Card machines for catering

Portable card payments for outside catering, weddings, corporate events, and anywhere you set up - 4G connectivity, all-day battery life, no venue Wi-Fi needed.

Common challenges

  • Venues rarely have reliable Wi-Fi for your card machine
  • Battery needs to last through a full event service
  • Losing sales when guests or clients don't carry cash
  • Need to take payment on-site at weddings, parties, and corporate events
  • Seasonal and variable trading makes fixed monthly fees hard to justify
  • Want to take deposits and final payments on the spot

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Recommended solutions

PAX A800

Portable/countertop Android terminal with 5.7-inch touchscreen and Payment & POS functionality. Built-in Wi-Fi & 4G connectivity, along with thermal printing. Includes merchant branding on-screen, an intuitive over-the-phone payment flow, on-board POS features, and is configurable for full POS integration.

  • 5.7-inch HD touchscreen
  • Built-in printer
  • Wi-Fi & 4G
  • Contactless, Chip & Pin, over-the-phone
  • Fast contactless transacting
  • Integrates with its provider's own POS only
  • Android POS and payments
Contract
negotiable

PAX A920

Portable/countertop Android terminal with 4.9-inch touchscreen, built-in Wi-Fi & 4G connectivity, and thermal printing. Its form-factor means it's ideal when payments need to be taken away from the counter. Easily handles over-the-phone payments, and is configurable for full POS integration with many third-party POS systems.

  • 4.9-inch HD touchscreen
  • Built-in printer
  • Wi-Fi and 4G connectivity
  • Contactless, Chip & Pin, over-the-phone
  • Can be integrated with multiple POS systems
  • Android payment-only terminal
Contract
negotiable

Why caterers choose uno

Catering often means working in someone else’s space - marquees, village halls, corporate venues, private gardens, festival fields. You can’t rely on venue Wi-Fi, you can’t run cables, and you need payments to work first time, every time. That’s as true for the wedding catering circuit in Somerset - barn weddings, marquee receptions, village hall hires - as it is anywhere else.

We set up caterers with portable terminals that work on 4G, last a full service, and process payments fast - so you can focus on the food, not the technology.

Works at any venue

4G connectivity means your card machine works in a marquee, a field, a village hall, or a client’s garden. No venue Wi-Fi needed, no asking the host for the password. Mid Wales caterers working remote venues need an extra layer of thinking on top - the 4G itself can’t be assumed, so we plan a fallback before the booking is taken, not after.

All-day battery life for long events

Wedding breakfasts that run into evening receptions. Corporate events with drinks service. Festival weekends. We recommend terminals with proven all-day battery life so you’re covered from setup to pack-down.

Deposits and final payments

Many caterers take a deposit when booking and the balance on the day. A portable terminal means you can take both card payments on-site - no invoicing, no chasing, no “I’ll transfer you tomorrow”.

Flexible for seasonal work

Catering is seasonal by nature - busy summers, quiet Januaries. We offer solutions with flexible terms so you’re not paying through the months when the phone isn’t ringing.

What you get from uno

  • A portable terminal built for venue-to-venue catering
  • 4G connectivity - works at any location
  • All-day battery life for continuous service
  • Flexible terms that suit seasonal and variable trading
  • On-site setup and UK-based support

Common questions from catering owners

I can't rely on the WiFi at the venues I cater at. Will an uno card machine work?

That's exactly why we suggest 4G terminals for caterers. The modern card machines that we recommend connect to all of the mobile data networks without needing the venue's Wi-Fi at all. Whether you're in a marquee, a village hall, or a private garden, as long as there's mobile signal, you can take card payments.

Can I take a deposit when a client books using their card?

Yes. Process whatever deposit you deem appropriate. The terminal handles it as a standard card payment. You can also take deposits over the phone using the MOTO function if the client books by phone. Then typically you'd settle the balance with a second transaction on the day of the event.

Catering is seasonal - am I paying fees through the quiet winter months?

With some providers, there's no monthly fee - you only pay the processing rate when you transact. In a quiet January or February, the terminal costs you nothing. We specifically compare options that suit seasonal trading patterns, so you're not paying through the months when the phone doesn't ring.

General questions about uno
Which card machine is right for my business?

The right card machine depends on how the business trades. A fine-dining restaurant in Covent Garden, a market trader at Glasgow's Barras and a pub beside Cardiff Arms Park take payments in completely different ways, and no single machine suits all three. uno starts by understanding how a business actually operates, and only then recommends - from a range of providers rather than from one.

Do all the card machines uno recommends take contactless?

Yes, every one of them. Apple Pay, Google Pay and contactless cards are accepted as standard on every machine uno recommends; contactless is how most UK customers now pay, and every machine features it as standard.

Will I be able to take 'over-the-phone' payments?

For most merchants, yes - available on-screen along with contactless and Chip & Pin. The small minority of high-risk business-types that are not offered over-the-phone payments by default are the exception - for the vast majority, 'over-the-phone' payments will be offered as standard.

How can we process refunds?

From the card machine, in a few taps. Refund a sale on the same day and it is cancelled outright, with the money never leaving the customer's account; refund it after the provider's daily cut-off and the customer's bank typically takes 3-5 days to return it. Every machine uno recommends handles both, and the difference is only in how quickly the customer sees the money.

Is PCI compliance as much of a chore as it is with my current provider?

With several of the providers uno works with the merchant does nothing at all, because the provider handles PCI on their behalf; with the others it is a few minutes once a year. Nobody uno works with makes it complicated, and uno tells a merchant which they are getting before anything is signed.

How long does it take to get set up?

Most businesses are up and running within a few days. uno handles the installation and configuration, then walks the merchant and their staff through everything.

Ready to choose the right card machine?

We make the effort to understand how you operate, and only then recommend the solution that's right for your business - not the provider's.

Get Started 07395 451520