Minimum monthly service charge (MMSC): the fee that bites seasonal businesses
A minimum monthly service charge is a floor on your transaction fees. If the percentage fees on your card sales in a month come to less than the minimum, the provider bills you the minimum anyway. In a busy month it never appears. In a quiet month, or a closed one, it can double your effective rate. Review sites report Dojo's minimum at £24.95; pay-as-you-go readers have none.
How the minimum works
Most contract card machine agreements price you on a percentage of card turnover, sometimes with a pence-per-transaction authorisation fee on top. The provider's income from you therefore rises and falls with your sales. A minimum monthly service charge protects the provider's side of that: it guarantees a minimum level of fee income each month whatever you take.
The mechanics are simple. At month end the provider totals your transaction fees. If the total is above the minimum, you pay the total. If it is below, you pay the minimum, and the difference appears on your statement as a top-up, sometimes labelled “MMSC”, sometimes “minimum charge adjustment”, sometimes just “service charge”. Some contracts define the minimum as applying to the merchant service charge only, so authorisation fees, terminal rental and PCI charges sit outside it and are billed regardless.
A worked example: one year at a seasonal pub
Take an illustrative contract at a blended 1% transaction rate with a £25 minimum monthly service charge. These are round numbers chosen for the arithmetic, not a quote from any provider. Terminal rental and other fixed charges are left out so you can see the minimum on its own.
| Month | Card turnover | Fees at 1% | MMSC top-up | Billed | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July (busy) | £8,000 | £80.00 | £0.00 | £80.00 | 1.00% |
| October (slowing) | £2,400 | £24.00 | £1.00 | £25.00 | 1.04% |
| January (quiet) | £1,200 | £12.00 | £13.00 | £25.00 | 2.08% |
| February (closed) | £0 | £0.00 | £25.00 | £25.00 | n/a |
Illustrative figures only. Effective rate = amount billed ÷ card turnover.
In July the minimum is invisible. In January, £1,200 of card sales costs £25, which is 2.08%, more than double the headline rate. In February, with the doors shut, the £25 is billed against nothing at all. Across a year with four quiet months, the top-ups add up to a figure that would have paid for a good chunk of the summer's fees.
Where it appears and where it does not
Dojo
Two review sites we checked in August 2026 report a Dojo minimum monthly charge of £24.95. We could not verify that against Dojo's own pricing page, and whether it applies, and at what level, may depend on the contract you are offered. Dojo pricing is quoted individually for each business, so ask for the minimum charge in writing as part of the quote and compare it against your quietest month, not your busiest. Our Dojo provider page covers the rest of the fee structure.
Pay-as-you-go readers
SumUp charges 1.69% per in-person transaction and no monthly fee. Square charges 1.75% on UK cards with no setup or monthly fees on its free plan. Zettle charges 1.75% with no contracts or recurring fees. None publishes a minimum monthly charge. A month with no sales costs nothing. For a business that closes for the winter, that is the whole argument. We compare these on our Dojo vs SumUp page.
Other contract providers
Minimum charges are common across contract acquirers and the amounts vary by provider. The only reliable source is the fees schedule attached to your agreement. If a salesperson says there is no minimum, ask them to point to the line in the schedule that says so.
When a contract with a minimum is still the right call
If your quietest month still clears the minimum comfortably, it costs you nothing. A cafe taking £6,000 a month on card every month of the year will never see a top-up at the levels reported above, and a lower contract rate will usually beat a flat 1.69% or 1.75% by more than any minimum could claw back. Our fee comparison calculator lets you test that with your own numbers.
The people who get caught are the ones whose turnover is lumpy: seaside traders, festival bars, wedding venues, ski-season chalets, anyone with a dead quarter. For them the questions before signing are specific.
What is the minimum monthly service charge, in pounds, and what does it cover?
Does it apply in months when the terminal is not used at all?
Is there a shorter or rolling term available for seasonal trading?
What would it cost to return the terminal for the off-season and take it back in spring?
Short-term hire is a real option for the shortest seasons. DNA Payments advertises subscription periods as short as one week; Rapyd advertises terminal hire from three days to three months, aimed at festivals, exhibitions and seasonal peaks. We cover that market in more depth on our events and festivals page.
Seasonal business? Tell us your quiet month, not your busy one.
We will ask Dojo for a quote that includes any minimum charge in writing, so you can compare it against your current statement.
Get a Dojo quoteCapExpand is an authorised Dojo partner and is paid by Dojo when a business signs up through us. That does not change the price you pay.
Frequently asked questions
What does MMSC stand for?
Minimum monthly service charge. It is the smallest amount of transaction fees a provider will bill you in a month. If the percentage fees on your actual card sales come to less than the minimum, the provider charges you the difference as a top-up.
Is the minimum monthly charge on top of my transaction fees?
Usually not. On most contracts the minimum is a floor, not an extra. If your transaction fees for the month are above the minimum you pay the fees and nothing more; if they are below it you pay the minimum. Check your own fees schedule, because the wording varies and some contracts define it differently.
Does Dojo have a minimum monthly charge?
Review sites report a Dojo minimum monthly charge of £24.95. Dojo's own pricing page could not be verified when we checked in August 2026, and the figure may depend on the contract you sign, so ask for it in writing as part of your quote.
Do pay-as-you-go readers have a minimum monthly charge?
No. SumUp (1.69% per transaction, no monthly fee), Square (1.75%, no monthly fees on the free plan) and Zettle (1.75%, no recurring fees) publish no minimum. In a month with no sales you pay nothing, which is why seasonal traders often prefer them for the closed months.
Can I pause a card machine contract over the off-season?
Not normally. A minimum-term contract keeps running whether you trade or not, and the minimum charge is billed each month. Some providers market shorter or rolling terms to seasonal sellers, and short-term hire firms offer terminals from a few days to a few months. Ask the provider what it can do before you sign a twelve-month agreement for a six-month business.
The Dojo minimum charge figure comes from review sites, not from Dojo directly, and was checked in August 2026. Your fees schedule is the document that applies to you.
Sources (checked August 2026)
- MerchantHQ Dojo page: £24.95 minimum monthly charge (review site)
- Merchant Machine Dojo Go 2 review: minimum monthly charge (review site)
- SumUp: 1.69% PAYG, no monthly fee
- Square UK pricing: 1.75%, no monthly fees
- Zettle UK pricing: 1.75%, no recurring fees
- DNA Payments: short-term subscription from one week
- Rapyd: card machine hire from 3 days to 3 months
CapExpand Ltd (Company No. 14433858) is an authorised Dojo partner, not a card machine manufacturer. We are not currently authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Card machine pricing and availability are subject to change. All information on this page is for general guidance only.