The short version: Dojo's advertised 1.2% blended rate is real, but it is the headline for businesses taking under £100,000 a year in card payments. Your quote can land higher or lower once your card mix, your turnover and a couple of fees the headline never mentions are counted.
All Dojo figures below were read from Dojo's own pricing pages on 10 August 2026. Rates change; if you are reading this much later, check the date on your quote against theirs.
What the 1.2% headline actually covers
Dojo currently advertises an all-in blended rate of 1.2% for businesses with annual card turnover below £100,000. Blended means one rate for every card: debit, credit, consumer, business. That is genuinely simple, and simpler than Dojo's own older pricing, which quoted different rates per card type.
Above £100,000 a year, there is no published rate. You get a custom quote, either locked in for 12 months or on a 30-day rolling plan. Above £5 million, everything is bespoke. So the only number Dojo publishes applies to the smallest band of its customers, and everyone else negotiates.
Why your quote might not say 1.2%
This is the question our chat gets most: the advert said one thing, the quote says another. There is no trick, but there are four honest reasons.
First, custom quotes follow your card mix. If your customers lean on business credit cards, which cost more to process, your blended quote will be built around that. A wet-led pub full of contactless debit taps is cheaper to serve than a hotel taking corporate Amex, and the quotes reflect it.
Second, the blended rate is for qualifying transactions. Chip and PIN, contactless and swiped payments submitted within two business days all qualify. Card-not-present payments, remote payments, and anything submitted late are non-qualifying, and carry an extra percentage on top of your normal rate. Dojo's own worked example: 0.7% for a debit card plus a 0.5% non-qualifying charge is 1.2% total on that transaction. If you take a lot of payments over the phone, this matters more than the headline.
Third, there is a per-transaction Secure Transaction fee, which replaced Dojo's old authorisation fee. It funds their fraud detection and encryption, and it carries 20% VAT. Dojo does not publish the amount on its pricing page; it is in your fees schedule, so read that line before you sign.
Fourth, hardware and software sit on top. The card machines are paid for separately, and the optional Plus software plan is £11.99 a month per location.
Dojo costs at a glance (verified 10 August 2026)
| Cost | What Dojo publishes | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction rate | 1.2% blended, all cards | Below £100k annual card turnover; custom quote above |
| Dojo Go Max | £149 upfront (launch offer) or £25/month | Their most popular portable machine |
| Dojo Pocket | £239 upfront or £20/month | Orders and payments on one handheld |
| Dojo Wired | £179 upfront or £15/month | Fixed to counters or kiosks |
| Tap to Pay on iPhone | £0, no contract | Your iPhone is the terminal |
| Software: Essential | Free | Core payments, POS integration, PCI tools |
| Software: Plus | £11.99/month per location | Reports, benchmarking, remote refunds |
| Secure Transaction fee | Amount in your fees schedule | Per transaction, plus 20% VAT |
| Non-qualifying surcharge | Extra % per your agreement | Card-not-present, remote, late-submitted payments |
Prices are counted per device, and the rate is counted per transaction, so a two-terminal site pays twice for hardware but negotiates one rate.
When Dojo is a good deal, and when it is not
Where Dojo earns its keep: card-present hospitality. Next-day settlement including weekends is genuinely useful for cashflow, the machines are quick and reliable in our experience integrating them, and support answers the phone in the UK. The contract buyout of up to £3,000 in exit fees from your old provider is real and removes the usual excuse for staying put. For a busy pub, café or restaurant taking most payments in person, the 1.2% band is competitive.
Where it is not the obvious choice. If your turnover is very small or seasonal, a pay-as-you-go reader with no monthly commitments can work out cheaper and simpler: SumUp charges 1.69% with no monthly fee and Square 1.75% in person (both verified July 2026). You give up next-day weekend settlement and a phone line, but you also give up contracts. And if a big share of your income is card-not-present, over the phone or invoiced remotely, the non-qualifying surcharge eats the headline rate, and a provider built for remote payments deserves a look. That is an against-interest verdict, since Dojo is one of our integrated providers, but it is the truth.
Leaving Dojo, since you should know before you join
Cancellation is by phone with one month's notice, and Dojo arranges a courier to collect the machine. If the device is not returned, or comes back damaged beyond fair wear, charges apply. If you are on a six or twelve month contract and leave early, a cancellation fee applies; the amount is not published, so ask for it in writing when you sign. On 30-day rolling terms, leaving is much simpler. None of this is unusual for the industry, but it is better read now than discovered later.
Where Seamless fits
Seamless integrates directly with Dojo, so the till pushes the amount to the card machine, totals reconcile, and nobody types figures twice. You can see how that works on our Dojo integration page, and what the till itself costs on our pricing page: £0 a month when you pair it with an approved payment provider (Teya, Zettle or Dojo), otherwise £24 a month. We work with several payment providers, compared honestly on our payments page, because the right one depends on your card mix, not ours.
If you want to sanity-check a Dojo quote against what you pay now, our cost calculator does the arithmetic, and our sister site CardRate will audit your current card statement for free and tell you plainly whether the switch saves you money. If it does not, we will say so.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my quoted Dojo rate higher than the advertised 1.2%?
The 1.2% blended rate is the published price for annual card turnover under £100,000. Custom quotes are built around your card mix and turnover, and card-not-present payments carry a non-qualifying surcharge on top. Your agreement's fees schedule has your actual numbers.
Does Dojo charge a monthly fee?
The Essential software plan is free, and Plus is £11.99 a month per location. Card machines are either bought upfront (from £149) or paid monthly (from £15). There is also a per-transaction Secure Transaction fee set out in your fees schedule.
What is the Dojo Secure Transaction fee?
A small per-transaction charge that replaced Dojo's authorisation fee. It covers their fraud detection and point-to-point encryption, and it incurs 20% VAT, which may be reclaimable if you are VAT registered. The amount is in your fees schedule rather than on the public pricing page.
Does Dojo pay out next day?
Yes, next-day settlement is standard, including weekends. For hospitality cashflow this is one of Dojo's strongest features.
Can I cancel Dojo?
Yes, with one month's notice by phone, and you return the card machine by courier. Leaving a six or twelve month contract early triggers a cancellation fee, so get the amount in writing before you sign. On 30-day rolling terms there is no such fee.
Do Dojo card machines work with an EPOS system?
Yes. Dojo integrates with several EPOS providers, including Seamless, so payments push from the till to the machine automatically. Integration removes mis-keyed amounts and makes end-of-day reconciliation a one-glance job.
Not advice: rates and fees are Dojo's to set and change. Figures verified against dojo.tech on 10 August 2026. Always confirm current numbers on your own quote and fees schedule before signing.
We build Seamless, an EPOS system that integrates with Dojo. Dojo does not pay us, and we do not get a cut of their fees. We wrote this because roughly one person a day asks our live chat what Dojo actually charges, and the honest answer deserves more space than a chat window.
