Aug 29, 2025
Card payments are expected in everyday small business life
Modern EC devices for small businesses are quick to set up and easy to use
Costs arise from purchase and transaction fees
Purchase or rent: depending on usage, budget and flexibility
Mollie offers flexible EC solutions – with or without a contract.
Offering card payments is now almost indispensable for many industries, from kiosks to food trucks to restaurants. The EHI study ‘Payment Systems in Retail 2025’ shows that customers increasingly want to pay cashless. 63.5% of sales were generated with card payments in 2024.
For you as a retailer, this means that with the right EC device for your business or one of the modern EC devices for small businesses, you can respond flexibly to customer requests and increase sales. Especially in an environment where cashless payments are becoming a customer expectation for small businesses, a modern solution gives you a clear competitive advantage.
Small business owners who want to accept card payments in particular benefit from EC devices, which offer greater planning security and lower risks compared to handling cash. At the same time, you should keep an eye on the advantages and disadvantages of EC cash payments for businesses in order to choose the best solution for your company.
There are also flexible options for technical implementation today: for example, those who want to accept card payments by mobile phone often come across providers such as SumUp when researching. SumUp alternatives such as Tap to Pay with Mollie offer additional advantages – such as integration into existing systems or processing without long-term commitments. This allows you to retain full control over your business.
Practical tip: Get started easily by testing one of the mobile EC devices or a tap-to-pay solution. This allows you to check how often your customers pay by card without much effort – and then make targeted investments.
Transparent costs are the basis for good decisions – including when it comes to payments. If you want to offer card payments in your shop, you should be aware of the most important price points:
the purchase of the device
possible basic fees
transaction costs per payment
The cost structure is particularly important for retailers with a small team or fluctuating customer numbers.
Example: Compact EC devices for small businesses and mobile use cost around £100 – plus fees of between 0.9% and 2.5% per transaction, depending on the provider. You can find a detailed overview in our card payment fee comparison.
When choosing the right payment device, sooner or later the question arises: should you buy or rent an EC terminal? The following overview shows how the two models differ – depending on your budget, flexibility and term.
Model | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
Buy | - One-off investment - No monthly fees | - Higher initial costs - Less flexible in technical terms |
Rent | - Low initial costs - Device replacement and support often included | - Ongoing fixed costs - Contract commitment possible |
Simple, flexible solutions are particularly worthwhile for those just starting out – EC devices for small businesses that do not require a commitment and can be easily adapted to changing requirements.
If you want to remain flexible, you don't need long contracts or complex technology. With Mollie, you can use modern EC devices for small businesses without fixed terms or bureaucratic hurdles. Getting started is easy in three simple steps:
Register – Open your Mollie account in just a few minutes and enter your company details.
Select a solution – Choose one of our mobile EC devices or Tap to Pay directly via smartphone.
Accept payments – Get started right away and manage everything conveniently in the Mollie app.
Particularly practical: with the pay-as-you-go model, you pay no basic fee and use exactly what you really need. Ideal for businesses with seasonal trade or irregular payments.
For those who sell more frequently, it's also worth taking a look at the optional Pro model with a 12-month term: here you benefit from lower transaction fees – with full functionality of the EC devices for small businesses. A classic contract is therefore possible, but not necessary – this means that Mollie remains as flexible as possible even with EC devices without a contract.
When you pay by card, a technically coordinated process is triggered in the background. For merchants, the process is simple – modern EC devices for small businesses handle all the communication. Essentially, every payment is completed in five steps:
Start payment
The customer enters their card details or holds their card up to the EC device for the transaction – contactless or with a PIN. This triggers the payment.
Request to the acquirer
The device sends the payment data via the payment service provider to the acquirer – the credit institution that provides technical support to the merchant.
Verification by the issuer
The acquirer forwards the request to the issuer – the customer's bank. There, they check whether the card is valid, whether the amount is available and whether the payment appears secure.
Approval or rejection
If the payment meets all criteria, the issuer approves it. If not, for example due to insufficient funds or suspected fraud, it is rejected.
Complete payment
The acquirer informs the EC terminal of the decision. If the payment is successful, the amount is credited to the merchant's account – usually minus any fees.
This process is fully automated. Modern EC devices for small businesses ensure that everything runs securely, quickly and reliably in the background – without any additional effort in day-to-day business.
Not all EC devices for small businesses are the same. If you want to offer cashless payment, you should first consider which requirements really matter in everyday life: Fixed location or mobile use? Wired or independent of the power grid? Choosing the right solution is particularly important for small businesses.
The following table shows the differences between the available EC devices at a glance:
Device type | Location of use | Power supply | Size | Flexibility | Ease of use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Classic EC terminal | Fixed location | Mains conntection | Medium | Low – permanently installed | High – with buttons & display |
Mobile device | Flexible / mobile | Battery | Compact | High – can be used anywhere | HIgh – depending on the model |
App-based solution | Maximum flexibility | Smartphone battery | Very compact | Very high – without additional device | High – via smartphone |
For many retailers, compact, mobile devices are the first choice – especially when space is limited or payments need to be accepted on the go. EC devices for small businesses score points for their ease of use, low entry barrier and high flexibility in day-to-day business.
Small businesses looking to integrate card payments in an uncomplicated way will find these variants to be a powerful and modern solution – without any great effort.
The requirements of small businesses for a payment system are clear: it must be simple, affordable and reliable. This is exactly where modern EC devices for small businesses come in. After all, those who often work alone or with a small team in their everyday lives have no time for complicated technology or confusing fee models.
Size and operation play a key role here. Small, intuitive devices or app-based solutions offer the necessary flexibility – whether at the counter, in the salesroom or on the go. Clarity is also important when it comes to costs: no hidden fixed costs, no long-term contracts. A transparent fee structure with fair transaction prices that match the business volume is also important.
Another criterion is payouts. Merchants expect their money to arrive quickly and reliably – without any detours. Integration into existing systems is equally crucial: POS software, accounting or mobile devices should be able to connect seamlessly.
With Mollie Tap to Pay or a compact Mollie Tap terminal, you can meet these requirements. You can get started quickly, pay only for actual transactions and retain full control at all times – over payments, payouts and all settings in the app.
If you want to enable card payments with your small business, you don't need a complex infrastructure – you need a solution that fits seamlessly into your everyday life. That's exactly what Mollie is made for.
An EC device makes sense for small businesses as soon as customers regularly want to pay cashless. Especially in retail, catering or mobile services, card payments increase turnover and reduce the hassle of handling cash.
To offer card payments, you need a functional EC device or a smartphone for Tap to Pay. You also need a merchant account with a payment service provider such as Mollie and a stable internet connection. No technical knowledge is required – modern solutions can be set up quickly and easily.
The cost of an EC device for small businesses consists of the purchase price, optional monthly fees and transaction costs. Entry-level models such as Mollie Tap are available from less than £50. The fees per payment are usually between 0.9% and 2.5%, depending on the provider and card type.
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