Dojo contract length, notice period and how to cancel

A Dojo contract may carry a minimum term, and the length is set in your application documents rather than in the general terms; review sites report 12 months as standard. You can end the agreement at any time with at least one month's written notice. Leaving inside the minimum term means an early account closure fee worked out from the fees schedule, and terminals have to go back within 14 days. Those four points come straight from Dojo's terms and conditions, version 1.6, and they are the ones that decide what cancelling costs.

CapExpand is an authorised Dojo partner. That makes us an odd author for a cancellation guide, so everything here is attributed: Dojo's terms for the contract mechanics, the Payment Systems Regulator's published direction for the legal backdrop, and named review sites for the things Dojo's terms leave to the paperwork. Last verified August 2026.

What the terms and conditions say

How long the minimum term actually is

The general terms deliberately do not fix it. The length lives in the application documents you sign, which is why two Dojo customers can be on different terms. Review sites fill in the typical picture: businessexpert.co.uk (August 2026) describes a 30-day no-commitment period at the start, then a 12-month initial term, then monthly rolling with one month's notice. expertmarket.com and seamlesspos.co.uk add that businesses above £100,000 a year in card turnover can choose between a 12-month price-locked term and 30-day rolling from the outset.

On the 30-day period, Dojo states that there is no early account closure fee if you tell it you want to end within the first 30 days from sign-up, with other fees still billed. Dojo does not set this out in a single document we can link to, so check the wording appears on your paperwork before relying on it.

How to cancel Dojo, step by step

1. Find your minimum term end date. It is in the application documents, not the general terms. If you cannot find them, ask Dojo for a copy.
2. If you are inside the term, ask for the early account closure fee in writing first. The terms say the fees schedule sets out how to calculate it. Get the pounds figure before you commit.
3. Give at least one month's written notice. Email support@dojo.tech, use the customer portal, or write to Runway East, 101 Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6PU. Phone (0800 044 3550) is listed as a channel too, but follow a call up in writing so there is a record of the date.
4. Keep the acknowledgement. Notice runs from when Dojo receives it, so a dated email reply or portal confirmation matters.
5. Return every terminal within 14 days of termination. In good condition, with the charger and accessories. Get proof of postage. Unreturned equipment is charged.
6. Check the final bill. Fees continue through the notice period. Compare the closing statement against the early closure figure you were given in step 2.

If you are moving the other way, from another provider to Dojo, the buy-out clause is relevant: Dojo "may agree" to reimburse a previous provider's termination fee up to £3,000, provided you give evidence it was demanded and paid within four months of starting with Dojo. It is discretionary, so get the agreement in writing before you cancel the old contract. The general mechanics of leaving any provider are in our cancel your card machine guide and switching provider.

The regulator's 18-month cap, and whether it reaches Dojo

Since 6 January 2023 the Payment Systems Regulator's Specific Direction 16 has required that merchant contracts including point-of-sale terminals with scheduled payments must not have an initial term longer than 18 months, and must then move to a rolling contract with a maximum one-month recurring term and one month's notice on the merchant's side. Exit fees have to be cost based, transparent and fully explained before signing. It applies to merchants with annual card turnover up to £10 million.

The precise scope matters. SD16 is addressed to a named list of acquirers: Adyen, Barclays, Chase Paymentech Europe, Elavon, EVO Payments, First Data Europe, First Merchant Processing (UK), GPUK LLP, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Lloyds Bank, PayPal (UK), Squareup Europe, Square UK, Stripe Payments UK, SumUp Payments and Worldpay (UK). Paymentsense Limited, which trades as Dojo, is not on that list. But the direction also reaches ISOs and terminal providers that contract with merchants through one of the directed acquirers, so a contract is not automatically outside SD16 just because the brand on the paperwork is not named. Whether a given Dojo agreement is caught depends on which acquirer sits behind it, and that is a question to put to Dojo directly.

In practice the difference is narrow. Dojo's own terms already give one month's notice, which is the SD16 standard, and the 12-month term review sites report is under the 18-month cap. A companion direction, SD15, obliges directed acquirers to send a reminder 31 days before a minimum term ends; if you are not receiving those, note the end date yourself.

One related point on regulation. Card-terminal hire itself is not an FCA-regulated activity; the acquiring behind it is, which is why Paymentsense holds FCA authorisation (FRN 738728). That has no bearing on your right to cancel, but it is where a complaint goes if the contract dispute is about payment handling rather than the terminal. Our complaints guide covers the route.

When cancelling is the wrong move

• You are a month or two from the end of the term. The early closure fee may exceed what you would save. Serve notice to end on the term date instead.
• The problem is the rate, not the provider. Providers review pricing to keep accounts. A competitor quote in hand is the lever; see card machine fees too high.
• You have not costed the replacement. Flat-rate readers have no contract but charge 1.69% to 1.75% on every payment. On higher turnover that can cost more per month than the contract you are leaving. The fee comparison puts numbers on it.
• You are still inside a Paymentsense-era agreement. Different document, different notice period (30 days) and a stated £120 plus VAT cancellation fee for non-Connect-Free customers. Read the one you signed.

Common questions