Card Machine for a Newly Incorporated Limited Company

Yes, a newly incorporated UK limited company can apply for a card machine on day one. The two prerequisites are Companies House registration (the company must exist as a legal entity) and a business bank account in the company name (for settlement). Director KYC and a one-page business plan summary handle the rest. SumUp, Zettle, Square, Dojo, Worldpay, Elavon and Barclaycard all accept day-one limited company applications. Day-one transaction cap is £10,000 to £25,000 monthly.

What this means for your business

Companies House registration takes 24 hours online for a simple limited company structure, longer (up to 8 days) for postal submissions or more complex structures. The registration produces a company number (8 digits) which is the identifier the card machine acquirer asks for. Without this number the application cannot proceed because the underwriter has no entity to verify. Pay the £12 online incorporation fee at Companies House and the registration completes the same day.

Business bank account in the company name is the second prerequisite. Tide, Starling, Revolut Business, Cashplus and Allica accept new limited company applications digitally with verification in 1 to 7 days. High street banks (Barclays, NatWest, HSBC, Lloyds) take 2 to 4 weeks with in-branch verification. The acquirer matches the bank account name to the Companies House record exactly, which means the account must be in the registered company name not a trading name unless the trading name is documented at Companies House.

Once both prerequisites are in place, the card machine application clears in hours for facilitators and 2 to 5 working days for traditional acquirers. The underwriter runs KYC on each director with 25 per cent or more shareholding, runs the standard credit and sanctions checks, queries the MATCH list, and sets the day-one transaction cap based on forecast volume. Limited company status is fully accepted by every major UK acquirer with no special treatment.

Key points

Companies House registration completes in 24 hours online for £12
Business bank account in the registered company name is the second prerequisite
Tide, Starling, Revolut Business, Cashplus and Allica accept new limited companies digitally
Card machine application clears in hours (facilitator) or 2 to 5 working days (traditional)
KYC on each director with 25 per cent or more shareholding
Day-one transaction cap is £10,000 to £25,000 monthly, reviewed at 90 days
Limited company status is fully accepted by every major UK acquirer

Common pitfalls

Applying for a card machine before the business bank account is open, this stalls at KYC
Bank account in a different name to the registered company, the name mismatch stops the application
Forgetting to add all PSCs (persons with significant control) at Companies House, missing PSC entries trigger refusal
Using a virtual office address without documenting it as the trading address, this triggers extra KYC

Get quotes from acquirers that take this case

We disclose the specifics of your application to the right acquirer panel from the start, so you do not waste time on providers that will decline. Quote requests are free and you are not committed to anything.

Open quote form →