Zeller Terminal

Chip and PIN machines for UK businesses

However your customers choose to pay, Zeller Terminal handles it with overnight settlement and zero monthly fees.

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Why Zeller Terminal is the premium Chip and PIN machine for UK businesses

Beyond price, there are several factors UK businesses should evaluate when choosing a Chip and PIN machine:

Connectivity

Zeller Terminal can connect to Wi-Fi, 4G SIM, and Ethernet, ensuring you're never unable to take a payment due to a single network failing.

Settlement speed

Zeller settles funds overnight into a free Zeller Business Account, or the next business day into a third-party bank account

Contract terms

With Zeller, you're not locked into any contract, which means you have the freedom to switch if your needs change.

Fee transparency

Zeller charges one low fee of 1.3% per transaction for all domestic Visa and Mastercard payments, with no monthly fees.

Free POS included

Zeller Terminal comes with Zeller POS Lite built in at no extra cost, enabling you to create items, build a cart or order, and take payment.

Security certification

Zeller Terminal is built to the PCI Level 1 standard — the highest level of payment security certification available.

Types of Chip and PIN machines: which is right for your business?

Not all Chip and PIN machines are configured the same way, and the right choice depends on how and where your business operates.

Zeller - Terminal 2 in white at event bar

Mobile Chip and PIN machines

These machines use an integrated SIM card to connect over a 4G cellular network, so they can process payments anywhere with mobile coverage. These are the most versatile option for businesses that trade on the move: tradespeople, market traders, food trucks, taxi drivers, and mobile service providers.

Zeller POS with Terminal 1 in clothing store

Countertop Chip and PIN machines

These are wired devices designed for fixed checkout points. They connect via Ethernet for maximum reliability and are best suited to high-volume environments with a permanent front desk or till point, such as larger retail stores or busy hospitality venues with a fixed bar or reception.

Portable Chip and PIN machines

These machines connect wirelessly via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and can move freely around a premises without a fixed cable connection. They are ideal for tableside payments in restaurants, roaming sales assistants in retail, or any environment where customers shouldn't need to come to a fixed counter to pay.

Zeller Terminal combines Wi-Fi, 4G SIM, and Ethernet connectivity in a single handheld device.

Plus, Zeller Terminal 1x adds a built-in thermal receipt printer for businesses that need printed receipts on the go, while Zeller Terminal 2 features a sleek, modern design for businesses where the checkout experience is front and centre.

How much does a Chip and PIN machine cost?

Many Chip and PIN machines are offered on a monthly subscription model, with a recurring rental fee and a custom transaction rate based on your turnover. While providers often advertise lower transaction rates under this model, the monthly rental fee frequently offsets any savings — and minimum contract terms mean you're locked in regardless of how much, or how little, you trade.

At Zeller we keep things simple

Zeller Terminal is purchased outright with pay-as-you-go transaction fees

You buy the hardware upfront (£99 for Terminal 1x or £149 for Terminal 2)
Every time a customer makes a purchase you pay a 1.3%* transaction fee
There are no monthly fees, lock-in contracts, and no setup costs

This model works well for businesses of all sizes, particularly those that want to avoid long-term contracts and fixed monthly overheads.

*For domestic Visa and Mastercard card present payments. All other card payments cost 1.99%. Phone and manually entered transactions start from 1.5%.

Why Chip and PIN is still essential

Contactless payments now account for the majority of in-person card transactions in the UK, but Chip and PIN remains a critical fallback and primary authentication method.

Contactless normally has a per-transaction limit of £100. Any payment above this threshold requires Chip and PIN authentication. For retail, hospitality, and service businesses processing higher-value transactions regularly, Chip and PIN is not optional.

Card issuers periodically require cardholders to authenticate via Chip and PIN after a series of consecutive contactless payments, as a fraud prevention measure. A terminal that cannot accept Chip and PIN will be unable to process these transactions.

Older cards, some international cards, and customers who have disabled contactless on their account will always require Chip and PIN as an alternative. A contactless machine that accepts Chip and PIN, ensures no customer is ever turned away.

See why Zeller Terminal is the leading Chip and PIN machine in the UK

Zeller's Chip and PIN machine helps us manage busy service periods much more smoothly. We can take multiple payments quickly, the built-in split payment feature saves the team a huge amount of time during peak service.

Tuncay Acka, Schnitzel Heaven
Hoxton, UK

Zeller Terminal fits perfectly with the look and feel of our shop. It's slim, modern, and far more stylish than traditional Chip and PIN machines.

Djihan Chagasz, Ferro Velho
London, UK

Running across busy markets in Camden and Covent Garden, you need payments to be quick and reliable. Zeller's Chip and PIN machine has been simple for the team to use, works well across multiple locations, and keeps things running smoothly during busy trading periods.

Ranjan Gulati, Hide & Skin
London, UK

Frequently asked questions

A Chip and PIN machine is a payment terminal that reads the embedded microchip on a customer's debit or credit card and requires them to enter a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) to authorise the transaction. Introduced in the UK in 2006 as part of the EMV standard (named after its original developers Europay, Mastercard, and Visa), Chip and PIN replaced magnetic stripe swiping as the primary method of authenticating in-person card payments and remains the most widely used card payment method in the UK today.

Modern Chip and PIN machines do far more than process a single payment type. Today's terminals also accept contactless payments via NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, and in some cases magnetic stripe cards for legacy compatibility. For UK businesses, a Chip and PIN machine is the foundational tool for accepting in-person payments securely and reliably.

When a customer inserts their card into a Chip and PIN machine, the terminal reads the encrypted data stored on the card's EMV microchip. Unlike a magnetic stripe, which stores static data that can be copied and cloned, the chip generates a unique, one-time transaction code for every payment — making it significantly harder to counterfeit or replicate.

Once the card is read, the customer enters their PIN, which is verified either locally on the terminal or against the card issuer's systems via a secure network connection. The transaction is then authorised and processed in seconds, with funds settled into the merchant's account according to the provider's settlement schedule.

This two-factor authentication — something you have (the card) and something you know (the PIN) — is what makes Chip and PIN considerably more secure than magnetic stripe swiping, which relies on a single static data point and a signature that is rarely verified in practice.

Chip and PIN uses EMV microchip technology combined with a four-digit PIN for two-factor authentication. It is the standard method for higher-value transactions and is required when a contactless payment is declined or exceeds the contactless limit.

Contactless uses NFC technology to allow customers to tap their card or mobile device to complete a payment without entering a PIN. In the UK, the contactless limit is currently £100 per transaction. Zeller Terminal supports contactless payments from all major card schemes as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Magnetic stripe stores card data on a static magnetic strip on the back of the card. It offers no dynamic authentication and is considered significantly less secure than EMV chip technology. Magnetic stripe acceptance is available on Zeller Terminal for legacy compatibility, though it is increasingly rare for UK-issued cards.

Chip and PIN machine costs in the UK vary by provider and pricing model. Buying outright typically costs between £19 and £199 + VAT depending on the device, with pay-as-you-go transaction fees ranging from around 0.8% to 1.75% for domestic Visa and Mastercard payments and no monthly charges. Monthly hire models typically start from £10 to £25 per month, often tied to a minimum contract term, with a negotiated transaction rate based on turnover. Zeller Terminal starts from £99 to purchase outright, with a flat 1.3% transaction fee on domestic Visa and Mastercard, 1.5% for manually entered transactions, and 1.99% for American Express — with no monthly fees, no PCI compliance fees, and no lock-in contracts

Magnetic stripe cards store static cardholder data on a fixed strip that can be read, copied, and cloned using widely available skimming devices. Once cloned, a counterfeit card can be used to make fraudulent transactions with little to no additional verification. EMV chip technology eliminates this vulnerability by generating a unique, cryptographically authenticated transaction code for every single payment. This dynamic data cannot be reused or replicated — even if intercepted, it is worthless for any other transaction. Combined with PIN verification as a second authentication factor, EMV Chip and PIN offers a level of security that magnetic stripe swiping fundamentally cannot match. This is why the widespread adoption of Chip and PIN in the UK led to a dramatic reduction in card-present fraud following its introduction in 2006, and why magnetic stripe is being phased out globally across major card networks.

Zeller Terminal is purchased outright — no monthly rental fees, no joining fees, and no PCI compliance charges. There are two terminal models to choose from:

Zeller Terminal 1x: £99 ex VAT
Zeller Terminal 2: £149 ex VAT

Transaction fees are flat-rate and fully transparent:

1.3% for in-person domestic Visa and Mastercard payments
1.5% for MOTO (mail order and telephone order) payments
1.99% for American Express and all other cards

For UK small businesses, choosing the right chip and PIN machine is the foundation of a professional, secure and efficient checkout. Customers expect to tap, insert, or scan their card without a second thought — but behind that convenience, your business needs the security of EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa) chip technology and a card machine reliable enough to keep taking payments, whatever the connection. Zeller's smart payment terminals combine that infrastructure with a 1.3% transaction fee (for domestic Visa and Mastercard payments), so you're not paying over the odds for a machine that should just work.

Why EMV Chip and PIN technology is essential

Chip and PIN isn't just how a customer pays — it's a security barrier built into every transaction. Zeller terminals use EMV chip technology, which is significantly harder to clone than the old magnetic-stripe cards it replaced. Each transaction generates a unique, encrypted code that can only be used once, so even if data were intercepted, it couldn't be reused to commit fraud. Our terminals are PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant — the highest tier of payment security certification — meeting the standard UK card networks and acquiring banks require. Choosing a chip and PIN machine isn't just about accepting card payments; it's about giving customers the highest standard of protection available at checkout.

Reliability you can rely on: built for wherever you trade

A dropped connection shouldn't mean a lost sale. Zeller's card terminals include built-in 4G SIM connectivity alongside Wi-Fi and Ethernet, so you're never tied to a single network — if Wi-Fi drops out, the terminal automatically falls back to mobile data to keep transactions moving. Whether you're trading at a busy market stall, an outdoor festival, or a shop floor with patchy signal by the till, that built-in flexibility is the difference between a Chip and PIN machine that only works in ideal conditions and one built for how small businesses actually trade.

Countertop, portable or mobile: which Chip and PIN machine fits your business?

Chip and PIN machines generally fall into three types: countertop terminals that stay plugged in at a fixed till, portable terminals that connect over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth so staff can take payment away from the counter, and mobile terminals that run on a SIM connection for businesses trading away from a fixed premises entirely. Which one suits your business depends less on the label and more on how and where you take payments day to day.

Zeller covers both ends of that spectrum with two terminals, and both offer full contactless, chip and PIN, Apple Pay and Google Pay support as standard, with SIM, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity built in so you're never limited to one way of staying online. The Zeller Terminal 1x is built for mobile businesses, tradespeople and outdoor traders who need a rugged, portable card machine with a built-in receipt printer and all-day battery life — ideal for anyone taking payments on a job site, at a market stall or on the move. The Zeller Terminal 2 is designed for retail, hospitality and salon businesses that want a sleek, modern card machine at the counter, where the terminal itself is front and centre of the customer experience.

Transparent pricing: 1.3% vs the industry standard

Most pay-as-you-go card machine providers charge 1.75% or more per transaction, often on top of a monthly terminal rental. Zeller's 1.3% rate on domestic Visa and Mastercard transactions, with no monthly rental and no hidden setup fees, means more of every sale stays in your business. For a business processing £10,000 a month in card payments, that difference alone can be worth hundreds of pounds a year — a straightforward reason data-driven business owners are switching their chip and PIN machine to Zeller UK.