Barclaycard Payments is the UK merchant-acquiring business of Barclays Bank PLC. It provides an online payment gateway, card machines, and a virtual terminal, letting UK merchants accept cards in person, online, and by phone or mail.
Where Barclaycard Payments is used
Barclaycard Payments is a UK-focused merchant acquirer, and independent reviews place it as the UK’s second-largest (ExpertSure, 2026). Its card machines and virtual terminal are built for UK-based merchants, while Smartpay Advance’s multicurrency settlement supports larger merchants selling to customers further afield. It covers everything from face-to-face retail and hospitality through to online and phone/mail-order sales.
PSPs and merchants that want to accept payments in the UK should look at Akurateco’s guide to UK payment methods.
How Barclaycard Payments works
A merchant applies for the acceptance method it needs. It can be a card machine for face-to-face sales, a gateway for online sales, or a virtual terminal for phone or mail orders. Then, the merchant goes through Barclaycard Payments’ merchant onboarding before going live. Transactions are then authorized and processed through Barclaycard Payments’ acquiring infrastructure.
For online and phone/mail-order (MOTO) payments, Smartpay Fuse is Barclaycard Payments’ gateway for small, medium, and mid-sized corporate merchants for retail, finance, utilities, telecoms, and hospitality. It has effectively replaced Barclaycard’s older Smartpay Checkout gateway (also called ePDQ), which Barclaycard retired on 31 March 2026.
For larger merchants, Smartpay Advance is an omnichannel gateway that takes payments in-store, online, and by phone from one platform, with multicurrency settlement in more than 100 currencies (checked in September 2026).
For in-person payments, Barclaycard Payments offers a range of card machines, from the pay-as-you-go Smartpay Anywhere pocket reader to the enterprise-grade Connect+ Trinity range, covering countertop, portable, and mobile use.
Merchant requirements and setup basics
Common requirements for taking payments with Barclaycard Payments are:
- Merchant application and approval
- A payout bank account to receive settlement
- PCI DSS compliance for card machines and the online gateways
- A separate Amex merchant agreement, which Barclaycard Payments can arrange, if you want to accept American Express
- For Smartpay Fuse or Smartpay Advance, API credentials and a sandbox account to test before going live
Fees, refunds, and settlement
As of September 2026, Barclaycard Payments doesn’t publish per-transaction rates for its two online gateways. Smartpay Fuse and Smartpay Advance are both quoted individually once a merchant applies. Scheme-level costs that may be added on top of Barclaycard Payments’ own fees are set out in its interchange rates and scheme fee guide.
Card readers are priced by model rather than at a flat rate. Smartpay Anywhere is a one-off £29 (+VAT), while Smartpay Touch and the portable/countertop readers operate on monthly fees of £16-£29 (+VAT) after an initial fee-free period, each on its own contract term.
Merchants can refund a card payment in full or in part through the Smartpay app or portal. Money taken through a card reader can reach the merchant’s account as soon as the next working day.
Pros and cons of Barclaycard Payments
Pros:
- One provider covers in-person, online, and phone/mail card acceptance, backed by Barclays
- Smartpay Advance settles in 100+ currencies, useful for larger merchants selling across borders
- A no-contract, pay-as-you-go card reader is available for very small or new merchants
Cons:
- Smartpay Fuse and Smartpay Advance publish no pricing at all, not even a monthly fee, so merchants only learn the cost after a sales callback
- Card readers publish a monthly fee, but the per-transaction rate is still quoted individually for every model, so the real running cost isn’t clear until you apply
Using Barclaycard Payments in a multi-method checkout
Barclaycard Payments is rarely a merchant’s only way to take payments. Many UK merchants keep it, or another card acquirer, for everyday card acceptance, then add other local payment methods so customers who’d rather not pay by card still have an option.
Once a merchant runs Barclaycard Payments alongside other acquirers or payment methods, operational work grows: separate dashboards, separate reporting cut-offs, separate refund processes. A payment orchestration platform helps by keeping payment monitoring and reporting in one place, so teams can compare performance across acquirers and methods, investigate declines, and keep reconciliation consistent without switching between multiple portals.
Integration via Akurateco
Akurateco helps PSPs and merchants expand payment coverage with one orchestration layer across multiple payment methods and acquiring banks. If Barclaycard Payments or another specific method is required for your use case, we can enable it upon request. Reach out to confirm options.
Note: Akurateco provides the gateway and orchestration layer on top of acquirers and does not process transactions itself.
FAQs about Barclaycard Payments
What is Barclaycard Payments?
Barclaycard Payments, part of Barclays Bank PLC, is the UK merchant-acquiring business that provides card machines, an online payment gateway, and a virtual terminal, enabling UK merchants to accept card payments in person, online, and by phone or mail.
Does Barclaycard Payments offer a payment gateway?
Yes. Barclaycard Payments offers Smartpay Fuse for small, medium, and mid-sized corporate merchants, and Smartpay Advance, an omnichannel gateway for large corporates that settles in more than 100 currencies.
What fees does Barclaycard Payments charge merchants?
There’s no published rate for the two online gateways, Smartpay Fuse and Smartpay Advance. Both are quoted individually. Card readers do publish a fee, with Smartpay Anywhere being a one-off £29 (+VAT), while Smartpay Touch, Barclaycard portable, and Barclaycard countertop charge monthly instead, from £0 for the first 12 months up to £29.
