A website takes card payments through a payment company, such as Stripe, PayPal or Square, which takes the card details, checks them with the bank, and pays the money into the business's bank account. The business never sees a card number, so it does not have to keep them safe.

What do I need to take payments?

An account with a payment company and a business bank account for it to pay into. Opening the account asks who you are, what the business sells and where the money should go, and the company checks the answers before it pays anything out.

What does it cost?

Payment companies charge a share of each payment, plus a small fixed fee. On Stripe's standard pricing in the UK, a payment by a UK card costs 1.5% plus 20p, so a £40 sale costs 80p; cards from abroad cost more. There is no monthly fee. Stripe's pricing page has the current figures.

When does the money arrive?

The payment company pays it into your bank account in batches, on a schedule shown in its dashboard. The first payout takes longer while the company checks the new account.

Do I have to charge VAT?

Only once the business is registered for VAT, which it must be when its taxable turnover over the last 12 months passes £90,000, the threshold GOV.UK lists. A registered business includes the VAT in the prices it shows to the public.

What happens when a customer asks for their money back?

You refund them from the payment company's dashboard, and the money goes back to their card. A customer who asks their bank to reverse a payment instead opens a dispute, which the payment company asks you to answer with evidence of the sale.

How does it work on miow?

Each miow site connects its own Stripe account, and miow takes nothing from its sales. A buyer pays on Stripe's own checkout page and comes back to the site. Take payments with Stripe covers connecting the account, and Add a product or service putting things on sale.