Many don't. A terminal only takes a payment when the client is in the room and someone is free to take it, and many clients now pay bills from home, between meetings or on their phone. Payment links sent by email, SMS or WhatsApp, pay by bank and card payments taken over the phone cover those clients, and a terminal can still sit alongside them if your firm sees clients who like to pay at the desk.
In this article
The short version
- Many law firms no longer need a card terminal, because many clients pay remotely.
- Payment links, pay by bank and phone payments cover clients who aren't in the office.
- Personal cards can't be surcharged; commercial cards can, up to what they cost you.
- Pay by bank usually costs the firm less than a card.
- Check with your COFA before taking money on account by card or link.
When a terminal is still useful
The decision usually turns on how your clients pay today, and it's worth looking at a few months of payments before you decide. A high street practice doing wills, probate and conveyancing for local people may still see clients who come in to sign and want to pay while they're there. A firm whose clients are mostly businesses, or whose private clients rarely visit, may find the terminal is used a handful of times a month.
A terminal has practical costs beyond its fees. Someone has to be at the desk to take the payment, the money settles through a separate provider, and those payments have to be matched to the right bill by hand.
Some firms keep a terminal for the front desk and move everything else to remote payment; others drop it once they see how few payments it takes. The better fit depends on whether your clients still want to pay face to face.
How clients pay when they're not in the office
Bills usually reach clients by email, and they'll often pay from the same device they read it on. Three routes make that easy.
A payment link opens a page for that bill with the amount and reference already filled in. The client chooses card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or pay by bank, approves it, and the payment arrives carrying the bill reference. You can send it with the bill and again in each reminder.
Pay by bank lets the client approve the payment in their own banking app, without typing your account details. For a larger bill, such as a final bill on a dispute, it usually costs the firm less than a card.
A phone payment suits the client who rings to settle up. You key in the card details they read out, so your firm takes on responsibilities under the card industry's security standard, PCI DSS. Sending a payment link while you're still on the call keeps card numbers away from your team.
Adfin's payment links can be sent by email, SMS or WhatsApp, and the same page offers card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and pay by bank. If a client would rather pay by phone, you can take the card payment against the invoice in the same place. Payments are matched back to the invoice in Xero or QuickBooks, so nobody re-keys them.
What card payments cost and who can be charged
Card fees depend on the card, and business and corporate cards usually cost more to accept than personal ones. They're usually a percentage of the bill with no cap, so they grow with the bill. Bank payments through Adfin cost 1% + 20p with the percentage capped at £4, so on a larger bill pay by bank usually costs the firm much less than a card.
Whether you can pass a card fee on depends on the card, not the client. Personal cards can't be surcharged, whoever is paying. Business cards can, but the surcharge is limited to what it costs you to accept the card. So a private client paying on their own debit card pays no surcharge, and neither does a company director who settles the firm's bill on a personal card.
If you'd like to pass card costs on where the rules allow, Adfin can add a surcharge to business card payments. Offering pay by bank on the same page also gives every client a route with no card fee that costs the firm less.
Money on account and card payments
Bills for work already done are the straightforward case for links and phone payments. Money on account is different, because money for fees or unpaid disbursements received before a bill is client money and belongs in client account. Before taking it by card, link or phone, check with your COFA how the payment route fits your accounts procedures.
For delivered bills, unpaid links don't have to be followed up by hand. Adfin's Customer Agents can resend the same link by email, SMS or WhatsApp on a schedule you set, within rules your firm approves.
Common questions
Can a law firm take card payments without a terminal? Yes. Clients can pay by card from a payment link on their own device, or read their card details to you over the phone.
Can we add a card fee when a client pays by card? Only on a business card, and no more than the card costs you to accept. Personal cards can't be surcharged, whoever the client is.
Is it safe to take card details over the phone? It's a normal way to take payment, but your firm takes on PCI DSS responsibilities for it. Sending a payment link during the call keeps card numbers away from your team.
Can clients pay money on account by card? They can, but it's client money until you bill, so check with your COFA how the payment route fits your accounts procedures before you offer it.
Which costs the firm less, a card payment or pay by bank? On Adfin's pricing, pay by bank has its percentage capped at £4, so on most bills it costs less than a card.
Does a payment link work on a phone? Yes. The client opens it on their phone and pays by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or pay by bank, with the amount and reference already filled in.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk - The Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/3110/contents
- Adfin - Pricing (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/pricing
- Adfin - Accept payments (accurate as of October 2026) https://adfin.com/accept-payments
- Adfin Help Centre - Taking card payments over the phone (accurate as of October 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/15017585-taking-card-payments-over-the-phone
