The Future of Payments in the UK
Oct 13, 2025
Case Study
The Future of Payments in the UK: How 0% Fees Are Disrupting a Stagnant Market.
Executive Summary
The UK payments industry is undergoing a long-overdue transformation. For years, established players like PayPal, Adyen, Checkout.com, Worldpay, and GoCardless have dominated the market, extracting up to 5% per transaction in fees from merchants across ecommerce, SaaS, retail, and services. Meanwhile, businesses have been left with little choice but to absorb these costs or pass them on to consumers.
Enter Super Payments: a UK-based disruptor offering 0% fees across major payment methods, including card processing, open banking, and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL). With a business model rooted in transparency and fairness, Super Payments is redefining what merchants should expect from their payment provider.
This whitepaper explores the state of the UK payments market in 2025, outlines the limitations of legacy providers, and showcases how zero-fee payments can transform business margins and customer experience.
1. The State of the UK Payments Market
The UK is one of the most advanced ecommerce economies in the world. Yet when it comes to online payments, many merchants are still paying outdated and excessive fees:
Provider | Card Fees (rep) | Open Banking | BNPL Fees (rep, to Merchant) |
PayPal | 2.9% + 30p | Not offered | 3-5% (via Pay in 3) |
Adyen | ~0.60% + interchange | Limited | ~5% via Klarna |
Checkout.com | 1% – 2% | Contract-based | 4% – 6% |
GoCardless | ~1% + 20p | Yes | Not available |
Super Payments | 0% processing (unavoidable costs remain) | 0% | 0% |
Fees are representative for providers and can vary significantly. Super Payments charges 0% for card processing but unavoidable costs remain. Learn more about unavoidable costs here.
Legacy providers have entrenched themselves through complex pricing, long contracts, and brand recognition. Most BNPL and card processing options come with fees ranging from 1.4% to over 5%, taking a significant toll on high-volume businesses.
2. How Super Payments Works Without Charging Merchants
At first glance, Super Payments may sound too good to be true. But the model is simple, transparent, and built to scale:
Super Credit (BNPL): Super earns a commission from partners when customers choose to pay in instalments. Merchants receive the full transaction amount, instantly. Your customers will always have interest-free options available to them and Super earns a commission regardless of the plan they choose.
Offers Platform: Merchants have the option to advertise through Super-owned placements. These promotions are optional, but help fund the ecosystem and keep payment processing free.
No hidden or added fees. No cross-subsidising. Just transparent monetisation through value-added services.
3. Why 0% Payments Matter
For merchants, especially in ecommerce, payments are often the second- or third-largest line item after logistics and marketing. Here's what 0% payments unlock:
Margin protection: Keep up to 5% of revenue otherwise lost to processing fees.
Lower customer prices: More margin means more flexibility on price and promotions.
Faster settlement: Super offers fast GBP payouts, improving cash flow.
Better UX: Frictionless checkout, instant pay-by-bank options, and BNPL flexibility improve conversion.
A business processing £5 million in annual revenue could save up to £250,000 by switching from a 5% BNPL provider to Super Credit.
4. A Disruptive Force in a Slow-Moving Industry
Despite being digital-first, the payments industry has remained surprisingly resistant to price innovation. Most legacy providers maintain high fees, push tiered pricing, and offer limited transparency around settlement timelines or refunds.
Super Payments is challenging this status quo:
Transparent pricing (0% processing costs)
No lock-in contracts
UK-based support
Seamless onboarding with ecommerce platforms and APIs
The company is driving a shift toward customer-first pricing models that prioritise business growth over middleman profit.
5. The Opportunity Ahead for UK Merchants
Consumers expect fast, flexible and secure payments. Merchants want reliability, low costs and easy integration. Super Payments delivers all three.
In a market where efficiency matters more than ever, switching to a zero-fee provider isn’t just smart, it’s a competitive edge.
From 2026, all Buy Now, Pay Later products will need to be fully regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Super is already there, whilst incumbent BNPL providers lag behind with unregulated lending.
Why Regulated Credit Matters
Safer. Fairer. Ready for the future.
Super offers regulated credit through Abound, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) — so customers get protection and peace of mind from day one.
Built-in protection: FCA oversight, clear terms, and Ombudsman support.
Smarter lending: Proper affordability checks to keep payments manageable.
Fair treatment: Help if life gets tricky, not pressure.
Credit-positive: On-time payments can strengthen your credit record.
Feature | Super (FCA-regulated) | Typical BNPL (Unregulated) |
Protection | ✅ Strong consumer rights | ⚠️ Limited protections |
Affordability | ✅ Fair, responsible checks | ⚠️ Light checks |
Transparency | ✅ Clear, upfront terms | ⚠️ Often unclear |
Credit impact | ✅ Can build credit | ⚠️ No reporting |
Ease of use | ⚙️ A few extra checks | ⚡ Quicker, less protection |
Super is leading the shift toward safer, fairer credit: ready for the future of UK payments.
Conclusion
The UK payments market is overdue for disruption. Super Payments proves that it is possible to run a sustainable business while offering zero fees to merchants. By breaking the traditional model and shifting value back to businesses, Super is setting a new standard for what payment providers should offer.
If you're still paying 1% to 5% to process your payments, it might be time to reconsider what you're really getting for your money.
Dan Ferner, Growth
June 30, 2025
Super Thinking
