The UK: where card habits meet bank-to-bank speed
UK shoppers reach for a debit card more than any other way to pay, and bank transfers over Faster Payments sit right behind that. Global brands selling into the UK need sterling card payments that approve like a local merchant. UK businesses growing abroad need the same strength in every new market. Nuvei offers local acquiring in the United Kingdom, connected to the same global platform you use everywhere else, with one integration across markets.
At a glance
A card-first market that keeps moving faster
Debit cards carry most UK payments, cash is shrinking and account-to-account payments are growing. For merchants like you, that means sterling card acceptance has to approve reliably, and bank transfer options matter more every year.
01 · Digital payments
Debit cards lead, bank transfers follow
Debit cards accounted for 54% of the 49.7 billion payments made in the UK in 2025, while cash fell to 8%, according to UK Finance. Faster Payments and other remote banking were the second most used payment method, and Pay.UK reports that Faster Payments volumes grew 9% in 2025.
54%
Debit card share of all UK payments, 2025
8%
Cash share of all UK payments, 2025
5.5B
Faster Payments transactions, 2025
80%
UK adults who bought goods or services online, 2025
Share of all UK payments, 2025
54%
Debit cards
39%
Contactless, all cards
8%
Cash
Source: UK Finance, UK Payment Markets 2026 summary (2025 data), August 2026.
02 · Local infrastructure
Local acquiring keeps sterling sales domestic
What does local acquiring mean in the UK? It means your card payments from UK customers are processed by an acquirer connected to the UK card ecosystem, so they are handled as domestic sterling sales rather than cross-border ones. Instant bank transfers run on Faster Payments, operated by Pay.UK, and payment firms are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Nuvei’s FCA-regulated UK subsidiary secured the scheme licenses to keep acquiring and processing Mastercard and Visa payments for UK merchants after Brexit, and Nuvei offers local acquiring in the UK today.
United Kingdom
Local acquiring. One global connection.
03 · How the United Kingdom pays
Cards at checkout, bank transfers on the rise
UK consumers typically switch between debit cards, contactless taps and bank transfers depending on the moment. A checkout built for the UK should cover all three, priced in sterling and approved like a domestic sale.
Debit cards first
Debit cards were the most used payment method in the UK in 2025, according to UK Finance. Local card acquiring helps those sterling transactions approve like domestic sales.
Contactless by default
UK Finance counted 19.2 billion contactless card payments in 2025, 39% of all payments. Shoppers expect to tap at the till and pay with a wallet on mobile.
Faster Payments for bank transfers
Nuvei’s UK bank transfer lets customers pay straight from their bank account over the Faster Payments network, with bank authentication and payments available 24/7.
The performance gap
Reach was the hard part. Performance is harder.
For years, selling into the UK was judged on reach. Could you show a sterling price and accept a British card? Reach is no longer the problem; approval is. A UK card processed as a cross-border sale can meet more caution from its issuer than the same card processed locally. Local acquiring is built to close that gap.
01 · Acquiring
Local processing, more approvals
Local acquiring processes UK card payments within the domestic ecosystem instead of sending them abroad. Domestic processing can increase issuer confidence, supporting higher authorization rates and fewer unnecessary declines. With fewer parties in the chain, a decline is easier to trace and fix.
02 · Checkout
Cards and bank transfers, powering one checkout
Offering sterling cards, wallets and Faster Payments bank transfers through one connection reduces friction for UK shoppers and gives every customer a familiar way to pay.
03 · Costs
Domestic sales, fewer cross-border costs
Processing UK transactions locally can reduce the cross-border fees and currency steps that come with routing sterling sales through an acquirer in another market.
“For UK merchants seeking a locally regulated payments partner, approved licenses will be critical.”
Philip Fayer
Chair and CEO, Nuvei
What local acquiring changes
Five ways acquiring impacts your payments
Combined with Nuvei’s gateway capabilities, local acquiring in the UK is designed to help your business in five ways.
Authorization performance
More approvals on UK cards
Processing sterling card payments locally can increase issuer confidence, supporting higher authorization rates and fewer unnecessary declines on cards issued in the UK.
• Results depend on your transaction mix.
Payment costs
Fewer cross-border steps
Local acquiring keeps UK sales domestic, which can reduce the cross-border costs of processing through another market. Faster Payments bank transfers add a lower-cost option alongside cards.
• Confirm pricing with your Nuvei team.
Checkout experience
Cards, wallets and bank transfers
Bring contactless cards, mobile wallets and bank transfers into one checkout so UK customers pay the way they already do, with authorization and fraud checks working together.
• Design the full checkout journey together.
Market expansion
From the UK to your next market
UK businesses can take the same Nuvei integration into new markets, and global brands can add the UK without adding another provider to manage.
• Same integration, more markets.
Operational control
A clearer view of every sterling payment
Transaction data, reconciliation and reporting sit together, so you can see how UK payments perform alongside the rest of your business.
• One view across the payment lifecycle.
A checkout can reach the UK. Local acquiring helps it perform there.
Specific Nuvei payment methods, currencies and availability in the United Kingdom are subject to confirmation.
The Nuvei platform
How Nuvei delivers in the United Kingdom
Local acquiring, bank transfers, transaction data and operational controls, all connected through one global platform built to help you perform in the UK and scale beyond it.
Local acquiring for sterling cards
Nuvei offers local acquiring in the United Kingdom, connecting your card payments to the domestic ecosystem and combining it with Nuvei’s gateway capabilities.
Faster Payments, inside your checkout
Nuvei’s UK bank transfer runs over the Faster Payments network, with bank authentication and no shared card details. Confirm eligibility and limits with your Nuvei team.
A checkout built around UK customers
Bring checkout, authorization and fraud management closer together to reduce friction. Work with Nuvei to confirm the methods, currencies and capabilities that fit your business.
Greater operational control
More complete transaction data, with integrated reconciliation and reporting, gives you a clearer view across the payment lifecycle.
One platform, less fragmentation
Manage authorization, fraud prevention, reconciliation and reporting together. Nuvei’s optimization layer adds smart routing, automatic cascading of eligible declines to backup acquiring connections, and conversion specialists who review your performance. Confirm which capabilities apply in the UK with your Nuvei team.
Built in the UK, scaling everywhere
Nuvei gives UK businesses one partner as they grow: acquiring in 53 markets, 150+ currencies, 720+ payment methods, payouts, risk management and reporting, with reach in more than 200 markets worldwide.
Acquiring through intermediaries vs. Nuvei local acquiring
One market, fewer layers
Selling into the UK should not mean processing UK cards as foreign sales. Local acquiring connects you to the domestic card ecosystem, while Nuvei keeps your global operation connected.
Acquiring through intermediary partners
Routing
UK card payments go to an acquirer in another market and are processed as cross-border sales.
Approvals
Cross-border processing can draw more caution from UK issuers and makes declines harder to diagnose.
Costs
Cross-border processing and extra providers can each add their own fees.
Reporting
Multiple providers can fragment transaction data and reconciliation.
Expansion
Each new provider can add another integration to manage.
Settlement
Each extra provider adds a step between your transaction and your funds. Currencies, timing and fees depend on the provider and contract.
Local acquiring with Nuvei
Routing
UK card payments are processed locally, connected to the domestic card ecosystem.
Approvals
Local processing can increase issuer confidence, supporting higher authorization rates. Results depend on your transaction mix.
Costs
Domestic processing can reduce cross-border costs, with Faster Payments bank transfers as a lower-cost option.
Reporting
Transaction data with integrated reconciliation and reporting in one place.
Expansion
The same Nuvei integration used across other markets, with fewer providers to manage.
Settlement
Fewer parties between your sterling transactions and settlement. Confirm settlement currencies, timing, pricing and eligibility with your Nuvei team.
Ready when you are
Ready to make your payments work harder for you?
Talk to Nuvei about what local acquiring, Faster Payments and stronger approval rates could mean for your UK business. And how the same platform can support your next market, without rebuilding the stack.
From Nuvei on the United Kingdom
Perspective · Global growth
A local foundation for global expansion
Explore how Nuvei connects locally optimized payment capabilities through one global platform.
Perspective · Expansion
Payments come first when you enter a market
Why global expansion so often stalls at checkout, and why payment methods and local processing should be the first decision, not the last.
Sources & methodology
Payments data: UK Finance, UK Payment Markets 2026 summary (2025 data), August 2026. Payments data: UK Finance, Digital payments continue to grow as mobile wallets become more popular across the UK, 19 August 2026. Faster Payments volumes: Pay.UK, Annual Statistics 2025. UK scheme licenses and quote: Nuvei, Nuvei Secures Scheme Licenses to Process UK Payments Post-Brexit, 2 June 2021. Bank transfers: Nuvei, UK bank transfer. Nuvei network figures (53 local and direct acquiring markets, 720+ payment methods, 150+ currencies): Nuvei, Global acquiring. Product eligibility, methods, pricing, and settlement terms must be confirmed with Nuvei.