Square v Zettle v SumUp

You will have used one of these four payment systems, even if you don’t recognise their names. Their purpose is simple: to allow merchants to accept card payments.

But getting a device like this hasn’t always been simple. It often required multi-year contracts, and purchasing—or leasing—all the required hardware could cost thousands of dollars each year.

Then, with the growth of cloud computing, Square (2009), iZettle (2010) and SumUp (2012) challenged the payment duopoly that Verifone and Ingenico had built.

I’ve signed up to all of these devices, and have forensically benchmarked, analysed and compared the experience of each one.

If you’re wondering why Ingenico isn’t included—they never bothered to return my sales calls or emails. But luckily, their offering is so similar to Verifone, that Verifone can be a proxy for both of the ‘incumbent payment systems’.

Right then, let’s get stuck in.