Getting Dojo: eligibility, documents and the setup timeline
What Dojo's underwriters look for, what to have ready before you apply, and a realistic week-by-week picture of application to first payment, including the buyout route if you are stuck in another contract.
MerchantSwitch is an independent comparison site and a Dojo partner; Dojo pays us a fee when a business we introduce completes a switch. Timelines below reflect typical UK acquirer processes, checked August 2026; individual applications vary.
Who qualifies
Dojo works with UK businesses across retail, hospitality and services, from sole traders to limited companies, and underwrites each application individually. The practical requirements: a UK business, a UK business bank account for settlement, and ID for the owner or directors. Underwriters then weigh what you sell, your expected card turnover and your trading history.
Being newly trading is not a bar; plenty of first-year businesses get approved, though underwriters may ask more questions without a track record to lean on. What draws real scrutiny is sector risk: businesses in chargeback-heavy categories should expect a slower, more thorough review, and that is true at every contracted acquirer, not just Dojo.
The timeline: application to first payment
Dojo follows the standard contracted-acquirer pattern, which we cover in depth in how long switching card machine provider takes: typically 1-4 weeks end to end.
| Stage | Typical time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Application | 15-30 minutes | Business details, director ID, proof of address, bank details |
| Underwriting and approval | Commonly 24-48 hours | Longer for complex or higher-risk businesses |
| Terminal delivery and setup | 1-2 days | Test with small transactions before going live |
| End to end | Typically 1-4 weeks | Application through to taking payments |
| Old contract notice period | 30-90 days | Runs in parallel: be live on Dojo while it counts down |
Ranges reflect typical UK provider processes, checked August 2026. Always confirm your own notice period and any exit fee before serving notice.
What to have ready before you apply
- Business details: trading name and address, company number if incorporated, and a clear description of what you sell
- Photo ID for the owner or directors, plus proof of address
- Business bank details for settlement
- A recent merchant statement if you are switching. It shows your real turnover, average transaction value and card mix, which sharpens the rate quote, and it evidences your exit fee for the buyout
- Your rough monthly card turnover if you are new to card payments: it is the number the whole quote hangs on
Fifteen minutes of gathering paperwork before you start is the difference between an application that clears underwriting in a day and one that bounces back with questions.
Leaving a contract? How the buyout works
The most common thing holding businesses at a bad rate is the exit fee on the old contract, typically £50-£300 and sometimes more on multi-year acquirer terms. Dojo's switcher offer meets that head on: Up to £3,000 towards your exit fees when you switch to Dojo (eligibility confirmed at quote). The sequence that works:
- Get your exit fee and notice period in writing from your current provider. Our guide to getting out of a card machine contract covers how to ask and what the fair numbers look like.
- Apply for Dojo and get approved. The buyout eligibility is confirmed as part of the quote, so nothing is left to assumption.
- Go live on the Dojo terminal, then serve notice on the old contract and run both machines during the handover.
- Return the old equipment when asked, with tracking: unreturned terminals commonly attract £200-£500 charges.
Done in that order, the switch has no payment downtime and the buyout absorbs some or all of the exit cost. Done in the wrong order, you can end up paying two providers with one terminal working, which is the avoidable version of this story.
Want the application handled with you?
Free Dojo terminal (no rental) through MerchantSwitch, and up to £3,000 towards exit fees if you are switching. We respond in under 5 minutes.
Dojo eligibility and setup FAQs
Who can get a Dojo card machine?
Dojo serves UK businesses, from sole traders to limited companies, and underwrites each application individually like any acquirer. In practice that means you need a UK business with a UK business bank account, and the underwriters will look at what you sell, your expected card turnover and your trading history. Newer businesses can and do get approved; the review is about understanding the business, not excluding young ones. Sector risk matters more: chargeback-prone sectors get more scrutiny.
How long does it take to get set up with Dojo?
Plan for the standard contracted-acquirer timeline: typically 1-4 weeks end to end. The application itself takes 15-30 minutes, underwriting approval commonly lands inside 24-48 hours, and the terminal arrives a day or two after that. The long tail of the range covers complex or higher-risk businesses where underwriters ask follow-up questions.
What documents do I need to apply?
Have four things ready: your business details (company number if incorporated, trading address, what you sell), photo ID for the owner or directors, proof of address, and your business bank details for settlement. If you are switching, add a recent merchant statement: it speeds up the rate conversation because it shows your real turnover and card mix, and it documents any exit fee for the buyout.
Can I get Dojo while still under contract with another provider?
Yes, and it is usually the right sequence: get Dojo live first, then serve notice on the old contract and run both briefly during the handover, so the 30-90 day notice period costs waiting time rather than downtime. If leaving mid-term triggers an exit fee, Dojo pays up to £3,000 towards your existing provider’s exit fees when you switch (Dojo’s switcher offer; eligibility confirmed at quote). Get the exit fee in writing from your current provider first.
Does Dojo credit check the business?
Underwriting involves checks on the business and its directors, as with any merchant account application; that is standard across contracted acquirers. Pay-as-you-go readers like SumUp and Square do lighter checks, which is one reason they approve faster and also one reason their flat rates are higher. If speed matters more than rate, that trade-off is worth knowing about.
What contract will I be signing with Dojo?
The standard contract runs 12 months and then rolls monthly (for businesses under £1m a year of card turnover). The first 30 days are commitment-free: cancel within a month of signup and no early closure fee applies. Leave after that but inside the 12-month term and the early closure fee equals the remaining costs of the contract, so treat the first year as a commitment. Once the initial term is done, one month’s notice closes the account. Setup is £0.
What does getting Dojo through MerchantSwitch change?
Three things: the terminal comes with £0 upfront and no monthly cost for the life of your contract (£149-£239 upfront or £15-£25/month going direct), we respond in under 5 minutes, and we sanity-check the quote against the rest of the market before you sign. What it does not change: the application, the underwriting or the rate itself, which is the published 1.2% under £100,000 a year of card turnover or a custom quote on your numbers above it, either way. Disclosure: we are a Dojo partner and Dojo pays us a fee when a switch completes.
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Keep researching
- The Dojo hub - pricing, hardware, review verdict and every comparison.
- Dojo pricing UK - the published 1.2% rate, the custom tier and the worked arithmetic.
- The free Dojo card machine - exactly what the offer covers and what it does not.
- How to switch card machine provider - the provider-agnostic version of the switching process.