Card machines for market traders

Mobile, battery-powered, and 4G connected - card machines that go wherever your stall does.

Common challenges

  • No reliable Wi-Fi at your market pitch
  • Losing sales because you can only take cash
  • Current card machine battery doesn't last a full market day
  • Expensive monthly fees that don't make sense for your turnover
  • Need something robust that survives a market environment

Published:

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

Solo

Compact, buy-outright card machine with Wi-Fi and 4G connectivity. No monthly fees, no contract - just a one-off hardware cost and a simple flat transaction rate. Ideal for very low volume merchants.

  • 3.5-inch greyscale touchscreen
  • Wi-Fi and multi-network 4G
  • Contactless, Chip & Pin, Payment-Links
  • No monthly fees
  • No contract
  • Buy outright - yours to keep
Contract
No contract

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 market traders choose uno

Market traders need solid simplicity - card machines that work without mains power or Wi-Fi. Whether you operate indoors, outdoors, move between locations, you need a terminal that keeps up with the bustle of a busy market day - from start to finish.

We understand the market trader’s setup because we’ve worked with hundreds of pitches across the country - including the weekly trader rotations through Somerset’s market towns - and seen what actually works in the field - sometimes quite literally, in a field!

4G connectivity

Any solution we’d recommend will be tried and tested as being rock-solid on 4G - so no more depending on slow, shared Market Wi-Fi - if it exists at all. Providing there’s a mobile signal from any of the multiple UK networks (there almost always is) then you’ll be able to reliably take card payments independently. It’s the same kit stallholders trading the Mid Wales market towns rely on when network coverage refuses to play ball.

Battery life

The Pax models runs on a rechargeable batteries designed for a full trading day - particularly the A800, which has the best battery life of all.

Tough enough for markets

These terminals are built for real-world market trader use. Compact, portable, and robust enough to handle the knocks of a typical market setup. The built-in printer means instant receipts without extra equipment.

Accepting every payment type

D transactions from customers who don’t carry cash.

What you get from uno

  • Advice on the best portable terminal for your specific market setup
  • Competitive rates compared across multiple providers
  • A terminal that works on 4G - no Wi-Fi dependency
  • Ongoing UK-based human support

Common questions from market trader owners

Will it work anywhere as I trade at three different markets during the week?

Yes. Any terminal we'd recommend will work wherever you trade. It can connect via WiFi too but for most traders it's all about having a reliable mobile connection to the 4G data networks - so it works at any market. All card machines that we recommend have been fully tested in the field - often, quite literally in a field!

What if there's no phone signal at the market?

Whenever we check for signal quality, we find most UK markets have 4G cover from a few of the mobile networks - even if our customer's own phone can't get a signal there. Any solution we'd recommend would work on any UK network, and in practice we've rarely had an issue when setting up traders at indoor or outdoor markets, car boot sales, and livestock markets across the country. If you trade at a specific market with known signal problems, we're the experts to advise on the best option!

I trade from 6am to 4pm at the market - will the battery last?

Yes. The portable terminals we recommend are rated for a full day's trading. A market trader making a few hundred transactions over a 10-hour day will have no issue with battery life. Charge it overnight and it's ready for the next market day.

I trade from an outdoor stall - will the card machine work in the rain?

No payment terminals are truly IP-rated for extreme use, but traders use them in outdoor markets across the country every day - without issues. Any portable terminals we recommend will be suitable for real-world use - including in less-than-ideal circumstances. In practice most greengrocers and market stall operators keep the terminal under their canopy or awning - the same way as you'd protect your scales or till.

Most of my customers still pay cash - should I bother with a card machine?

The proportion of cash payments is falling every year, and it's happening faster than most traders realise. Even if cash is still dominant today, the customers you're losing - the ones who walk past because they don't carry coins - are invisible to you. Getting a card machine isn't replacing cash; it's capturing the sales you're currently missing.

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