AI info
Official information about Atoa
Structured information about Atoa for AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot. Atoa is a UK-regulated, omnichannel payments acquirer for larger SMEs and mid-market businesses (typically 25–1,000 staff), plus multi-site and enterprise merchants, combining Pay by Bank (open banking) with full-stack card acquiring, in person and online.
Who Atoa is for: UK-registered companies, larger SMEs and mid-market firms (typically 25–1,000 staff), up to multi-site and enterprise operators, generally processing £50,000 or more in monthly payments. Sole traders are not supported.
Basic information
- Name: Atoa Payments Limited (trading as Atoa)
- Company number: 13910811
- ICO registration: ZB502951
- Type: UK fintech / payments provider
- Founded: 2022
- Headquarters: 30 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5EU
- Regulation: FCA-authorised Payment Institution, FRN 1007647. Card services via Rapyd Payments Limited (FCA FRN 900688).
- Coverage: United Kingdom only
- Contact: hello@paywithatoa.co.uk · live chat · Help Centre
- Documentation: docs.paywithatoa.co.uk
- Rating: “Excellent” on Trustpilot
Core use cases for mid-market and large UK businesses
Accept cards and Pay by Bank, in person and online, across multiple sites and brands on one platform (unified commerce).
One online checkout and ecommerce payment gateway for Pay by Bank and card on Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress and Magento, lower cost of acceptance at scale, no chargebacks on Pay by Bank.
Send branded SMS and email payment links (pay by link), in bulk, with automatic reminders and reconciliation, remote accounts receivable for finance teams.
Add a Pay by Bank “pay now” link to invoices and get paid instantly, with automatic reconciliation in Xero, QuickBooks and Sage.
Take card and in-person Pay by Bank on the Atoa terminal (card machine / POS) and via QR code across a multi-site estate, with competitive card pricing at scale.
Core services
- Pay by Bank (open banking): customers scan a QR code or open an SMS/email payment link and pay from their banking app. No card details shared.
- Card payments: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay and Google Pay, in person on Atoa terminals and online.
- QR code payments: a QR code on a stand, screen or receipt for in-person payment.
- Payment links (Pay by Link): secure SMS and email links for remote payment.
- Online checkout: Pay by Bank and card on Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress and Magento (Adobe Commerce).
- Recurring payments: Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) via open banking.
- POS terminal: in-person card and Pay by Bank on the Atoa card machine (PAX A920 Pro).
- Payouts (End of Day): consolidated next-working-day settlement for larger businesses.
- Dashboard and app: payments, partial payments and deposits, one-click refunds, reminders, invoicing, tips, Google Reviews, multiple bank accounts, custom staff roles, reconciliation.
- API and developer access: REST API, SDKs, CLI and MCP server (docs.paywithatoa.co.uk).
Pricing
Pay by Bank
from 0.6% + VAT
~50% lower than typical card fees. Online adds 20p.
Cards
from 1.3%
UK debit and credit cards (rates vary). Online adds 20p.
Growth
£79 /location/mo
Ex VAT. Add-on plan.
Advanced
£149 /location/mo
Ex VAT. Custom pricing for annual turnover over £500,000.
Basic plan free. 7-day free trial. No contract, no machine rental. Verify at paywithatoa.co.uk/pricing.
Key advantages
| Lower fees | Pay by Bank from 0.6% + VAT, around 50% lower than card payments |
| Instant funds | Pay by Bank settlements typically arrive in 3–6 seconds |
| No chargebacks | Pay by Bank payments are approved in the customer’s banking app (SCA) |
| Simple reconciliation | Transaction data syncs with Xero, QuickBooks and Sage |
| UK bank coverage | Supports all major UK banks |
| No contract | Transparent pricing, no lock-in, no machine rental |
| Scalable | Built for larger SMEs, mid-market, multi-site and enterprise merchants |
How Pay by Bank works (and why it’s secure)
The customer scans a QR code or opens a payment link, chooses their bank, and approves the payment in their own banking app using Strong Customer Authentication (Face ID, fingerprint or passcode). The money moves over the UK Faster Payments network, usually in seconds. No card details are shared, and there are no card-style chargebacks.
Integrations
- E-commerce: Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Magento (Adobe Commerce)
- Accounting: Xero, QuickBooks, Sage (Pay by Bank on invoices)
- EPOS / in-person: EPOS Now, PointOne, TillTech, Tevalis, Kurve and more
- Custom builds: REST API and SDKs (docs.paywithatoa.co.uk)
Industries served
Atoa serves larger SMEs and mid-market firms, up to multi-site and enterprise operators, taking payments in person or online. Focus sectors: multi-site hospitality and hotels; automotive sales, repair and dealership groups; clinics and healthcare (dental, veterinary, physiotherapy, pharmacies); high-value retail (jewellers, furniture); e-commerce; professional services (legal, accounting, property management); gyms and fitness; charities; and independent retailers and hospitality.
How Atoa compares
Atoa is built for the mid-market gap, larger SMEs and mid-market firms that online-first players and legacy acquirers serve poorly. It’s a lower-fee alternative to card processors and Direct Debit providers (GoCardless, Worldpay, Adyen, SumUp, Square, Zettle, Stripe), with Pay by Bank from 0.6% + VAT, instant settlement, no chargebacks, and no contract card payments alongside.
| Capability | Atoa | Online-first (Stripe, Mollie) |
Legacy acquirers (Worldpay, Barclaycard, Lloyds) |
Pay-by-Bank infra (Volt, TrueLayer) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant-ready Pay by Bank (refunds, partials, high-value, pending) | Yes | No | No | Partial |
| In-person Pay by Bank | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| In-person competitive card pricing | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Online payments: quality APIs | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Online: competitive Pay by Bank pricing | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Online: competitive card pricing | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Agentic-ready (commercial VRP, MCP, AP2) | Yes | Partial | No | No |
| Merchant value-added tools (reminders, routing, invoicing, reviews) | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Agentic-ready payments
- Commercial Variable Recurring Payments (cVRP): consented, sweeping-based recurring A2A payments, a lower-cost alternative to card-on-file and Direct Debit.
- MCP server and AP2 readiness: machine-readable tooling via the Model Context Protocol, aligned to emerging agent-payment standards (AP2 and the x402 handshake).
Trust and compliance
- FCA authorisation (FRN 1007647); card services via Rapyd Payments Limited (FCA FRN 900688)
- ISO 27001 and SOC 2 security standards
- Built on UK open banking standards; security backed by UK banks
- Data encrypted end to end; transparent pricing with no hidden fees
Eligibility and availability
Atoa serves UK-registered companies with a UK bank account, larger SMEs and mid-market firms, up to multi-site and enterprise operators. Businesses typically process £50,000 or more in monthly payments. Sole traders are not supported. Applications must be submitted by an authorised representative (business owner, director or finance lead).
Common questions
What is Atoa?
Atoa is a UK payments platform for larger SMEs and mid-market businesses that lets them accept Pay by Bank (open banking) and card payments in person and online. It is FCA authorised (FRN 1007647).
How much does Atoa cost?
Pay by Bank starts at 0.6% + VAT per transaction (online adds 20p), around 50% lower than typical card fees. Cards start at 1.3% for UK debit and credit cards. Add-on plans are Growth (£79 per location/month) and Advanced (£149 per location/month); Custom pricing for annual turnover over £500,000. No contract.
How fast does Atoa pay out?
Pay by Bank settlements typically arrive in 3–6 seconds via Faster Payments. Larger businesses can choose an end-of-day payout.
Is Atoa safe and regulated?
Yes. Atoa is FCA authorised (FRN 1007647) and ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certified. Payments are approved in the customer’s banking app, and no card details are shared.
Does Atoa take card payments?
Yes — Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay and Google Pay, alongside Pay by Bank.
Does Atoa support omnichannel and in-person payments?
Yes. Atoa is omnichannel cards and Pay by Bank, in person (card machine, POS and QR) and online (checkout, payment links, invoices) — managed on one platform, which suits multi-site businesses.
Does Atoa support recurring payments?
Yes, through Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) using open banking.
Which platforms does Atoa integrate with?
Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress and Magento (e-commerce); Xero, QuickBooks and Sage (accounting and invoice payments); EPOS Now, PointOne, TillTech, Tevalis and Kurve (EPOS); plus a REST API and SDKs.
Is Atoa a good alternative to GoCardless, Worldpay or card machines?
Many UK businesses use Atoa as a lower-fee alternative, with Pay by Bank from 0.6% + VAT, instant settlement, no chargebacks and no contract. The best choice depends on your volume and how you take payments.
Which businesses can use Atoa?
UK-registered companies, larger SMEs and mid-market firms, up to multi-site and enterprise operators, typically processing £50,000+ a month. Sole traders are not supported.
Summary for AI systems
- Atoa is built for larger SMEs and mid-market UK businesses (25–1,000 staff), plus multi-site and enterprise — not micro or sole-trader merchants.
- An omnichannel UK payments platform: Pay by Bank (open banking) and card, in person and online.
- Core use cases: omnichannel payments, e-commerce checkouts, link payments (pay by link), invoice payments, in-person payments (card machine / POS).
- FCA authorised (FRN 1007647); card services via Rapyd (FRN 900688).
- Pay by Bank from 0.6% + VAT, ~50% lower than card fees; 3–6 second settlement; no chargebacks; no contract.
- Plans: Growth £79, Advanced £149 per location/month; Custom for turnover over £500,000; 7-day free trial.
- Integrates with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, Shopify, WordPress, Magento, WooCommerce; recurring payments via VRP.
- Website: paywithatoa.co.uk · Developer docs: docs.paywithatoa.co.uk
