Card machine for your convenience store

Fast, reliable card payments for your convenience store - competitive rates on high-volume transactions, simple and sturdy.

Common challenges

  • Very high transaction volume with small average values
  • Per-transaction fees eat into already thin margins
  • Need speed — long queues lose customers
  • Terminal must be robust for constant daily use
  • Open long hours — need reliable equipment

Published:

Recommended solutions

Shift4

Pax A800

Portable/countertop Android terminal with 5.7-inch touchscreen and Payment & POS functionality. Built-in Wi-Fi & 4G connectivity, along with thermal printing. Includes merchant branding on-screen, an intuitive over-the-phone payment flow, on-board POS features, and is configurable for full POS integration.

  • 5.7-inch HD touchscreen
  • Built-in printer
  • Wi-Fi & 4G
  • Contactless, Chip & Pin, over-the-phone
  • Fast contactless transacting
  • Integrates with its provider's own POS only
  • Android POS and payments
Contract
negotiable

Dojo

Pax A920

Portable/countertop Android terminal with 4.9-inch touchscreen, built-in Wi-Fi & 4G connectivity, and thermal printing. Its form-factor means it's ideal when payments need to be taken away from the counter. Easily handles over-the-phone payments, and is configurable for full POS integration with many third-party POS systems.

  • 4.9-inch HD touchscreen
  • Built-in printer
  • Wi-Fi and 4G connectivity
  • Contactless, Chip & Pin, over-the-phone
  • Can be integrated with multiple POS systems
  • Android payment-only terminal
Contract
negotiable

Why convenience stores choose uno

Convenience stores process hundreds of transactions daily, most of them small. Speed and competitive rates aren’t nice-to-haves - they’re essential to protecting your margins.

Speed is everything

Your customers are grabbing essentials and want to pay in seconds. Fast contactless processing keeps the queue moving and customers coming back.

Rates for high volume

With hundreds of daily transactions, even a fraction of a percent difference in rates adds up over a month. We compare every provider to find the best deal for your volume.

Built to last

Your terminal runs all day, every day. We supply robust hardware that handles the volume without reliability issues.

What you get from uno

  • A terminal built for high-volume convenience retail
  • The most competitive rates for your transaction profile
  • Robust, reliable hardware
  • On-site setup and responsive support

Common questions from convenience store owners

With a high daily number of transactions but a low average basket value, which rate structure saves the most?

For a busy store doing hundreds of transactions each day its critical to do a full comparison of the true TOTAL cost - accounting for all 'per transaction' fees and additional monthly charges that often get missed when only focusing on the lowest possible transaction rate.

We do 300+ card transactions a day, so which card machine would be best for us?

Both the Pax A800 and A920 are built for sustained high-volume use, so a busy processing 300–400 transactions daily won't see any slowdown, as they're designed with this kind of constant use in mind.

Are we allowed to refuse transactions below our 'minimum spend for cards'?

Minimum spend policies aren't illegal, but card schemes like Visa and Mastercard prohibit them in their merchant agreements - meaning you could risk losing your card acceptance if a provider enforces the rules. But the better question is why you'd need a 'minimum spend' policy when there are solutions that charge a tiny percentage of the sale - typically around 1%. A refused card doesn't just lose that sale - research consistently shows that customer won't come back.

We're open 6am to 11pm. What time do we do our 'End-Of-Day'?

None of the solutions that uno recommends require you to do an 'End-Of-Day', as modern machines run an overnight batch settlement - which happens automatically without any user involvement. But of course you can do your own End-Of-Day report on each machine, anytime you wish - in addition to having instant access to all of your transactional data at any time, from anywhere.

General questions about uno
Which card machine is right for my business?

It really does depend on how your business operates - there's no one 'best solution' for all, as a Fine Dining restaurant in Covent Garden has completely different operational requirements to a Market Trader in Glasgow's bustling Barras, or a Cardiff Arms Park pub. We make the effort to truly understand how your business actually operates - before recommending the best solution from a range of providers, not just one.

How much does a card machine cost?

It varies by provider and model. With some providers, your first card machine comes with no upfront cost, no monthly rental, and no per-transaction fees - so your only cost is the processing rate on each sale you make. Additional terminals - or those from other providers - may well carry rental or per-transaction fees. The exact cost depends on your terminal type, provider, and monthly card turnover. Because uno works across multiple providers, we compare the real-world, overall costs and then find the most competitive deal for your specific situation.

How long will it take for me to receive my takings?

We know for many UK independent businesses cashflow is a daily struggle. We can offer various options, with settlement times ranging next morning, to the full three days it takes providers to actually receive your customers money. Whatever your working requirements are, we'll find the ideal solution to match those needs.

Do all uno card machines accept contactless payments?

Yes. Every payment terminal we recommend accepts contactless payments, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and standard contactless cards. Contactless is now the default way most customers pay in the UK.

Will I be able to take 'over-the-phone' payments?

For most merchant-types this will be offered as a default payment option, available on-screen along with contactless and Chip & Pin. There are a small number of exceptional businesses operational-types where this is not the case - but for most, 'over-the-phone' payments will be offered as standard.

How can we process refunds?

Any terminal uno suggests would allow you to easily identify the original transaction. If still within the same day as the sale, then the transaction could then be 'voided'(aka 'reversed'). Voids/Reverses are typically instantaneous. However, if that trading day's 'banking window' had closed (typically at Midnight) then it would technically be classed as a 'refund' - which would then be subject to the bank's standard 3-5 day processing timeframe to complete.

Will we need to do complicated PCI compliance like we do with our current provider?

The great news for you is none of the providers uno works with have complicated anything! For those that require PCI of any sort at all, it really is a simple, painless process that just takes a few minutes per year!

Am I locked into a contract?

Not with every provider. Several of the solutions we offer have no long-term contract - you can switch or cancel without penalty. We'll always be upfront about contract terms before suggesting you commit to anything.

How long does it take to get set up?

Most businesses are up and running within a few days. We handle the supply, installation, and configuration so you can focus on serving your customers. We walk you through everything on-site - so you're confident from day one.

Why go through uno instead of going direct to a provider?

Going direct means you only see a single provider's products, at a single provider's prices. Because uno works across multiple providers, we can genuinely compare options and recommend the solution that suits your business - not just the only one we happen to sell! You also get a dedicated point of contact for ongoing support.

Ready to find the right card machine?

We make the effort to understand how your business works, and only then recommend the solution that genuinely fits - not the one with the biggest commission.

Get Started 07395 451520