Plumbers, delivery drivers, mobile hairdressers, and taxi drivers rely on portable card machines to get paid on the spot. But when traveling to different client locations daily, you need to know: “Which is the best network for portable card machines?”
The harsh reality is that no single network covers 100% of the UK.
The Flaw of Single-Network Terminals
If you purchase a card machine that is hard-locked to the EE network, you will inevitably visit a client whose house is in an EE “dead zone.” You will have to ask the client for their Wi-Fi password (which looks unprofessional) or ask them for cash (which they likely don’t have).
If you choose Vodafone, the exact same thing will happen in different locations.
The “All of the Above” Solution
The best network for a portable card machine is all of them combined.
You must insist that your payment terminal provider supplies a terminal equipped with an unsteered multi-network roaming SIM (like Anywhere SIM), or purchase a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot equipped with one.
When you arrive at a client’s property, our SIM actively scans the area and connects to whichever network is strongest right there on their driveway—whether that is Three, Vodafone, O2, or EE.
By utilizing the combined infrastructure of the entire UK telecom industry, you effectively guarantee that you will always have the signal required to process the payment quickly and professionally.