Spring Future · A guide

Payment Gateways in UAE for Ecommerce Checkout

How a UAE online store takes payment, and what to confirm before you rely on a provider.

By Alec Asgari ·

An ecommerce payment gateway takes the customer’s payment and tells the shop whether it succeeded. The card number stays with the gateway. Spring Future connects the shop to the account you open with the provider.

Payment flow: the buyer pays, the gateway takes the card, and the shop is told the payment succeeded. Buyer Gateway Shop is told Payment flow: the buyer pays, the gateway takes the card, and the shop is told the payment succeeded. Buyer Gateway Shop is told

Ask the provider these questions

  • Will they accept you?

    Country, licence, and what you sell can all change the answer. Get it in writing from them.

  • Which methods?

    Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a local debit method. Ask which ones your account would actually get.

  • What does it cost?

    Ask the provider for the setup fee, any monthly fee, the fee per payment, and any payout fee.

  • When is the money yours?

    How long settlement takes, and which bank account they pay, is part of the contract.

  • Who holds the card?

    The gateway should collect the card details. The shop should not store them.

  • Refunds

    Ask how a refund is issued, and whether it returns to the same method the customer used.

Write the answers down before the checkout is designed.

Cards, wallets, and pay later

Card payments

Visa and Mastercard are the card networks shoppers expect to see. A gateway may also offer a wallet such as Apple Pay. The methods on your account are the ones the provider includes.

Buy now, pay later

Tabby and Tamara are pay-later options in the UAE. They sit beside the card payment, and the shop can offer both.

Currency

Prices in the UAE are usually shown in dirhams. The Federal Tax Authority shows the standard VAT rate as 5%. How that rate applies to what you sell is a question for your accountant.

Which payment methods should a UAE store accept?

Start with what your buyers already use. Most UAE shops offer Visa and Mastercard, and many add a wallet such as Apple Pay or Google Pay where the gateway supports it. A pay-later option such as Tabby or Tamara suits larger baskets. Cash on delivery is still asked for in some categories; decide whether you accept it and how the courier collects it.

Fewer, clearer options usually work better than a long list. Show the accepted methods early, on the product page or cart, so nobody is surprised at the last step.

A checkout that works in the UAE

Short and clear

Guest checkout, only the fields you need, and the delivery cost shown before payment.

Phone first

Large buttons, the right keyboard for each field, and wallets that pay in a tap.

Arabic and English

A bilingual store mirrors the checkout cleanly for Arabic, including emails and receipts.

Payment gateway companies in the UAE

These are providers a UAE shop can compare. This is not a ranking.

Stripe

Stripe has been available in the UAE since 5 April 2021. Businesses operating online in the UAE can use it to accept online payments.

PayPal

PayPal’s UAE business fees page covers receiving commercial payments, and withdrawing to a bank account in the UAE in dirhams.

Shopify Payments

In the UAE, Shopify Payments is on the Advanced and Plus plans, and takes payment without a third-party gateway. A company needs a company registration number and an AED checking account at a UAE bank. Shopify charges an extra fee when you use an outside gateway.

Amazon Payment Services

It began as PayFort. Amazon and PayTabs have agreed the sale of Amazon Payment Services’ MENA business to PayTabs.

Telr

Telr is based in Dubai. The Central Bank of the UAE has granted it a Retail Payment Services licence.

Checkout.com

Checkout.com holds a Retail Payment Services licence from the Central Bank of the UAE, which is an acquiring licence.

N-Genius Online

N-Genius Online is Network International’s online gateway. The gateway has plugins for WooCommerce and Shopify.

Tabby and Tamara

Tabby and Tamara are pay-later options in the UAE. Tabby is permitted to operate by the Central Bank of the UAE. Tamara lets shoppers split a purchase in stores and online.

Provider terms change. Confirm the current terms with the provider.

Where the gateway sits in the shop

Checkout shows the goods, the delivery you set, and the amount the customer is about to pay. The payment step then hands the card to the gateway. How VAT applies is a question for your accountant. The build of that checkout is ecommerce website development. The design of the shop is ecommerce website design.

Shopify and WooCommerce can both connect to a gateway. N-Genius Online publishes plugins for both. The platform comparison is Shopify vs WooCommerce. A first shop should pick the gateway before the catalogue gets large: start selling online in Dubai.

Related pages

Questions about payment gateways

What is an ecommerce payment gateway?

The service that takes the customer’s payment and tells the shop whether it succeeded. The card number is handled by the gateway, not stored on the website.

Which gateway should a UAE store use?

The one that fits the shop: a card gateway such as Stripe, Telr, Checkout.com or N-Genius Online, Shopify Payments on an eligible plan, or a pay-later option such as Tabby or Tamara.

Are the fees and approval times on this page?

No. Fees, approval times, and whether a provider is open to UAE merchants change. Ask the provider for the current terms before you plan around them.

Do I need a separate gateway for WooCommerce or Shopify?

On Shopify Advanced or Plus, Shopify Payments works without a third-party gateway. On other Shopify plans, and on WooCommerce, you connect a gateway. Shopify charges an extra fee when you use an outside gateway.

Can the shop take international cards?

Often a gateway can, and sometimes it cannot, or it costs differently. Treat that as a question for the provider, not as a feature you can assume.

Which payment methods should we accept in the UAE?

Cards first, then the wallets and pay-later options your buyers use. Add cash on delivery only if your category and courier need it.

Which online payment gateways work in the UAE?

Providers UAE stores compare include Stripe, Telr, Checkout.com, N-Genius Online, PayPal and Shopify Payments, plus Tabby and Tamara for pay later. Confirm current terms with each provider.

Does Spring Future open the gateway account?

You open the account with the provider, on their terms. We connect the shop to the gateway account you have.

Open the gateway account, then we connect the shop.

Tell us what you sell and which provider has accepted you, or that you still need to ask.

Get in touch

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