SumUp: How a Berlin Coffee Shop Started Accepting Cards
Philipp opened a coffee shop in Berlin in 2022. Five tables, two baristas, excellent filter coffee at €3. For the first three months he only accepted cash — because getting a POS terminal through a German bank required €300 setup, €30/month maintenance, and 3 weeks of waiting.
A customer told him: “Try SumUp.” Three days later, Philipp had a €39 terminal that connected to his phone via Bluetooth and accepted cards at 1.69%.
Now €85,000 of his monthly revenue flows through SumUp, and 80% of payments are by card. Here’s how it works and who it’s for.
Official website: sumup.com
SumUp’s Story
SumUp was founded in 2012 in London. The idea was radical at the time: a tiny card reader that plugged into a smartphone’s headphone jack (remember those on iPhones?) and let you accept cards without an acquiring bank contract.
Over 14 years, SumUp has grown from a hardware startup into a fintech ecosystem for small business, valued at $8.5 billion (2024) and present in 36 countries. Today it’s:
- 4+ million active merchants
- Its own EU banking license
- 3,000+ employees across Berlin, London, Dublin, São Paulo
- €100+ billion in annual processing
What SumUp Sells
POS Terminals:
- SumUp Air (€39): Bluetooth card reader, works with the phone app. Accepts cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay. Battery lasts 500+ transactions.
- SumUp Solo (€99): standalone terminal with screen and built-in receipt printer. Internal 4G SIM card. No phone needed.
- SumUp Solo Plus (€169): same as Solo, but with touchscreen and cash drawer connectivity.
Online Payments:
- Payment links — send a link to a customer, they pay by card
- Embeddable website widget
- Integration with WooCommerce, Wix, Shopify
- API for custom integration
Additional Services:
- SumUp Business Account — free business account with Mastercard
- SumUp Invoicing — create and send invoices
- SumUp Gift Cards — gift card program
- SumUp Booking — appointment tool for service businesses (salons, studios)
Pricing
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Card acceptance via terminal | 1.69% (EU), 1.75% (UK) |
| Online payments (payment links) | 2.5% + €0.20 |
| Online payments via API/integration | 1.95% + €0.20 |
| Bank withdrawal | Free, 1–3 days |
| Instant payout | 0.8% of amount |
| SumUp Business Account | Free |
Main advantage: no monthly fee, no minimum volume, no contract. Pay for hardware once — use it forever. Don’t use it — don’t pay anything.
SumUp vs Competitors
| Feature | SumUp | Square | Stripe Terminal | Zettle (ex-iZettle) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal price | €39–169 | $59–299 | $249–349 | €29–149 |
| In-person fee | 1.69% | 2.6% + $0.10 | 2.7% + $0.05 | 1.75% |
| Online fee | 1.95% | 2.9% + $0.30 | Varies by region | 2.5% |
| Monthly fee | None | None | None | None |
| Geography | 36 countries, Europe focus | US, UK, CA, AU, JP | 46 countries | Europe, LatAm |
| API | Yes (limited) | Yes (powerful) | Yes (very powerful) | Yes |
Conclusion: SumUp leads Europe on price-to-quality ratio. Square wins in the US due to ecosystem (Payroll, Loyalty, Analytics), and Stripe Terminal — for deep custom integration.
Why SumUp Is for Small Business, Not Everyone
SumUp deliberately focuses on micro and small business. This is both its strength and limitation:
Great fit for:
- Cafes, restaurants, bars — up to 100 transactions/day
- Freelancers and tradespeople — on-site payment
- Street food and markets — terminal works without Wi-Fi via 4G
- Shops with turnover up to €500,000/year
Not suitable for:
- Large retail (needs ERP, POS, warehouse integration)
- Business with >€1M/year turnover (1.69% becomes more expensive than bank acquiring at custom rates)
- Complex SaaS payments (use Stripe)
- Platforms and marketplaces (use Stripe Connect or Adyen)
Regional Limitations
SumUp is available in 36 countries, primarily Europe + South America. SumUp is not available in the US, Canada, Asia (except Turkey). It’s a European service with European focus.
In Russia and CIS: not available. Nearest countries of presence — Georgia, Turkey.
SumUp Affiliate Program
SumUp Partners — a referral program paying per acquired merchant:
Terms:
- Reward: €15–25 per qualified merchant (varies by region)
- Merchant must complete their first transaction through a SumUp terminal
- No referral cap
- Available in most countries where SumUp operates
How to promote:
- Local content: “POS Terminal for Small Business in [country]”
- YouTube: SumUp Air/Solo unboxing and setup
- “SumUp vs bank terminal” comparisons
- Content for cafe/restaurant owners in local languages
Strategy: SumUp is an ideal product for “yellow” content (comparisons, hardware reviews). A “SumUp Air unboxing and setup” video on YouTube consistently gets 10,000–50,000 views. One such video with a referral link can generate €100–300/month on autopilot.
Bottom Line
SumUp is fintech serving the real economy. If Stripe is payment infrastructure for the internet, SumUp is the cash register for the street. For affiliate marketing, it’s a niche but stable tool: low content marketing competition, a physical product (people search for reviews before buying hardware), a clear audience (small business owners). The limitation is geography: if your traffic isn’t from Europe or Latin America, SumUp isn’t relevant.