PDQ machine for £300 or lease it for £20 per month. If you use your PDQ machine for more than 15 months—it should work for years—you’ll come out ahead by buying.

However, there are a few important things to consider before you buy:

• Not all PDQ machines are compatible with all merchant account providers’ point-of-sale systems. So, if you switch merchant account providers, you could be forced to buy new PDQ machines as well.
• If you buy a PDQ machine, it’s up to you to keep it in working condition. That means you have to pay for maintenance and repair costs.
• PDQ machines do go out of date as technology improves. If you buy a PDQ machine, you could be left behind if newer models come out with enhanced technological features.

In addition, if your business is short on cash, renting could be a good solution to pay less upfront for PDQ machines. Renting can be especially attractive for new businesses that need a lot of PDQ machines, but want to keep startup costs to a minimum.

How to Choose the Right PDQ Machine for Your Business

There are a few important things to consider when choosing a PDQ machine for your business.

Compatibility with your merchant account provider

Not all PDQ machines are compatible with all merchant account providers, so it’s important to think about what merchant account provider you’re planning to use before you buy a PDQ machine. Most merchant account providers have lists detailing what PDQ machines they can work with.

If you’re planning to rent a PDQ machine from your merchant account provider, you don’t have to worry about compatibility. Your merchant account provider will only offer machines that work with their system.

Card reader compatibility

Most modern PDQ machines are capable of reading EMV chips, but it’s still possible to find machines that only have a magnetic stripe reader. We highly recommend buying a PDQ machine that supports EMV chips since almost all credit and debit cards in the UK now use EMV chips.

In addition, more advanced PDQ machines support contactless payments, also known as tap-to-pay. This is not only convenient for customers but also critical if you want to enable customers to pay with a mobile wallet (like Google Pay or Apple Pay). If you’re buying a PDQ machine today, it’s a good idea to get one with tap-to-pay so your business isn’t left behind.

Countertop, portable, or mobile

Whether you should choose a countertop, portable, or mobile PDQ machine depends on how your business makes sales. Countertop machines are great if you have a register in a fixed location, like at a retail store. Portable machines work well for restaurants since your waitstaff can take payments right at customers’ tables. Mobile machines work best if you need to take payments outside your business, like in a food truck or at an expo.

When in doubt, portable machines typically offer the best combination of flexibility, ease of use, and affordability. If you need multiple PDQ machines, consider purchasing a combination of countertop, portable, and mobile devices so you have the right PDQ machine available for every occasion.