SumUp Review: Free Payment App Best for Low-volume Sales

One of SumUp’s best features is its two-step, easy sign up process, which includes ordering a card reader and registering for a SumUp account.

Click on any one of the “Sign Up” or “Get Started” buttons on the SumUp website, and it will take you to a page where you can purchase a card reader. This step takes precedence because the email address you provide during your purchase will be assigned as your SumUp username, while your valid phone number will be used to send you a 4-digit activation code. You will be requested to set up an account password as well.

Once this is done, you can login to activate your SumUp account—it is highly advised you do this before you receive your card reader. Log in to the SumUp app on your mobile device or on your desktop via the SumUp Dashboard and provide the activation code.

If you already have a card reader, you can proceed to creating a login by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.
(Source: SumUp)

Expect your card reader within three to four business days, and complete the registration by setting up your card reader. You will then be required to provide the following information:

• Legal type and business category
• Business name and address
• List of beneficial owners
• Contact information of authorized signatories
• Personal information such as a personal address and date of birth
• Bank account in the country in which you operate your business

At this stage, most businesses can be verified by SumUp’s electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) system through the given business identity and address. However, there are some instances where SumUp’s team will request additional documents for verification. These may include

• Personal identification such as a passport picture and signature page or driver’s license
• Utility bills from the last six months or bank statements to serve as proof of address
• Invoices, company credit card or bank statements, and company website as proof of business.

Until this is resolved, unverified accounts may be limited to a certain processing volume.

SumUp Terms and Conditions

A closer look at SumUp’s terms and conditions shows a pretty straightforward agreement with standard terms you will find with similar providers—such as credit checks for verification, prohibited products and services according to card networks rules, and PCI compliance.

However, you may also want to ask SumUp about the following stipulations:

• Administrative fee of up to $200 for attempting to process invalid/illegal transactions
• Additional fees that may be applied when using third-party services
• At any given time, implement a temporary hold of funds and set up reserves at SumUp’s sole discretion.
• Policy for account inactivity and proceeds of funds from inactive accounts

SumUp comes with a free payment app that you can download on your Android and iOS device. It lets you accept swiped, EMV, and contactless card payments from all major credit cards, including Google Pay and Apple Pay, and invoices and gift cards through both mobile and virtual terminals. Depending on roles and permissions, it gives you and your staff access to tools for accepting payments, processing sales, viewing or managing inventory, creating invoices, and more.

SumUp can add tips, issue refunds, or assign and adjust tax rates for your products and services.
(Source: SumUp App on Google Play)

SumUp has its own proprietary credit card reader. There are two variants that are both capable of accepting swiped, chip, and NFC transactions for credit and debit cards from all major credit cards.

The standalone terminals also have the ability to accept payments for invoices and gift cards. You can send digital receipts through SMS or email, or opt to connect your terminal to a Bluetooth printer for printed receipts. Your receipts can also be customized through SumUp’s app by updating your contact details and adding a custom logo and message.

SumUp’s dashboard is available when you log in to your SumUp account from a desktop. As with the mobile app, it provides you with the ability to process payments, create and send invoices, and request for support. It shows you your total sales revenue, which you can filter according to your preferred time frame or by employee. You can also get a quick analysis of your transaction history along with basic business activity reports.

The virtual terminal is also accessible from the dashboard. It allows you to accept card payments by entering the card details on your phone or computer if a card reader is unavailable. However, interested users will have to contact customer support to access this feature.

SumUp’s virtual terminal can be accessed through the dashboard to process remote payments.
(Source: SumUp)

Both SumUp’s mobile app and dashboard give you access to its invoicing features. This allows you to create, send, and track all your invoices in one place. You can also include a payment link in your invoices so that your customers can easily send you payments. The process is pretty simple and comes with a preview function that you can use before sending out to your clients.

SumUp Invoicing is available both on the mobile app and on the dashboard.
(Source: SumUp)

Adding employee accounts allows you to process multiple transactions simultaneously without giving them access to make changes to sensitive information such as owner profile and bank details.

The employee management feature lets you create and manage permissions, with each employee profile having a unique log in, password, and email connected to the account. Employees then are able to process payments and view their sales history. However, permissions for employees are the same and limited to processing sales, accepting payments, and viewing their sales history.

The Product Catalog can be found in SumUp’s mobile app and provides you with tools to access basic inventory management features. This includes adding products, categories ,and variants.

SumUp offers a step-by-step guide to building your catalog, from creating categories to adding items in its knowledge base. You can even accept payments from the product catalog tab. Using this feature also enables the sales tax function, which lets you assign sales tax rates.

Items are listed in alphabetical order, with options to add color labels on each category for visual cue and faster transaction processing.
(Source: SumUp)

SumUp processes payouts daily at no extra cost and tracks the transfer progress from your dashboard. You can also contact customer support if you prefer a different frequency for your payouts.

Tracking payouts starts when you receive an email notification that your funds have been sent to your bank account, which you can then monitor on your dashboard. SumUp will also provide you with daily and monthly payout reports

Once SumUp offers its banking features in the US, users will have access to next-day funding by directly linking their sales to their SumUp accounts.

SumUp offers free customization tools for digital gift cards from the SumUp app, which you can then share with your customers through a designated link. You can apply different gift card amounts, as well as discounts, and even create designs that your customers can choose from. These gift cards use the same level of security for all of SumUp’s payment processing, so you can assure your customers that they are safe to use.

However, not all businesses are qualified to offer and sell gift cards. You will need to contact customer support if you do not find the option on your app.

You can send digital receipts through SMS or email, or opt to connect your terminal to a Bluetooth printer for printed receipts. Your receipts can also be customized through SumUp’s app by updating your contact details and adding a custom logo and message.