Merchant services
Card payment processing for crypto businesses.
How exchanges, on-ramps and other crypto businesses take card payments from customers buying cryptoassets, and what banks and processors require first.
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How exchanges, on-ramps and other crypto businesses take card payments from customers buying cryptoassets, and what banks and processors require first.
Published online rates from the major processors serving UK businesses, plus the quoted rates that only come on request. You see them side by side, on your own sales.
The short answer
Crypto payment processing, for card payments, lets an exchange, on-ramp or wallet provider take card payments from customers buying cryptoassets. UK cryptoasset businesses must register with the FCA before starting. Visa requires the payment page to show the coin, the full cost in pounds, the destination wallet and a warning that values may fluctuate. Trust Payments, Nuvei and Checkout.com publish crypto pages.
Published prices read on 27 October 2026 from each provider's own pricing page. Quote only or not published means the provider gives rates on request; we obtain those for you.
| Provider | Standard UK card rate | European and international cards | Monthly fee | Payouts | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe Source | 1.5% + 20p standard UK cards; 2.8% + 20p premium UK cards | 2.5% + 20p EEA; 3.15% + 20p international; +2% if converted | £0 | Standard free; instant 1% (min 40p); first payout 7 to 14 days | Pay as you go |
| Checkout.com Source | Quote only (interchange++) | Quote only | No setup or account fees | Not published | Not published |
| Trust Payments Source | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Nuvei Source | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
Rates are for online card payments taken by UK businesses, before VAT where the provider states it. Premium, business and non-UK cards usually cost more. Our service is free to you. We may receive a fee from the provider you choose; it never changes the price you pay.
Tell us about your business. We know which banks and processors accept your sector, prepare the application so it is read properly, and come back with the terms you can actually get. You keep a named account manager after setup.
Our service is free to you. We may receive a fee from the provider you choose; it never changes the price you pay.
People use the phrase for two different services. The first, and the subject of this page, is taking ordinary card payments from customers who are buying cryptoassets: an exchange, broker, on-ramp or wallet app that lets customers pay by Visa or Mastercard. This is a high-risk card processing account, and it needs an acquirer that has chosen to serve crypto businesses.
The second is accepting cryptocurrency as payment for goods or services, so a customer pays a shop in bitcoin or stablecoins. That is a different service with different providers; Nuvei, for example, publishes a page for accepting crypto payments. If that is what you need, tell us and we will compare those providers instead.
For card payments into crypto businesses, mainstream processors are cautious. Stripe's UK list, last updated 22 September 2026, restricts cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets to limited availability and prohibits cryptocurrency mining and staking, initial coin offerings and secondary NFT sales.
The FCA says cryptoasset businesses must register with it under the Money Laundering Regulations before starting any in-scope services carried on in the UK. Processors will ask for your registration, or your licence in other countries where you operate, before they consider an application.
Underwriters then look at how you stop fraud and money laundering: how you verify customers, how you screen wallet addresses, the limits you set on first purchases, how you handle card payments from new customers, and your record of chargebacks and fraud reports. Fraud is the main concern, because a stolen card can buy crypto that is moved on within minutes and cannot be recovered.
Expect questions about where your customers are, which coins you sell, whether you allow withdrawals to external wallets, and how quickly, as well as your company structure, owners and source of funds.
Card issuers, the customers' banks, may look harder at payments for cryptoassets, and some decline them. A clear payment page that meets Visa's rules, together with 3D Secure, gives each payment its best chance and helps your application.
Visa's Core Rules, April 2026 edition, require a website or app that sells non-fiat currency, such as cryptocurrency, or NFTs to show on the payment page:
Visa's rules list merchant category code 6051 for non-financial institutions dealing in foreign currency and liquid and cryptocurrency assets, and require transactions for the purchase of cryptocurrency or NFTs to carry the right identifiers. Getting the coding right matters, because issuers and the schemes use it to decide which payments to approve and how to monitor them.
Visa's Acquirer Monitoring Program counts fraud reports and disputes against settled card-not-present transactions each month. Since 1 April 2026, a merchant in Visa's Europe region, which includes the UK, is Excessive at a ratio of 1.5% with at least 1,500 fraud reports and disputes a month. Mastercard flags merchants with 100 or more chargebacks and a ratio of 1.5% or more, as set out in J.P. Morgan Payments' published guide. Crypto businesses with high card fraud reach these levels quickly.
Take 20,000 card purchases a month: 1.5% is 300 fraud reports and disputes. Mastercard's threshold would be reached; Visa's merchant count would not, but your acquirer's own portfolio limits would be under pressure.
Processors that accept crypto businesses quote rather than publish card rates. Expect a higher rate than for ordinary retail, chargeback fees, mandatory 3D Secure on every payment, and often a rolling reserve. PayPal's UK user agreement explains reserves with the example of 10% of each day's takings held for 90 days; on £300,000 a month that would build to about £90,000 held.
We name only providers whose own sites describe a service for crypto businesses. Trust Payments publishes a crypto payment gateway and processor page. Checkout.com publishes a page for crypto businesses describing payments and payouts across fiat and crypto. Nuvei publishes a crypto and digital assets page.
A sector page does not mean a provider will accept you. Approval depends on your registration, controls, markets and fraud record, and is never guaranteed.
We work with banks and processors that accept higher-risk sectors, and we know which of them take crypto exchanges, brokers and on-ramps. We prepare your application so it answers the questions underwriters ask, present it to the providers most likely to say yes, and negotiate the rate, reserve, payout timing and any volume limits. No one can promise approval, and we never do.
Once you are live, you keep a named account manager who reviews your chargeback and refund levels with you each month, so problems are fixed before a processor adds a reserve or gives notice, and who takes it up with the provider if your terms change. Our service is free to you. We may receive a fee from the provider you choose; it never changes the price you pay.
Yes, if it finds an acquirer that serves crypto businesses and meets its checks. UK cryptoasset businesses must first register with the FCA. Visa also requires the payment page to show the coin, full cost, destination wallet and a volatility warning. Approval is never guaranteed.
Only in limited cases. Stripe's UK list, last updated 22 September 2026, restricts cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets to limited availability, on contact with its sales team, and prohibits cryptocurrency mining and staking, initial coin offerings and secondary NFT sales.
If you carry on in-scope cryptoasset services in the UK, the FCA says you must register with it under the Money Laundering Regulations before starting. Processors will ask for your registration, or equivalent licences elsewhere, before considering your application.
The type of coin or a description of the NFT, the total cost including all fees in the payment currency, confirmation of the destination wallet address, a statement that the value may fluctuate, and any restricted refund or cancellation policy, under Visa's Core Rules, April 2026.
Because a stolen card can buy cryptoassets that are moved on within minutes and cannot be recovered, so the acquirer may face chargebacks it cannot reverse. A rolling reserve, such as 10% held for 90 days, gives it a cushion. Terms are negotiable once you have a track record.
Tell us what you need and where you operate.