Quick answer
If your suppliers only accept bank transfer, you're losing out on cashflow flexibility and credit card rewards every time you pay. Bill pay services solve this — you pay by credit card, they send a bank transfer to your supplier.
The question is which service to use. Here's every option available in the UK right now:
| Service | Fee | Amex | Accounts | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incredible | 1.99% | personal, business | Lowest fees and broadest card acceptance | |
| Apron | 2.5% | business | Accounting integration and batch payments | |
| Bluechain | 2.5% | business | Paying HMRC and tax bills with credit card | |
| Curve | From 1.99% | personal | Personal use and card consolidation |
Data last verified March 2026. Check provider websites for the latest terms.
Incredible is the cheapest at 1.99% per transaction. Everyone else charges 2.5% (though Curve advertises "from 1.99%"). On a £5,000 invoice, that's the difference between £99.50 and £125 — adds up fast if you're routing significant volume through these services.
This is the big differentiator right now. Bluechain dropped Amex in May 2025. Apron has temporarily paused Amex. That leaves Incredible as the only service where you can pay invoices with your Amex card — which matters a lot if you're stacking Membership Rewards points.
Curve is personal only — it's not designed for business invoice payments. Bluechain and Apron are business only. Incredible supports both personal and business accounts.
Apron has the strongest accounting integrations with Xero and QuickBooks, including batch payments and automatic reconciliation. If you're paying dozens of invoices a month, this matters. The other services are more manual.
Want the detail on a specific pair? We've compared every service against every other service:
Yes. Bill payment services like Incredible, Apron, and Bluechain let you pay invoices with a credit card even when the supplier only accepts bank transfer. The service charges a small fee (1.99-2.5%) and sends a bank transfer to your supplier on your behalf.
Incredible currently offers the lowest fees at 1.99% per transaction. Other services like Apron, Bluechain, and Curve charge 2.5% or more.
Currently, Incredible is the only UK service that accepts American Express for invoice payments. Bluechain dropped Amex support in May 2025, and Apron has temporarily paused Amex payments.
It depends on your situation. At 1.99-2.5% per transaction, the fee is worth it if: the cashflow extension saves you from more expensive borrowing (overdrafts cost 15-20% APR), you're earning rewards that partially offset the fee, or you need to hit a welcome bonus spend target.