If you’re representing your business out on the road at events and festivals, you want to be best prepared for payment with a reliable mobile payment system that can take payment from anywhere.

There are plenty of options out there for this use, so you’ll want to be looking for a mobile payment system that has sufficient battery life, the capability of accepting as many cards as possible and, of course, favourable transaction fees and upfront costs for the terminal.

What are mobile payment systems?

A mobile payment system is a point-of-sale device that accepts payment via cards and mobile phones – through mobile wallet apps like Apple Pay – while away from your business premises.

This mobile terminal will typically be linked to a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth network, a tablet device and an app for transaction insights and analytics.

Here we cover some of the best POS systems on the market to help you become centre stage at events.

Revolut Terminal

The Revolut Terminal is an ideal POS system for events and festivals. With the option to connect via wifi or mobile SIM connection (whichever is stronger), it allows you to take in-person card, mobile wallet, or Revolut Pay transactions wherever you are.

Revolut claims you can process payments in under 3 seconds, so you can be sure to keep the queue moving at peak times. And any funds you take are settled in your Revolut Business Account within 24 hours. You can even pair with Revolut POS for iPad to access functions like advanced analytics and location management.

The Revolut Terminal (£169) comes with a built-in receipt printer for customer convenience. However, you can opt for the Lite Terminal (£129), which is exactly the same minus the printer.

Fees: After the one-off device cost, there are no device rental costs. You just pay a fee per transaction, which start from 0.5% + £0.02 per transaction for Revolut Pay.

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Clover Flex

The Clover Flex is a credit card reader that you pair with iOS and Android devices, so you can use it anywhere you have wifi or a phone signal. You can either provide digital receipts via the built-in printer or send them to customers’ email addresses.

Other features include 24/7 support and a battery life that lasts eight hours or around 130 transactions (with a charging time of one hour).

Fees: Pricing is customised based on projected turnover and average transaction values. Contact the sales team for a quote.

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Elavon Mobile

Elavon Mobile is a pocket-sized card reader that works with a wifi or mobile connection. The funds you make out on the road will be in your bank account within 24 hours.

The portable card reader is ideal for festivals and events and comes with a POS smartphone app. Features include reporting, business analytics and the ability to issue receipts via email and SMS. You can add and manage 100 products in your product catalogue.

Fees: There’s a one-off device cost of just £5, but nothing to pay monthly. Transaction fees start at 1.75 per cent.

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Shopify

The Shopify POS system can act as a terminal, barcode scanner and card reader. Shopify states that its car reader has a ‘long battery life’ which isn’t very specific, but it seems once fully charged (which takes between two and three hours), the machine can handle a whole day of selling – ideal if you’re heading to an event for the day.

If you choose this reader, just be sure to have Shopify Payments for your store for it to link to.

Fees: The Wisepad 3 card reader costs £59, or you can hook the system into your smartphone (iPhone or Android) for free. The full Shopify POS system with terminal is £239.

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Square

With the tiny portable Square reader, you can accept chip and PIN and contactless cards as well as Google Pay and Apple Pay from anywhere.

It’s a very quick set-up, so you can start taking payments swiftly – great if you land an events stall at the last moment.

The money will drop into your account the next working day or but there’s an option for this to be instant with Square’s instant deposit feature, which incurs a 1 per cent fee.

Fees: 1.75 per cent + VAT per chip and PIN or contactless payment and 2.5 per cent + VAT per keyed-in transaction. The reader is £19 plus VAT and Square’s POS app is free.

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SumUp Solo Lite

The Solo Lite model can take contactless, chip and PIN, Google Pay and Apple Pay. One battery charge lasts over 500 transactions – or up to 12 hours.

Money is deposited into your business bank account the next day – including on weekends and holidays, which isn’t the case with a lot of the others on this list.

Fees: The Solo Lite is currently £16.80 including VAT (usually £30) with transaction fees set at a flat rate of just 1.69 per cent and no monthly fee. If you subscribe to the Payments Plus plan (£19 per month), you pay a cheaper 0.99 per cent transaction fee.

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takepayments

The mobile payment unit from takepayments accepts Apple and Google Pay, with a next-day settlement fee. The battery lasts all day, and if you’re travelling by road between events, an in-car charger is available. Its SIM card connects to the strongest network, and like the Square reader, it’s quick to set up.

This terminal has a built-in printer so you can issue physical receipts to your customers.

Fees: Bespoke – contact takepayments for a free quote.

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Tide Card Reader / Card Reader Plus

Tide’s card readers are exclusively available to Tide business account customers.

It offers two readers, with the ‘Plus’ version costing slightly more because it has a larger tap touch display panel and provides paper receipts. Both accept all payment types and the battery lasts a full day before it needs to be charged.

Fees: The reader units cost between £159 and £199 + VAT. You can pay for the reader in monthly instalments (£17.99 a month with 0.89 per cent + 3p transaction fees) or pay as you go (no monthly fee, 1.5 per cent + 5p transaction fees).

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Worldpay

The Worldpay POS mobile terminal connects to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for remote transactions. It has an extended battery life, but there’s no note of average length per battery charge. You can print receipts, access sales data and insights on the Worldpay dashboard, and there’s a large touchscreen for easy navigation.

It offers various pricing models, so you can find a solution that’s cost-effective for your business model and turnover. All packages come with next-day payment settlement and no hidden fees.

Fees: £15 per month card payment terminal fee (18-month minimum hire term) with a 1.5 per cent transaction fee. Or custom pricing if your turnover exceeds £75k a year.

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PayPal POS

PayPal’s POS Card Reader only takes a few minutes to boot up and start selling. What’s more, you should see payments in your bank account within one or two working days.

Battery life is on average eight hours with a transaction every five minutes or up to 100 transactions from one charge.

Fees: PayPal has a fee of 1.75 per cent per card transaction. Like some of the other offerings, the card reader is £29 and the point-of-sale app is free.

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