Small business owners have a lot on their plate. Dealing with slow card machines, surprise fees, and long contracts shouldn’t be part of it. But for years, that’s exactly what they got from old-school payment companies.
Now, a UK company called Dojo says it’s here to fix all that. And it just raised $190 million to do more of it, starting in the UK, then heading across Europe.
Dojo is a payments company based in London. They want to make paying (and getting paid) as smooth and simple as possible. Fast machines. Clear prices. No sneaky fine print. Just tap, pay, done.
This big investment came from a group called Vitruvian Partners. It’s Dojo’s first time raising equity since launching in 2021, and it’s one of the biggest fintech deals the UK has seen in a while. That means investors think Dojo is onto something.
So what makes Dojo different?
For starters, it actually listens to small businesses. The founders, George Karibian and Jan Farrarons, say they spoke to 20,000 business owners before launching. (Yes, that’s twenty thousand.) They kept hearing the same complaints: slow payments, hard-to-understand contracts, and bad customer service.
Their solution? Build tech that works fast, is easy to use, and doesn’t trap you in endless paperwork. One of their most popular tools is the Dojo Go card machine. It’s 58% faster than others, stays connected with Wi-Fi and 4G, and lasts all day on one charge. Not bad for a little box that fits on your counter.
Dojo’s system also connects with over 400 other tools, like cash registers and booking software. It even has a handy app that shows your sales in real-time and helps with payment security. Basically, it does a lot without asking for much in return.
And customers seem to like it. Dojo now works with more than 140,000 businesses and handles up to 9 million payments every day. That’s a lot of coffees, haircuts, and takeaway meals.
With this new funding, Dojo plans to expand into Ireland, Italy, and Spain. It’s also teaming up with JCB, a big credit card company in Asia. That means even more customers, especially international ones, can use their cards with Dojo.
Of course, Dojo isn’t the only company in the game. Stripe, Square, SumUp, and PayPal’s Zettle are also popular. But Dojo thinks its focus on fast service and simple tools will help it stand out.
Time will tell if Dojo can keep growing and keep business owners happy. But for now, it’s raising cash, adding features, and, hopefully, making payments a little less painful.
