SumUp's Payments Plus plan makes one clean financial change: your in-person rate drops from 1.69% to 0.99%, and you pay £19 a month for the privilege. Like every flat-fee-vs-percentage decision, it's pure volume maths — and the crossover is a specific number.
You save 0.70 percentage points on every card payment; the saving covers the fee when 0.007 × takings = £19, i.e. at £2,714 of card takings a month. Below that, standard SumUp is cheaper; above it, every extra pound of takings puts 0.7p back in your pocket.
| Monthly card takings | Standard (1.69%) | Payments Plus | Plus saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1,000 | £16.90 | £28.90 | −£12.00 |
| £2,714 | £45.87 | £45.87 | £0 (break-even) |
| £5,000 | £84.50 | £68.50 | £16.00 |
| £10,000 | £169.00 | £118.00 | £51.00 |
Annualising a seasonal business: a maker who takes £4,000/month in November–December and £800/month the rest of the year averages £1,333 — under the line, despite two glorious months over it. If the plan can be toggled monthly, switching on for peak season is the sophisticated move; check the current terms on cancellation notice before assuming. Counting all revenue instead of card revenue: the crossover applies to card takings only — cash sales, online sales through other channels, and marketplace payouts don't count.
£2,714/month of card takings puts you in the volume territory where Zettle offers unpublished custom pricing (their published trigger is around £10,000/month, but asking costs nothing) and where dedicated merchant accounts with interchange-plus pricing start to undercut all the app-based readers. Payments Plus is the easy published win; it may not be the ceiling.
Rates verified August 2026; check SumUp's current pricing and plan terms before subscribing. Not affiliated with SumUp; no referral links. Not financial advice.