Stuck in a card machine contract: exit options and costs

Updated September 2026

Four dates decide what leaving costs: the end of the processing agreement's initial term, the end of the terminal's minimum hire period, the day the provider receives your notice, and the day the machine reaches its owner. Each sits in a different document. On the paperwork read on 9 September 2026 the terminal hire is the longer commitment, 18 months at Worldpay and at Barclaycard, against a 12-month Initial Term or 30 days' notice on the processing side.

A card machine agreement is a contract between two businesses. The 14-day cancellation right in the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 belongs to a consumer, which regulation 4 defines as an individual acting outside their trade or business, so the document you signed is the whole of the position and a copy of it is the first thing to get.

How do I find out what leaving actually costs?

Three things from the current provider, requested in writing: the signed agreement with its application form, the end date of every minimum term inside it, and an itemised settlement figure for leaving on a named date. Worldpay's Merchant Services Agreement of April 2026 publishes its hire formula in Schedule 5, so that reply can be checked line by line. Dojo's fees schedule of 24 August 2026 prices its early account closure fee "based on your agreed plan", so the pounds figure exists only in a written reply.

The second question is how many agreements there are. A terminal hired under its own document, sometimes from a leasing company rather than the acquirer, keeps billing after the processing agreement has ended unless it receives its own notice, and its minimum period runs from its own start date, which at Worldpay is the delivery date under Schedule 5 paragraph 5.

Why are there two contracts, and which one carries the longer term?

Most UK set-ups run on two agreements: a processing agreement with the acquirer, and a hire agreement for the terminal, which may sit with a leasing company. Worldpay's Merchant Services Agreement dated April 2026, reference WP110, read on 9 September 2026, holds both inside one document. Clause 12.2(B) ends the processing side on one month's prior written notice or a call to 0191 203 7318, while Schedule 5 paragraph 4 hires the terminal for a minimum 18-month period for a UK merchant with card turnover up to £10 million, unless the application form shows a shorter one, then for successive one-month Renewal Hire Periods.

Barclaycard publishes the same shape across two documents. Its merchant terms, last updated May 2023, take at least 30 calendar days' notice in writing or by phone under condition 18.3. Its card reader hire agreement is a separate document regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, with a signature copy dated November 2008; it ends on one month's notice that cannot take effect before 18 months have run, and it takes a Cancellation Fee from its own fees table if ended sooner.

Dojo puts processing and the machine under one agreement. Its general terms version 2.0, published 20 April 2026, take at least one month's written notice from the merchant under condition 20, and its fees schedule version 2.1, published 24 August 2026, prices the early account closure fee "based on your agreed plan". The card machines "belong to us and you must return them to us at the end of the agreement", in the words of the service terms, and the schedule lists a non-return fee of up to £400 plus VAT per machine once 30 days have passed. A merchant still on a legacy Paymentsense agreement has the older shape: that document, read on 9 September 2026, runs until the terminal hire agreement ends and charges £120 plus VAT to leave early unless the customer is on Connect Free, Enterprise or E-com terms.

Two agreements mean two notices, and Worldpay's Schedule 5 says so in terms. Paragraph 21 states that ending the terminal hire does not end the processing services; paragraph 23 states that ending the processing agreement ends the hire at the same time. Both end dates come off the paperwork before either letter is written, because the hire is normally the one with more time left.

What are my exit routes?

Five routes, and the cost of each is written in a clause rather than settled in a phone call.

Route	When it applies	Cost, as published
Notice expiring at the end of the term	Worldpay: one month under clause 12.2(B), and the hire on one month expiring at the end of the Minimum Hire Period under Schedule 5 paragraph 20	The final month's charges and nothing beyond them
Negotiated variation	The provider offers a new tariff or a new terminal when notice is given	A replacement Worldpay terminal starts a fresh Minimum Hire Period from its delivery date under paragraph 5
Termination for the provider's breach	The agreement's own termination clause, through its complaints procedure	Depends on the clause; Worldpay's clause 31 names the Financial Ombudsman Service for an eligible business
Paying the settlement figure	The saving over 12 months is larger than the figure	The formula where one is published: Worldpay rentals to the end of the hire, less 5% of each
A new provider's contribution	Only where its own page publishes one	Dojo: "Contract buyout up to £3,000", subject to annual card turnover, on 9 September 2026

What will a new provider cover when I switch, and what will it not?

Only what its own page says on the day you read it. Dojo's pricing page on 9 September 2026 lists "Contract buyout up to £3,000" as one of four headline points, and the Dojo Go Max, Pocket, Wired and Sidekick pages each say "we could even cover your exit fees up to £3,000" with one footnoted condition, "Subject to your annual card turnover. See our Help Centre for more info". The Help Centre at support.dojo.tech showed a login page when we opened it the same day, so the turnover bands and the claim steps are not public. Dojo's general terms of 20 April 2026 contain no buy-out clause; the earlier version 1.6 did, at up to £3,000 on evidence that a termination fee had been demanded and paid, given within four months of starting.

Worldpay's public pages carry no exit-fee contribution on 9 September 2026. The small business page offers "No joining fee" and next-day settlement, with "Minimum 18-month contract" for online applications in the small print, and the mobile card machine page prices terminal hire at £15 or £22.50 a month, both at £0 on a special offer running to 31 December 2026 on an 18-month minimum hire term. Barclaycard's merchant terms publish no contribution either. Global Payments' UK site carried a terms of use page and privacy notices but no merchant agreement when we last read it, on 8 September 2026.

What no provider covers, on any page we read, is the notice period on the old agreement. One month's notice on a Worldpay processing agreement is one more month of the old bill, and an 18-month Worldpay hire ended in month 10 is eight months of rental less a 5% discount on each under Schedule 5 paragraph 25(a). The contribution belongs in writing, with the ceiling and the turnover band, before the termination letter is posted.

Which documents does a contract buyout need?

Four documents, in this order. The current statement shows the merchant number, the tariff and the monthly charges a settlement figure is built from. The hire agreement or lease shows the minimum hire period, its start date and the early termination formula. The notice period sits in the processing terms: one month at Worldpay under clause 12.2(B), at least one month at Dojo under condition 20, and 30 calendar days at Barclaycard under condition 18.3. The termination letter, sent by a method the terms accept, fixes the date the fee is calculated to; Dojo's condition 2 counts an email or portal notice as served on transmission and a posted one two business days after posting.

Latest monthly statement: merchant ID, tariff, the terminal rental line and any minimum monthly charge
Signed processing agreement and application form: initial term, the notice clause and the acquirer's registered address for notices
Terminal hire or lease agreement: delivery date, minimum hire period, early termination formula and who owns the machine
Dated termination letter with proof of posting, plus the provider's acknowledgement when it arrives
Final statement and proof that the exit fee was paid: Dojo's Help Centre sat behind a login on 9 September 2026, so its current document list comes from Dojo directly, before the old provider is paid

What is on the checklist before switching?

Seven items, each with a place to find it. The dates matter more than the rates at this stage: the rate saving is the same whether you leave in month 10 or month 18, and the exit fee is not.

Check	Where it is	Why it matters
End date of the minimum term	Application form; a directed provider's SD15 notice 31 days before the end	Decides whether any exit fee exists at all
Notice period and method	Termination clause: Worldpay one month by post or by calling 0191 203 7318; Dojo at least one month by email, customer portal or pre-paid post to its registered office; Barclaycard 30 calendar days in writing or by phone	A call alone may not start the clock
Terminal ownership and return	Hire terms: Worldpay charges £85 plus VAT per terminal per week after the first week unrecovered and £125 plus VAT to collect; Dojo up to £400 plus VAT after 30 days	A late return can cost more than the rental it ends
Settlement figure in writing	From the current provider	The number a buyout is measured against
New provider's contribution in writing	Its quote: Dojo up to £3,000 subject to annual card turnover	A marketing line until it is written down
Overlap	New terminal live before the old notice expires	No days without a way to take cards
Direct Debit	Left running until the final statement is agreed	Worldpay clause 13.2 makes all sums owed payable at once on termination

When does paying the settlement figure come out ahead?

When the monthly gap, multiplied by the months left in the year, is larger than the settlement figure plus the running cost of the notice period. A business putting £12,000 a month through a terminal at 1.7% pays £204 in transaction fees; at 1.2% the same volume costs £144. That £60 a month clears a £480 settlement figure in eight months.

The notice period belongs in the same sum. Sixty days of notice on a £204 monthly bill is £408 of running cost that falls due whichever way the argument goes, and it is the line most people leave out.

Two regulator directions changed the shape of these agreements, so check the dates on yours. Specific Direction 16, which came into force on 6 January 2023, stops a directed provider writing an initial term longer than 18 months for a merchant taking up to £10 million a year on card, and requires monthly rolling terms afterwards. Specific Direction 15, in force from 6 July 2023, makes the provider write to you 31 calendar days before a minimum term ends and monthly thereafter, and it reaches merchants taking up to £50 million.

Where the exit charge is the obstacle, the reimbursement question comes before the payment. Dojo's pages on 9 September 2026 put the ceiling at £3,000 and the condition at annual card turnover, and nothing in its 20 April 2026 terms makes the payment automatic, so we get it confirmed in writing before a customer posts anything.

What is worth reading before signing the next agreement?

Four lines, each printed somewhere on the pages we read. The initial term and what follows it: Worldpay's Initial Term is 12 months from the Commencement Date, Dojo's pricing page offers a 12-month fixed plan or 30-day rolling above £100,000 a year in card turnover, and Lopay's Business Terminal runs a 12-month contract "then rolling per month" at £15 a month per device. The notice window and the method the terms accept, because Worldpay's is by post or by phone and Dojo's is email, portal or post. Whether the terminal sits under its own document, as Barclaycard's does. And the full fee schedule: Dojo's runs to a minimum monthly payment, a subscription break fee and a paper billing charge of £3.50 plus VAT, each on the published schedule rather than in the headline rate.

Frequently asked questions

Can I cancel a card machine contract early in the UK?

Yes. Every set of terms we read lets the merchant end the agreement on notice: one month at Worldpay and at Dojo, 30 calendar days at Barclaycard. What changes inside a minimum term is the charge. Worldpay's Schedule 5 paragraph 25 bills the rentals left less 5%, Dojo's fees schedule prices an early account closure fee on the agreed plan, and Barclaycard's hire agreement takes a Cancellation Fee from its fees table. A business has no consumer-style cooling-off period, so the settlement figure and the 12-month saving are the two numbers that decide it.

How do I end a card machine contract?

In writing, by the method the terms name, with the notice expiring on the date the minimum term ends. Worldpay takes one month's notice by post or by phone to 0191 203 7318, with the hire ended under Schedule 5 paragraph 20. Dojo takes at least one month by email to support@dojo.tech, through the customer portal, or by pre-paid post to The Brunel Building, 2 Canalside Walk, London W2 1DG. Barclaycard takes 30 calendar days in writing or by phone. The terminal then goes back on the provider's timetable: within a week at Worldpay before the £85 plus VAT weekly charge starts, within 30 days at Dojo before the non-return fee of up to £400 plus VAT.

How do I cancel a payment processing contract without paying early termination fees or the remaining lease payments?

By timing the notice to expire at the end of the minimum term on each agreement, not only on one of them. Worldpay's Schedule 5 paragraph 20 lets a terminal hire end on at least one month's written notice expiring at the end of the Minimum Hire Period or the current monthly renewal period, and clause 12.2(B) ends the processing agreement on one month's notice. Dojo's general terms of 20 April 2026 charge no early account closure fee if you tell Dojo within the first month after the services start, except for a large corporation. For a provider on the PSR's SD16 list, a contract signed since 6 January 2023 cannot carry an initial term above 18 months and rolls monthly after it.

Will a card payment provider cover my remaining lease payments when I switch from a legacy provider?

Dojo is the only one of the four providers we checked whose pages publish a contribution: on 9 September 2026, exit fees "up to £3,000", subject to annual card turnover. Worldpay and Barclaycard publish none, and Global Payments' UK site carried no merchant terms on 8 September 2026. A terminal lease with a leasing company is a separate contract, and no page we read names remaining lease payments as covered, so whether the lease balance counts as an exit fee under Dojo's offer is a question for Dojo in writing.

How do I terminate a contract with Global Payments?

Under the agreement you signed, because Global Payments did not publish its UK merchant terms on globalpayments.com/en-gb when we read it on 8 September 2026; the site carried a terms of use page and privacy notices. GPUK LLP is on the PSR's Specific Direction 16 list, so a contract entered since 6 January 2023 by a merchant with card turnover up to £10 million cannot have an initial term above 18 months, rolls monthly afterwards with one month's notice on the merchant's side, and must have any exit fee explained before signing. A written request for a copy of the agreement, the minimum term end date and the settlement figure comes first, then notice by the method your clause names. Global Payments has owned Worldpay since 12 January 2026, though Worldpay's own terms remain published separately.

What exit fees do merchant services providers charge on a legacy card payment contract?

Each publishes a formula rather than a price list, or nothing at all. Worldpay's April 2026 Schedule 5 paragraph 25 charges every rental due to the end of the Minimum Hire Period less 5%, plus arrears, £85 plus VAT per terminal per week after the first week if the machine is not recovered, and market value after a month. Dojo's fees schedule of 24 August 2026 prices the early account closure fee "based on your agreed plan". Barclaycard's hire agreement refers to a Cancellation Fee in the signed equipment and rental fees table. Paymentsense's legacy agreement states £120 plus VAT. Global Payments publishes no figure on its UK site.

What is the early termination fee on a card terminal lease in the UK?

There is no statutory figure. The published example is Worldpay's: the remaining monthly rentals to the end of an 18-month Minimum Hire Period, discounted by 5%, so eight months left at £15 a month is £120 less £6, or £114 before VAT, plus £125 plus VAT if Worldpay has to collect the terminal. For providers directed under SD16, the PSR requires exit fees to be cost based, transparent and fully explained before signing.

Which payment services have zero early termination fees?

Products sold without a minimum term. Dojo's pricing page on 9 September 2026 lists Tap to Pay on iPhone as "No contract" at £0, and for businesses above £100,000 a year in card turnover offers a choice between a 12-month fixed plan and 30-day rolling. Lopay's pricing page the same day sells its card reader for £35 plus £6.95 postage on a first in-app order, £49 plus postage after that, with "No contract, no monthly fee", while its Business Terminal is £15 a month per device on a "12-month contract (then rolling per month)". Any hire past its minimum period rolls monthly too: Worldpay's Renewal Hire Period is one month at a time.

What is a typical card machine contract length?

Worldpay's April 2026 terms define an Initial Term of 12 months from the Commencement Date unless the application form says otherwise, alongside an 18-month Minimum Hire Period for the terminal. Barclaycard's published hire agreement is 18 months from delivery of the first terminal. Dojo leaves any minimum term to the application documents and publishes no figure for it below £100,000 a year in card turnover; above that line its pricing page offers a 12-month fixed plan or 30-day rolling. The number that binds you is the one on your own paperwork.

Can I end the agreement if the service keeps failing?

Each agreement has its own clause for ending it on the other side's breach, and the route runs through the provider's complaints procedure first. Worldpay's clause 31 names the Financial Ombudsman Service for an eligible business and prints its number, 0800 023 4 567. Dojo's condition 20 gives you at least one month's notice at any time regardless of fault, with the early closure fee turning on whether the minimum term has ended. Either route starts with the dates, durations and reference numbers of the faults, so a log kept from the first one is the working document.

What is the checklist before switching card payment providers?

The term end date, the notice period and method, terminal ownership and the return deadline, the settlement figure in writing, the new provider's contribution in writing, an overlap so the new terminal is live before the old notice expires, and a Direct Debit left in place until the final statement is agreed. The table above says where each one lives.

Sources

Worldpay, Barclaycard, Dojo, Lopay and Paymentsense terms and pages read on 9 September 2026; Global Payments' UK site read 8 September 2026; regulator directions checked August 2026.

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CapExpand Ltd (Company No. 14433858) is an authorised Dojo partner, not a card machine manufacturer. Card machine pricing and availability are subject to change. Our card machine services are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and fall outside our appointment as an Appointed Representative of White Rose Finance Group Limited, which covers credit broking only.