Best card machine for mobile businesses
This page is for genuinely roaming, vehicle-based businesses — mobile catering vans, mobile mechanics, dog groomers, valeting services — that turn up wherever a booking or event takes them, rather than trading from the same fixed pitches. Connectivity you can rely on anywhere matters more here than for almost any other business type.
Best choice: myPOS
myPOS's built-in 3G/4G means it works the same whether you're parked on an industrial estate, at a festival field, or outside a client's house with no wifi in range — the single biggest practical advantage for a business with no fixed location.
Best alternative: SumUp Solo
SumUp Solo is a simpler, cheaper-to-start standalone device with its own screen and battery — a good fit if your usual locations have reasonably reliable mobile signal and you don't need myPOS's built-in connectivity.
What a mobile business's card takings usually look like
Transaction values vary enormously by trade — a mobile car valet might take £20-£60 per visit, a street food van £8-£15 per customer, a mobile mechanic callout £80-£300+. What's common across all of them is unpredictable connectivity: today's pitch might have great signal, tomorrow's might have none, so reliability matters as much as the fee itself.
| Provider | Best for | Card fee | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
mymyPOS | Unreliable venue wifi/signal, no fixed base | 1.10% + 7p | None |
SuSumUp Solo | Standalone, simpler setup | 1.69% | None |
LoLopay | Lowest fee if signal is reliable | 0.79-0.99% | None |
Beyond the headline rate
Connectivity independent of location
A reader with its own SIM removes the single biggest risk for a roaming business — arriving somewhere with no wifi and a weak phone signal, and being unable to take payment at all.
All-day battery
A festival, event or long day of back-to-back callouts can run well beyond a typical working day with no easy way to recharge — check stated battery life against your longest realistic day.
Ruggedness
Equipment that lives in a van or gets used outdoors in all weather benefits from a rugged case or splash resistance over a delicate countertop terminal.
Fast payout
Both myPOS and SumUp offer fast settlement, which matters if you're buying stock, fuel or materials for tomorrow's job out of today's takings.
A mobile valeting business taking £2,600/month in card payments
At an average job value of £35 (roughly 74 jobs/month):
| Lopay Standard (0.99%) | £25.74/month |
| myPOS (1.10% + 7p × 74) | £34.78/month |
| SumUp Solo (1.69%) | £43.94/month |
Lopay is cheapest on fees alone, but myPOS's roughly £9/month premium over Lopay buys genuinely useful connectivity independence — worth it if you've ever lost a sale to a dropped signal.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best card machine for a mobile catering or service business?
myPOS for the strongest built-in connectivity wherever you park up; SumUp Solo as a simpler standalone alternative where signal is generally reliable.
How is this different from a market trader?
Market traders typically return to the same regular market pitches. This page covers genuinely roaming businesses with less predictable locations and connectivity.
Trading regular market pitches instead?
See our dedicated comparison for market traders.
Methodology: Pricing pulled directly from mypos.com, sumup.com and lopay.com official UK pricing pages on 30 July 2026. Typical job values are directional estimates across mobile service trades, not an independent survey. See our Editorial Policy.