> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.vehiso.com/blog/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Online Payments for Car Dealers: Stripe vs PayPal vs Square vs Blink (UK 2026) - URL: https://www.vehiso.com/blog/car-dealer-online-payments/ - Published: 2024-09-05T20:49:04.000Z - Updated: 2024-09-05T20:49:04.000Z - Description: Compare Stripe, PayPal, Square and Blink for taking vehicle deposits and balances online: published UK fees, how buyers pay, refunds and security. Built into Vehiso from £49/month. - Author: Blessing Dube - Tags: Payments & Finance, Car dealer online payments, Car dealership payment solutions, Stripe for car dealers, SumUp car dealer **The short answer:** most UK car dealers should take online deposits by card through Stripe or Square, offer PayPal for buyers who trust it more than a card form, and use Blink Payment's instant bank payments (open banking) for larger balances, where card fees hurt most. Keep bank transfer for big full payments. In [Vehiso](https://www.vehiso.com), all four providers are built in on every paid plan, from £49/month, and Vehiso takes no platform fee on top. If you're running a car dealership in the UK and you're still only accepting bank transfers and cash, you're losing sales. I don't say that to be dramatic. I say it because I've watched it happen. Before I built [Vehiso](https://www.vehiso.com), I worked as a car sales executive. I saw countless deals fall apart because a buyer wanted to pay a deposit on a Saturday evening and there was no way to take their money. By Monday morning, they'd found something else. That experience is a big part of why Vehiso exists - and why [online payments](https://www.vehiso.com/features/online-payments) were one of the first things I built into the platform. This guide compares the four payment providers Vehiso supports today - Stripe, PayPal, Square and Blink Payment. I'll cover what each one is best at, how buyers pay, what the published fees look like, the gotchas, and how to combine them so you can offer buyers flexibility without giving away your margin. ## Why online payments matter for car dealers Let's start with the obvious. Vehicles are high-value items. Most buyers aren't going to pay for a vehicle in full with a credit card - the fees alone would eat your margin. But there are plenty of situations where online payments make a real difference: **Holding deposits and reservations.** A buyer sees a vehicle on your website at 9pm. They want to secure it before someone else does. If you can take a £200 or £500 deposit online, that vehicle is reserved and the buyer feels committed. No deposit option? They'll sleep on it, and you might lose them. **Part-exchange balance payments.** The buyer's part-exchange covers most of the cost, but there's a balance of £1,500 to pay. A card or bank app payment sorts that out quickly without waiting for a bank transfer to clear. **Lower-value vehicles.** If you're selling vehicles under £5,000, full payment by card becomes more realistic. Buyers expect it. They pay for everything else online - why not a vehicle? **Finance deposits.** When a buyer is taking finance, they often need to put down a deposit. Being able to take that online speeds the whole process up. For more on how finance works for dealers, I wrote a separate guide on [car dealer finance options](https://www.vehiso.com/blog/car-finance-for-dealers). **Building trust.** Offering recognised payment methods like PayPal, or card payments through Stripe, Square or Blink, signals to buyers that you're a legitimate, professional operation. It's one less reason for them to hesitate. ## Stripe vs PayPal vs Square vs Blink: comparison table | Provider | Best for | How buyers pay | Notes | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Stripe | Card deposits and reservations straight from your vehicle listings | Debit or credit card on your website | Standard UK cards 1.5% + 20p, premium UK cards 2.8% + 20p. Connect in a few clicks from Vehiso. | | PayPal | Cautious buyers who would rather not type card details into a new website | PayPal account, from a listing or a payment request | 2.9% + 30p on standard domestic commercial transactions. Disputes and new-account holds are the main risks. | | Square | Dealers who already use Square in the showroom or workshop | Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay online, plus card payments your team takes from the DMS | Online UK cards 1.4% + 25p. One account for online and in person. | | Blink Payment | Larger balances and workshop invoices, where card fees add up | Card from a listing (3D Secure), or an instant bank payment from their bank app on payment requests and workshop invoices | Card pricing is quoted by Blink. Open banking typically 0.25% (min 20p, max £4). Vehiso's direct payments partner. | *Fees are each provider's published UK rates as of October 2026 and can change. Always check the provider's own pricing page before you decide. Vehiso adds no platform fee on top.* A quick note if you've used SumUp before: SumUp is not currently a Vehiso integration, so this guide sticks to the four providers you can connect today. ## Stripe for car dealers ### How it works Stripe is a payment processing platform. When a buyer pays on your website, Stripe handles the card processing, security, and compliance. The money lands in your bank account after a short payout period. Stripe is popular with developers and tech companies because it's extremely well built. For car dealers, the main appeal is reliability and a clean checkout. In Vehiso, you link your Stripe account (or create one) in a few clicks from your settings, set a deposit as a fixed amount or a percentage of the price, and buyers can pay a deposit, reservation fee or the full price straight from the listing. The vehicle is marked as reserved and the payment is recorded against the deal. More on the [Stripe integration for car dealers](https://www.vehiso.com/stripe-integration-for-car-dealers). ### Fees Stripe's published UK rates are 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards, 2.8% + 20p for premium UK cards, 2.5% + 20p for EEA cards and 3.15% + 20p for international cards (published rates as of October 2026, from [Stripe's pricing page](https://stripe.com/gb/pricing)). On a £500 deposit taken on a standard UK card, that's £7.70 in fees. On a £2,000 balance payment, it's £30.20\. Worth factoring in, but most dealers I speak to consider it a cost of doing business - especially when the alternative is losing the sale entirely. ### Restricted business categories Here's something that catches a lot of car dealers off guard. Stripe has a list of restricted business categories, and motor vehicle sales can fall into grey areas depending on how Stripe's risk team classifies your business. In practice, most car dealers get approved without issues, but some have had accounts flagged or restricted after processing a few high-value transactions. If this happens, Stripe's support team will usually ask for additional documentation - proof of business, invoices, that sort of thing. My advice: when you sign up, be clear and specific about what your business does. Don't just put "retail" - state that you're a motor vehicle dealer. Upload your FCA permissions if you offer finance. The more transparent you are upfront, the less likely you are to hit problems later. The same advice applies to every provider in this guide. ### Pros - Reliable and well-established - Clean, professional checkout experience for buyers - Excellent fraud protection - Strong reporting and reconciliation tools - Quick to connect in Vehiso, no keys to copy ### Cons - Fees on high-value transactions add up, and premium cards cost more - Restricted business reviews can cause temporary disruption if you're not prepared ## PayPal for car dealers ### How it works PayPal needs little introduction. For car dealers, its main advantage is trust - many buyers feel more comfortable paying through PayPal than entering their card details on a website they've never used before. In Vehiso, a PayPal button sits in the reservation step on every vehicle listing and on payment requests you send from the DMS. You connect it by pasting your PayPal app's client ID and secret into your payment settings, and you can refund a PayPal payment from the deal. More on the [PayPal integration for car dealers](https://www.vehiso.com/paypal-integration-for-car-dealers). ### Fees PayPal's published UK rate for standard domestic commercial transactions is 2.9% + 30p (published rates as of October 2026, from [PayPal's business fees page](https://www.paypal.com/uk/business/paypal-business-fees)). PayPal also charges for currency conversion if a buyer pays in a different currency. On a £500 deposit, that's £14.80 in fees - noticeably higher than a standard UK card through Stripe (£7.70). On a £3,000 payment, it's £87.30 with PayPal versus £45.20 with Stripe on a standard UK card. ### Buyer protection and disputes PayPal's buyer protection is a double-edged sword for car dealers. Buyers love it because they feel protected. But for you as the seller, PayPal disputes on high-value items can be genuinely painful. If a buyer opens a dispute or claim, PayPal can hold the funds while they investigate. For a £500 deposit, that's annoying. For a larger payment, it can cause real cash flow problems. PayPal's dispute resolution process tends to favour buyers, and the burden of proof falls heavily on you as the seller. My advice: if you use PayPal, keep meticulous records. Save all correspondence with the buyer, take timestamped photos of the vehicle, and make sure your terms and conditions are crystal clear about deposits, refund policies, and what the buyer is paying for. Having the buyer sign an order form - ideally electronically through your [dealer management system](https://www.vehiso.com/dealer-management-system) \- gives you proper documentation if a dispute arises. ### Account holds on new accounts Another gotcha with PayPal: new accounts or accounts that suddenly start processing higher-value transactions can have funds held for up to 21 days. PayPal does this as a fraud prevention measure, but it's brutal for cash flow. If you're new to PayPal, start with smaller transactions and build up your account history before relying on it for larger payments. ### Pros - Buyers trust PayPal - it reduces friction for cautious buyers - Buyer protection can actually help you sell to nervous first-time buyers - Works on listings and on payment requests you send from the DMS - Refunds can be issued from the deal in Vehiso ### Cons - Higher published fees than Stripe or Square on UK card payments - Dispute process is stressful and buyer-favoured - Fund holds on new or low-volume accounts - Not ideal for high-value full payments due to fee structure and dispute risk ## Square for car dealers ### How it works Square is best known for its card readers, and plenty of dealerships and workshops already have one on the desk. The big advantage is one account for everything: the same Square account can take payments on your website and in your showroom. In Vehiso, you sign in to Square and approve access - there are no keys to copy. Buyers can pay a deposit, reservation fee or the full price from a listing by card, and by Apple Pay or Google Pay if you switch them on. Buyers can also pay payment requests, workshop customers can pay invoices online, and your team can take a card payment through Square from a deal or workshop invoice in the DMS, then refund it from the same place. More on the [Square integration for car dealers](https://www.vehiso.com/square-integration-for-car-dealers). ### Fees Square's published UK online rate is 1.4% + 25p for UK cards and 2.5% + 25p for non-UK cards. In person, it's 1.75% for UK cards. Manually entered card payments and Square invoices are listed at 2.5% (published rates as of October 2026, from [Square's pricing page](https://squareup.com/gb/en/pricing)). On a £500 online deposit on a UK card, that's £7.25 in fees. Check which rate applies to payments your team takes over the phone, as keyed-in payments are charged at the higher manually entered rate. ### Pros - One provider online and in person if you already use Square - Apple Pay and Google Pay mean fewer buyers giving up halfway through a deposit - Card payments and refunds from deals and workshop invoices in the DMS - Simple sign-in connection, no keys to paste ### Cons - Different rates for online, in-person and keyed-in payments, so your fees depend on how each payment is taken - Card fees still add up on large balances ## Blink Payment for car dealers ### How it works Blink Payment is Vehiso's direct payments partner, so the integration is built and supported as a core part of the platform. One connection covers two ways to pay: - **Card payments** \- Visa, Mastercard and Amex, taken on your own pages with 3D Secure. Reservations from a vehicle listing are card only. - **Instant bank payments (open banking)** \- the buyer pays straight from their bank app on a payment request or workshop invoice. There's no card fee on the payment and the money clears faster than a card payment or a bank transfer. Your team can also take card payments through Blink from a deal or workshop invoice in the DMS, at the desk or over the phone, and refund them from the same place. You connect it by entering your Blink merchant ID, API key and secret key in your payment settings. More on the [Blink Payment integration for car dealers](https://www.vehiso.com/blink-integration-for-car-dealers). ### Fees Blink doesn't publish a standard card rate - card pricing is a custom quote based on your card turnover. It does publish its open banking rate: typically 0.25% per transaction, with a minimum of 20p and a maximum of £4 (published rates as of October 2026, from [Blink's pricing page](https://www.blinkpayment.co.uk/pricing)). That cap is what makes Blink interesting for dealers. A £10,000 balance paid from a bank app would cost at most £4, compared with £150.20 on a standard UK card through Stripe or £290.30 through PayPal at their published rates. ### Pros - Instant bank payments with a capped fee, ideal for large balances - Cards and bank payments from one connection - Card payments on your own pages with 3D Secure - Direct partnership with Vehiso ### Cons - Card rates are quote-based, so you need to ask Blink for pricing - Listing reservations are card only - bank app payments are for payment requests and workshop invoices - Phone payments skip the 3D Secure check, so your dealership carries the risk if one is disputed ## Which provider should you use - and when? You don't have to pick just one. In fact, I'd recommend offering at least two options. Here's how I'd think about it: **For website deposits and reservations:** Stripe or Square. Both give buyers a clean card checkout straight from the listing, and both have low published rates on standard UK cards. If you already use Square in the showroom, keep everything in one account. **For in-person and phone payments at the dealership:** Square or Blink, both of which let your team take a card payment from a deal or workshop invoice in the DMS. A buyer comes to collect and wants to pay the balance on their card? Take it from the deal and it's recorded straight away. **For buyers who specifically ask for PayPal:** Have it available. Some buyers - particularly those buying online without visiting your forecourt first - feel safer paying through PayPal. The fees are higher, but losing the sale entirely is more expensive. **For high-value balances:** This is where card fees really bite. On a £10,000 vehicle, card fees run from about £140 to £290 depending on the provider. Take a deposit by card to secure the deal, then send a payment request the buyer can pay from their bank app through Blink, or arrange a bank transfer for the balance. ## How Vehiso handles payments At [Vehiso](https://www.vehiso.com), we've integrated Stripe, PayPal, Square and Blink directly into the platform on every paid plan, from £49/month. Online payments are not included on the Free plan. You connect your own accounts with each provider, and Vehiso handles the rest - deposits from listings, payment requests, reservations and recording each payment against the deal. The important thing to know is that Vehiso doesn't charge any additional fees on top of what Stripe, PayPal, Square or Blink charge. The transaction fees go directly to your payment provider. We don't take a cut. You set your deposit as a fixed amount or a percentage of the vehicle price, and manage everything through your [dealer management system](https://www.vehiso.com/dealer-management-system). When a buyer pays a deposit, the vehicle is marked as reserved and the payment is recorded against the deal automatically. If you want buyers to go further than a deposit, [Buy Online](https://www.vehiso.com/features/buy-cars-online) (also on paid plans) takes them from the vehicle page through cash or finance, part-exchange, extras and collection or delivery to a paid deposit in one checkout. It's one of the things I'm most proud of in the platform, because I remember how clunky the payment process was when I was selling cars. Scribbling card details on a piece of paper, reading them out over the phone to a card terminal - it was awful. There's no reason it should still work that way. ## Practical tips for handling payments ### Handling refunds Refunds happen. A buyer changes their mind, a deal falls through, or a vehicle fails its MOT before delivery. Here's what to keep in mind: - **Process refunds through the same provider the payment came in on.** Don't refund a card payment via bank transfer. It creates an accounting mess and removes the audit trail. In Vehiso you can refund PayPal, Square and Blink payments from the deal or invoice. - **Know your provider's refund policy.** Don't assume you get the original fee back. PayPal, for example, states that the fees you paid to receive a payment are not returned when you refund it. Check each provider's current terms. - **Have a clear refund policy on your website and in your terms.** State whether deposits are refundable or non-refundable, and under what circumstances. This protects you in disputes. ### Keeping records for HMRC Every card or bank app payment creates a digital paper trail, which is actually a good thing come tax time. But you need to keep things organised: - **Reconcile payments weekly.** Don't leave it until the end of the tax year. Match each payment in Stripe, PayPal, Square or Blink to a deal in your DMS. - **Account for fees separately.** The gross payment amount and the fee are different line items. Your accountant will want them split out. - **Keep records for at least six years.** HMRC can go back six years in an investigation. Digital records through your payment provider and DMS make this straightforward. - **If you're VAT registered, payment processing fees are generally treated as VAT-exempt financial services.** Card reader hardware is different and may include VAT. Check with your accountant on how to handle this. ### Security and PCI compliance One advantage of using Stripe, PayPal, Square or Blink is that they handle the heavy lifting of PCI compliance for you. Card details are entered into the provider's secure payment form, so you never see or store them. Never, under any circumstances, write down a customer's card details to manually key in later. It's a data protection risk, and it exposes you to fraud liability. Use proper payment requests, your website's checkout, or take the payment from the deal in the DMS instead. ## Frequently asked questions **Can I pass the transaction fees on to the buyer?** Technically, you can add a surcharge to cover card processing fees, but the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 banned surcharges on most consumer payment methods including debit cards, credit cards and PayPal. You can't charge extra for a buyer choosing to pay by card. You can, however, factor the cost into your pricing. **Do I need a merchant account to use Stripe, PayPal, Square or Blink?** You need an account with the provider itself - a Stripe account, a PayPal business account, a Square account or a Blink Payment merchant account - plus a business bank account for payouts. You don't need a separate merchant account from your bank. In Vehiso, you connect whichever accounts you want to use on any paid plan, from £49/month. **What happens if a buyer does a chargeback?** A chargeback is when a buyer disputes a transaction with their bank or card issuer. The funds are typically pulled from your account while the dispute is investigated. You'll need to provide evidence that the transaction was legitimate - invoices, signed order forms, delivery confirmation, communications with the buyer. Having a DMS that records all of this makes chargeback disputes much easier to fight. **Can I take a deposit online and the balance in person?** Absolutely. This is the most common setup I see with Vehiso dealers. A buyer pays a £200-£500 deposit online via Stripe, PayPal, Square or Blink to reserve the vehicle, then pays the balance when they collect - by card taken from the deal in the DMS (through Square or Blink), by an instant bank payment through Blink, by bank transfer, or through finance. **Is it safe to take full payment for a vehicle via PayPal?** It's possible, but I'd be cautious with high-value transactions. PayPal's buyer protection means the buyer could potentially open a dispute after taking delivery of the vehicle. For full payments over a few thousand pounds, a bank transfer or an instant bank payment is safer and cheaper for you as the seller. **Which is the cheapest way to take a large balance payment?** An instant bank payment. Blink Payment publishes an open banking rate of typically 0.25% with a £4 maximum (as of October 2026), against roughly 1.4% to 2.9% plus a fixed fee for card and PayPal payments. The money also clears faster than a card payment or a standard bank transfer. ## More from the Vehiso blog - [Top Car Dealer Website Providers in the UK (2026)](https://www.vehiso.com/blog/top-car-dealer-website-providers-uk-2026) \- An honest comparison of Vehiso, ClickDealer, and SpidersNet. - [Car Dealer Finance: A Practical Guide](https://www.vehiso.com/blog/car-finance-for-dealers) \- How finance integrations work and which providers are worth considering. - [What Is a Dealer Management System?](https://www.vehiso.com/blog/dealer-management-system-vs-car-dealer-software-whats-the-difference) \- Why your DMS matters more than your website, and what to look for.