Dojo (formerly Paymentsense) is one of the UK’s largest card machine providers in 2026, processing payments for restaurants, cafes, retail shops, and service businesses. It’s built for established businesses that want fast payouts and reliable hardware – not for startups or micro-businesses looking for the cheapest possible rate.
We cover the full details in our Paymentsense review, including pricing and real-world feedback.
We rate Dojo 6.9 out of 10. Its published rate is a flat 1.2% blended charge on every card transaction below £100,000 a year in card turnover, with no monthly plan fee – that undercuts both Square (1.75%) and SumUp (1.69%) on rate. Next-day payouts including weekends are a standout feature. The main drawbacks: aggressive sales calls are consistently flagged in reviews, and a £24.95 minimum monthly charge means very low-volume businesses still pay more than pay-as-you-go rivals.
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This review covers Dojo’s pricing plans, card machines, integration options, and real customer feedback – including the sales practices that draw the most criticism.
- Flat 1.2% blended rate on all cards below £100,000 a year in turnover - undercuts Square (1.75%) and SumUp (1.69%) on rate, with no monthly plan fee to cover first
- Next-day payouts including weekends is standard on all plans - one of the few UK providers offering 7-day settlement, improving cash flow versus the 2-3 day industry norm
- 600+ EPOS integrations including Lightspeed, Tevalis, and Epos Now - no lock-in to proprietary software, with Dojo terminals working alongside your existing till system
- Contract buyout of up to £3,000 towards your existing provider’s exit fees - Dojo publishes both a 12-month fixed plan and a 30-day rolling option above £100,000 a year
- Persistent cold calling is the most common complaint in Trustpilot reviews - hardware quality and payment processing reliability get strong feedback, but sales tactics frustrate potential customers
What Dojo Offers
Dojo provides card machines, payment processing, and business tools for UK merchants. A published 1.2% blended rate below £100,000 a year in card turnover, custom rates above that, and next-day payouts as standard.
Dojo (formerly Paymentsense) prices on card turnover rather than on named plans. Businesses under £100,000 a year pay a flat 1.2% blended rate on every card transaction, with no mandatory monthly plan fee – the Essential software tier is free. Above £100,000 a year Dojo quotes a custom blended rate on either a 12-month fixed plan or a 30-day rolling agreement, and the rate falls further as turnover grows.
Above £5 million a year, Dojo offers bespoke pricing with card-mix options and flexible hardware payment plans. Every tier includes free terminal replacement, 7-day UK-based customer support, and integration with over 600 point-of-sale systems. Dojo processes payments for over 100,000 UK businesses and reports fast transaction processing speeds.
Dojo rebranded from Paymentsense in 2019 and now operates as one of the UK’s largest payment processors. The company provides card machines with built-in 4G connectivity, a merchant app for transaction management, and integration with over 600 EPOS systems.
The platform accepts all major cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), contactless payments, and digital wallets including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Tap to Pay on iPhone is also available at no extra hardware cost.
Dojo’s standout feature is next-day payouts seven days a week, including weekends and bank holidays – something most competitors don’t offer. For cash-flow-sensitive businesses like restaurants and cafes, this alone can justify choosing Dojo.
Card Machines
Three terminals plus a phone option: Dojo Go Max (portable, £149), Dojo Pocket (compact handheld, £239), and Dojo Wired (countertop, £179) – or Tap to Pay on iPhone at no hardware cost. All support contactless and digital wallets.
| Model | Type | Screen | Battery | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dojo Go Max | Portable | 5.5″ HD touchscreen | ~10 hours / 650 transactions | £149 (buy, launch offer) or £25/month |
| Dojo Pocket | Compact handheld | 4″ touchscreen | ~12 hours / 780 transactions | £239 (buy) or £20/month |
| Dojo Wired | Countertop | 5″ touchscreen + keypad | Mains powered | £179 (buy) or £15/month |
The Dojo Go Max is the main product – a portable terminal built on the PAX A920 platform with a built-in receipt printer, Wi-Fi, and 4G backup. It’s IP54 splash-proof and drop-tested to 1.2m. Dojo claims it processes payments 58% faster than the market average.
The Dojo Pocket is a smaller handheld without a printer – designed for table service in restaurants. The Dojo Wired is a traditional countertop terminal connected via Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
Compare Dojo’s fees against other providers using our merchant account fee calculator.
All devices support contactless cards and digital wallets. Portable models store up to 100 offline transactions (capped at £45 each) and retry automatically when connectivity returns.
Pricing and Fees
A flat 1.2% blended rate covers all card transactions below £100,000 a year in turnover, with no monthly plan fee. Above that, Dojo quotes custom rates that fall as turnover grows.
| Plan | Best For | Monthly Fee | Transaction Rates | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under £100K/year | Small businesses | £0 (Essential tier) | 1.2% blended, all card types | Not published |
| £100K-£5M/year | Growing businesses | Custom | Custom blended rate | 30-day rolling or 12-month |
| £5M+/year | Multi-site and enterprise | Bespoke | Bespoke, with card-mix options | Bespoke |
| Other Fees | Amount |
|---|---|
| Minimum monthly charge | £24.95 |
| Refund fee | 50p |
| Secure transaction fee | 5p per transaction |
| Chargeback | £28 + VAT |
| PCI non-compliance | £15 + VAT/month |
| Service tier (Essential) | Free |
| Service tier (Plus) | £11.99/month per location |
The blended-rate maths: if you process £3,000/month in card payments, you pay £36 – an effective 1.2%, against £52.50 on Square and £50.70 on SumUp. The catch is the £24.95 minimum monthly charge. At £1,000/month you pay that minimum rather than £12, which works out to 2.5% and puts pay-as-you-go providers ahead again.
Dojo no longer publishes per-card-type rates for its custom tariffs – the previous split of consumer and business, in-person and online rates has been replaced by a single quoted blended rate. Amex rates are custom quoted. Ask for the blended rate and the card mix it assumes, in writing.
Dojo covers up to £3,000 in exit fees when you switch from another provider – a genuine incentive if you’re locked into a contract elsewhere.
Integrations and Online Payments
Dojo integrates with 600+ EPOS systems (Lightspeed, Tevalis, Epos Now) and offers payment links, virtual terminal, and online checkout – all at card-not-present rates.
EPOS compatibility is one of Dojo’s strongest selling points. Unlike Square which pushes its own POS system, Dojo integrates with over 600 third-party EPOS providers including Lightspeed, Tevalis, and Epos Now. Integration typically takes minutes once Dojo sends credentials to your EPOS provider.
For online payments, Dojo offers payment links (shareable via email, SMS, or messaging apps) and a virtual terminal for phone orders. Card-not-present rates are higher: 1.9% + 5p for consumer cards, 2.3% + 5p for business cards.
Dojo Bookings (£15/month) adds appointment scheduling with payment collection – useful for salons, gyms, and service businesses that take deposits.
Security
Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) means card data never touches your systems. PCI DSS compliance is simplified – no separate paperwork needed.
Dojo handles PCI compliance through Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE), which encrypts card data at the terminal and keeps it encrypted until it reaches the payment processor. This eliminates the need for merchants to complete separate PCI SAQ paperwork.
Online payments use 3D Secure authentication, Address Verification Service (AVS), and CVV checks. Payment links include built-in fraud detection. All hardware has 99.99% claimed uptime with automatic 4G failover if Wi-Fi drops.
Customer Experience
Dojo scores well for hardware quality and easy setup. The biggest complaints: aggressive sales calls and inconsistent after-sales support when things go wrong.
Customer reviews follow a consistent pattern. The hardware, setup process, and day-to-day payment processing get strong positive feedback. Merchants describe the terminals as reliable, fast, and easy to use from day one. The Dojo app gets good marks for basic transaction management.
The problems emerge in two areas. First, sales tactics: multiple reviewers report persistent cold calling, with some receiving several calls a day after declining – including one merchant who received three calls on Christmas Eve. Second, after-sales support: while routine queries are handled well, complex issues can drag on for weeks with minimal communication.
UK-based support is available 7 days a week (8am-11pm for tech support), with remote device access for troubleshooting. The Plus service tier (£11.99/month) adds analytics, pre-authorisation, bill-splitting, custom tipping, and multi-user access.
Pros and Cons
Dojo is best for businesses taking more than about £1,500/month on cards that want fast payouts and reliable hardware. Below that, the £24.95 minimum monthly charge makes pay-as-you-go rivals cheaper.
Dojo vs Alternatives
Dojo competes with Square and SumUp on simplicity and now undercuts both on rate. Its £24.95 minimum monthly charge is what makes it more expensive at very low volumes.
| Provider | Best For | In-Person Rate | Monthly Fee | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dojo | Established hospitality/retail | 1.2% blended | £0 (min. charge £24.95) | Next-day payouts inc. weekends, 600+ EPOS |
| Square | All-in-one POS | 1.75% | £0 | Free reader, integrated POS software |
| SumUp | Low-volume / startups | 1.69% | £0 | Lowest PAYG rate, no commitment |
| takepayments | Tailored rates | Custom quoted | From £12.50 | No minimum term, custom pricing |
| Worldpay | High-volume merchants | Custom quoted | From £9.95 | Widest payment method range |
The crossover point is roughly £1,480/month in card turnover – the level at which SumUp’s 1.69% finally exceeds Dojo’s £24.95 minimum charge. Below that, SumUp and Square are cheaper because Dojo’s minimum bites. Above it, Dojo’s 1.2% wins and the gap widens with volume. Note the 5p secure transaction fee sits on top of the headline rate. For businesses processing less than £1,500/month, see our cheapest card machines guide.
Our Verdict
We rate Dojo 6.9/10 – a strong choice for UK businesses taking more than about £1,500/month on cards that value next-day payouts and EPOS flexibility. The £24.95 minimum monthly charge makes it poor value below that.
Strong hardware, next-day weekend payouts, and 600+ EPOS integrations. The 1.2% blended rate undercuts Square and SumUp at any volume clearing the £24.95 monthly minimum. Sales tactics and inconsistent after-sales support are the main drawbacks.
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Dojo gets the fundamentals right for its target market: reliable hardware, fast payouts (including weekends), and broad EPOS compatibility. The 1.2% blended rate is genuinely competitive – it undercuts Square and SumUp on every card type, and removing the old monthly plan fee has widened the range of businesses it suits.
The sales tactics are a real problem. Persistent cold calling and pushy behaviour are the most common complaints – and they’re consistent enough across reviews to be a pattern, not isolated incidents. After-sales support is also mixed, with some complex issues taking weeks to resolve.
If you process enough volume to clear the £24.95 minimum charge and want next-day weekend payouts, Dojo is worth considering – especially on the 30-day rolling option. For lower volumes, Square or SumUp are better fits. For a full comparison, see our best card machines guide or compare payment processing costs.
