Card machines with no authorisation fees
What a pence-per-transaction fee does to small sales, which readers and plans charge none, and the all-in sums at three turnovers.
An authorisation fee is a fixed pence charge on every card transaction, commonly 1p to 5p, billed on top of the percentage rate. Three pay-as-you-go readers charge none: SumUp at 1.69%, Square and Zettle at 1.75% on in-person UK cards, with no per-transaction pence on any of them (checked August 2026). For businesses under £100,000 a year in card turnover, Dojo's plan through CapExpand is 1.2% of each transaction with all fees included and no separate authorisation fee, subject to Dojo's approval of the business and confirmed in writing before you sign.
The fee matters most where the average sale is small: on a £3.50 coffee, 3p is 0.86% of the sale before the percentage rate is counted. The tables below put figures on that.
What an authorisation fee is
Every card payment is sent to the cardholder's bank for approval before the sale completes. Some providers bill that step separately as a pence charge per authorisation, labelled on statements as an authorisation fee, transaction fee or secure transaction fee. Because it pays for the attempt rather than the sale, some providers charge it on declined and refunded transactions too; the authorisation fee explainer covers how to read the line on a statement.
The fee is not capped. The Interchange Fee Regulation caps only the interchange component, at 0.2% for UK consumer debit and 0.3% for UK consumer credit cards; the acquirer's margin, scheme fees and any pence charge sit outside it.
Why a pence fee punishes small sales
A percentage scales with the sale; a pence fee does not. Divide the fee by the average sale and you get the percentage it quietly adds to the headline rate. The last column shows an illustrative 1.0% contract once a 5p fee is folded in.
| Average sale | 3p fee adds | 5p fee adds | Illustrative 1.0% + 5p becomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| £3.50 | 0.86% | 1.43% | 2.43% |
| £8.00 | 0.38% | 0.63% | 1.63% |
| £15.00 | 0.20% | 0.33% | 1.33% |
| £40.00 | 0.08% | 0.13% | 1.13% |
At £3.50, a 5p fee on its own is 1.43% of the sale, close to a flat-rate reader's whole charge. At £40 it is 0.13%. Takeaways, cafes and kiosks sit at the top of that table; the cafe and takeaway pages go through the transaction mix those businesses see.
Which card machines have no authorisation fee
- SumUp. 1.69% per in-person transaction, no monthly fee, no per-transaction pence. Solo Lite reader £25 ex VAT. A £19/month Payments Plus plan takes domestic consumer cards to 0.99%, still with no pence fee.
- Square. 1.75% on in-person UK cards, plus 1.5% on non-UK cards. No monthly fee, no per-transaction pence. Square Reader £19 plus VAT.
- Zettle. 1.75% on major cards including American Express. No recurring fees, no per-transaction pence. Reader from £29 ex VAT.
- Dojo through CapExpand, under £100,000 a year. 1.2% of each transaction with all fees included: no separate authorisation fee, no monthly charge, no PCI fee. Dojo's own pricing page lists 1.2% for that turnover band (checked August 2026). Review sites have reported a 5p secure transaction fee on the same plan; through CapExpand there is no separate per-transaction fee. The terminal is bought or rented separately. Subject to Dojo's approval of the business, and confirmed in writing before you sign.
The three readers are bought outright with nothing to cancel; the no monthly fee page runs the break-even between them and a contract. Every Dojo charge, including the ones review sites report, is on the Dojo fees page.
Which contracts typically add one
Acquirer contracts priced as a percentage plus pence are the usual source. The structure is common across the traditional acquirers and the terminal providers that resell them, and there is nothing improper about it: the pence fee is stated in the fees schedule, and for a business with large average sales it can be the cheaper shape. The problem is presentation. A quote that leads with the percentage and leaves the 3p in the schedule looks lower than a flat rate until the transaction count is multiplied in.
Stripe's published Terminal pricing shows the shape in the open: 1.4% plus 10p per successful charge for EEA cards (checked August 2026), and 10p on a £3.50 sale is 2.9% before the percentage. Whoever is quoting, ask for the per-transaction pence in writing, and whether it applies to declines and refunds.
All-in cost against headline rate at three turnovers
Monthly card fees only, before VAT where applicable; hardware is left out of every column. The contract column is illustrative (1.0% plus 3p per transaction plus £25 of fixed monthly charges) and is not a quote from Dojo or anyone else. The figure in brackets is the effective rate: total charges divided by turnover.
| Card turnover / month | Transactions | Average sale | SumUp 1.69% | Square or Zettle 1.75% | Illustrative 1.0% + 3p + £25/mo | Dojo via CapExpand 1.2% all-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £5,000 | 200 | £25.00 | £84.50 | £87.50 | £81.00 (1.62%) | £60.00 (1.20%) |
| £10,000 | 600 | £16.67 | £169.00 | £175.00 | £143.00 (1.43%) | Quoted individually |
| £20,000 | 1,500 | £13.33 | £338.00 | £350.00 | £270.00 (1.35%) | Quoted individually |
At £5,000 and 200 transactions the illustrative contract's 1.0% headline becomes 1.62% once the pence and fixed charges are counted, a few pounds under SumUp rather than the 0.69 points the headline suggests. The 1.2% plan has nothing to add back, so its effective rate is its headline rate. £10,000 a month is £120,000 a year, above that plan's ceiling, so the second and third rows are quoted individually; for higher card volumes a quote is often the lower option, and the only way to know is to compare it against your current statement. The fee comparison calculator does the flat-rate side for any turnover.
When a small authorisation fee is fine
If the average sale is £40 or more, a pence fee is close to a rounding error and the percentage decides. An illustrative 1.0% plus 3p at a £40 average is 1.08% all-in, well under any flat-rate reader. A tradesperson, a restaurant with a £30 average bill or a shop with a high basket gains more from a lower percentage than it loses to the pence, so for those businesses a plan with no authorisation fee is not automatically the lower-cost one. The test does not change: total monthly charges divided by card turnover, on your own statement, against the same sum for the quote.
Over £30,000 a month on card
For businesses taking more than £30,000 a month in card payments, CapExpand offers the terminal free for the life of your agreement, subject to approval: transaction fees only, no terminal rental. Rates at that volume are quoted individually, so there is no percentage to print here; the rate and the free terminal are confirmed in writing before you sign.
Common questions
What is an authorisation fee on a card machine?
A fixed pence charge on each card transaction, commonly 1p to 5p, billed on top of the percentage rate. It pays for the authorisation request sent to the cardholder's bank. Because it is a fixed amount, it adds a larger percentage to a small sale than to a large one.
Do SumUp, Square and Zettle charge authorisation fees?
No. SumUp charges 1.69% and Square and Zettle charge 1.75% on in-person UK card payments, with no per-transaction pence charge and no monthly fee on their basic plans (checked August 2026). The reader is bought outright, from £19 plus VAT for the Square Reader.
Does Dojo charge an authorisation fee?
Dojo's own pricing page lists 1.2% for businesses under £100,000 a year in card turnover (checked August 2026), and review sites have reported a 5p secure transaction fee alongside it. Through CapExpand, that plan is 1.2% of each transaction with all fees included: no separate authorisation fee, no monthly charge, no PCI fee. It is subject to Dojo's approval of the business, and the rate is confirmed in writing before you sign.
Is an authorisation fee charged on declined transactions?
Often, yes. The fee pays for the authorisation attempt rather than the sale, so some providers charge it on declined and later-refunded transactions too. Providers differ, so ask for the rule in writing and check the fees schedule before signing.
How do I work out what an authorisation fee is costing me?
Take one monthly statement and count the transactions. Multiply the count by the pence fee to get the monthly cost in pounds, then divide by that month's card turnover to see the percentage it adds. A business doing 1,000 transactions at 3p pays £30 a month, which on £8,000 of turnover is 0.375% on top of the headline rate.
When is a card machine with an authorisation fee the better deal?
When the average sale is large. At a £40 average, 3p is 0.08% of the sale, so a contract at 1.0% plus 3p costs about 1.08% all-in, well under a flat 1.69% or 1.75%. The percentage decides at high average tickets; the pence fee decides at low ones.
Lots of small sales? Get the 1.2% plan in writing.
Tell us your monthly card turnover and rough transaction count, or send a recent statement. We will come back with a written Dojo quote and the difference in pounds.
CapExpand 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.
Sources
- Dojo pricing - 1.2% for businesses under £100,000 a year in card turnover; checked August 2026
- SumUp UK pricing - 1.69% in-person, no monthly fee, no per-transaction pence; Payments Plus £19/month at 0.99% domestic; checked August 2026
- Square UK pricing - 1.75% in-person, +1.5% non-UK cards, no monthly fee, Reader £19 + VAT; checked August 2026
- Zettle UK pricing - 1.75%, reader from £29 ex VAT, no recurring fees; checked August 2026
- Stripe UK pricing - Terminal 1.4% + 10p per successful EEA card charge; checked August 2026
- Interchange Fee Regulation (retained EU 2015/751) - 0.2% consumer debit and 0.3% consumer credit interchange caps; checked August 2026