Artega vs SumUp

SumUp merchants report weeks-long fund holds with no clear reason given, a pattern documented across Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaints. Here's the fuller comparison.

Money: SumUp's held-funds pattern, while not tied to a single named case the way PayPal's or Square's is, shows up repeatedly enough in complaints to be a real risk. Artega never holds your money at any point, so there's nothing on our end to hold back.

Your name: There's nothing stopping SumUp's display name from defaulting back to the legal name already on file. Artega doesn't ask for your legal name at all, only the name you choose to trade under.

What kind of work is allowed: Artega only asks whether the work is legal, not whether SumUp personally approves of it.

Getting set up: SumUp is understood to follow a self-serve sign-up model, though this rests on general reputation rather than a directly sourced policy document. Artega gives every new seller a 1:1 concierge onboarding call with an actual person.

Booking: SumUp launched native Bookings in May 2026, genuinely comparable to Artega here. The difference is that booking, deposits, and payment were built as one flow on Artega from the start, rather than added as a newer, separate feature.

Sources: BBB: SumUp complaint pattern · SumUp Restricted Businesses list · SumUp Bookings launch, GlobeNewswire