In this article
Choosing a payment gateway is a business decision before it is a technical one. The gateway affects how many customers complete checkout, when your money reaches your account, and what happens when a customer asks for a refund. This guide describes the common options in the UAE, then gives you the criteria to compare them yourself.
Payment gateways versus instalment services
A payment gateway is the service that accepts a customer's payment by card or by a digital wallet such as Apple Pay, verifies it, then settles the amount into your bank account after its fees, on an agreed settlement schedule.
Buy-now-pay-later services such as tabby and Tamara let the customer split an order into several payments, while you receive the amount from the provider according to your agreement with them. They are an extra option at checkout alongside the gateway, not a replacement for it.
Many stores also keep cash on delivery as a third option, but it carries operational costs and risks, so make it a deliberate choice rather than a default.
The common options in the UAE
Telr
An online payment provider based in the UAE that serves merchants across the region. It offers hosted payment pages, payment links you can send to customers, ready plugins for a number of well-known store platforms, and tools for app integration. A common choice for new and mid-sized stores that want a quick start.
Network International
One of the largest payment providers in the Middle East and Africa, headquartered in Dubai. It offers an online payment gateway as well as point-of-sale terminals for shops. A good fit if you prefer an established local provider, or if you have a physical shop and want in-store and online payments with one company.
Stripe
A global payments platform available to UAE-registered businesses, known for clean developer integration and clear tooling. It is especially strong for subscriptions and recurring payments, selling to customers in several countries, digital products and platforms that need precise programmatic control.
tabby and Tamara
Two well-known instalment services in the Gulf: tabby started in the UAE and Tamara in Saudi Arabia, and both operate in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. They tend to help most in categories with higher order values, such as electronics, furniture and fashion, because splitting the payment makes the purchase decision easier. The number of instalments, approval criteria and fees are set by each provider and can change, so confirm them directly.
Which option fits which situation?
| Your situation | What to look for first |
|---|---|
| A new store selling within the UAE | A gateway with cards and Apple Pay that connects easily to your store platform |
| A physical shop plus an online store | One provider for point-of-sale and online payments, with unified reporting |
| Monthly subscriptions or a digital service | Recurring payments, secure saved cards and renewal management |
| Customers in Saudi Arabia and other countries | The currencies you need, and mada cards for Saudi customers |
| Products with a high order value | tabby or Tamara added alongside your main gateway |
| A marketplace between vendors and customers | A way to split payouts or manage vendor balances |
If your platform connects several vendors with their customers, how money flows between the parties is a core decision, which we cover in the marketplace app commission model.
How to compare providers
The payment methods your customers use
Make sure the gateway supports the common cards, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay if your audience uses them. One-tap mobile payment shortens checkout considerably.
Currencies and countries
Do you sell only in dirhams, or in other currencies too? Do you need to accept payments from customers outside the UAE? Also ask which currency your settlements arrive in.
Fees and settlement period
Fees are usually a percentage per transaction, sometimes with a fixed or monthly fee on top, and the settlement period depends on your activity and sales volume. Do not rely on figures published online; compare the official offers each provider sends you after reviewing your business.
How easily it connects to your website or app
There are two common approaches: a payment page hosted by the provider that the customer is sent to, or a payment form embedded in your own website or app. The second is a smoother experience but needs a more careful integration. For apps, ask about ready SDKs for iOS and Android.
Refunds and disputes
How are full and partial refunds handled? What happens when a customer disputes a payment with their bank? A clear dashboard for these cases saves your team a lot of time.
Support and reporting
When payments stop on a sale day, you need support that answers quickly. Ask about reporting too: can you easily match every order in your store with its transaction and settlement?
Do you need more than one provider?
Many stores start with one gateway for cards and digital wallets, then add one or two instalment services once order values justify it. As sales grow, a backup gateway to switch to during an outage, or a second provider for another market such as Saudi Arabia, can be worth it. What matters is that all of this stays organised in your store's dashboard, so your team knows where each payment was made and how to refund it.
An important rule for mobile apps
Apple's and Google's current guidelines separate two kinds of purchases. Physical goods and services used outside the app, such as a food order, clothing or a home service booking, are paid through a normal payment gateway. Digital content and features used inside the app, such as a subscription that unlocks content, are generally subject to the store's in-app purchase system. Deciding which kind your product is early on helps you avoid a rejection at review time, and check the latest guidelines before launch, because they change.
Security: what must be settled
- Never store card data on your server: hosted payment pages or the provider's secure fields greatly reduce the PCI DSS card-security requirements that fall on you.
- 3D Secure: an extra confirmation step from the customer's bank that is common in the UAE, so make sure it works smoothly on mobile.
- Confirm payments from the provider itself: rely on the provider's direct notification to your server before confirming an order, not only on the customer returning to a "payment successful" page.
- Accounts in your name: the merchant account should be in your company's name, because the money and the relationship with the provider are yours.
Before you apply, and common mistakes
Most providers ask for a trade licence with a suitable activity, a bank account in the company's name and a website or app with clear policy pages; we list these in detail in our guide to launching an online store in the UAE. Mistakes we see often:
- Choosing a provider on the lowest fee alone, without looking at settlement time and support.
- Applying only after the website is finished, so the launch waits weeks for approval.
- Launching an app without testing payments and refunds on real devices.
- Adding so many payment options that they confuse customers instead of helping them.
Next step
At Comedia we guide you from the trade licence to the first order: we help you choose the right gateway and apply for it, connect Telr, Network International or Stripe and instalment services such as tabby and Tamara to your website or app, then test payments and refunds before launch. See our e-commerce stores service, or look at our e-commerce website offer from AED 2,800 and our store app offer from AED 9,000; these are offer prices that may change. The first consultation is free, so get in touch and we will suggest the best option for your business.
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