UAE Payment Gateway Guide: Stripe, PayTabs, Telr and Network Compared

The UAE payment landscape has matured significantly. You now have both international and regional options, each with different strengths:

Stripe — Available in the UAE since 2022. Known globally for developer-friendly APIs, clean documentation, and broad payment method support. Stripe processes in AED and settles to UAE bank accounts. Transaction fees are typically 2.9% + AED 1.00 per successful card charge. Starting from these rates as of early 2026 — check Stripe's official website for current pricing.

PayTabs — A Saudi-founded payment gateway with strong GCC presence. Supports Arabic checkout flows natively, multiple currencies, and recurring billing. Competitive pricing for high-volume merchants. Starting from approximately 2.5% + AED 1.00 per transaction as of early 2026 — check PayTabs' official website for current pricing.

Telr — Dubai-based gateway popular with regional e-commerce businesses. Offers a hosted payment page that requires minimal integration effort. Good for businesses that want to accept payments quickly without heavy development. Starting from approximately 2.9% per transaction as of early 2026 — check Telr's official website for current pricing.

Network International (N-Genius) — The largest payment processor in the Middle East. Powers many of the physical POS terminals you see in UAE stores. Their online gateway N-Genius is robust for enterprise use. Pricing is typically custom-quoted based on volume.

Amazon Payment Services (formerly Payfort) — Strong in the MENA region, backed by Amazon. Good for marketplace and e-commerce businesses. Supports Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Pricing is custom-quoted.

The right gateway depends on your specific business needs:

Integration complexity. If you have developers, Stripe offers the most flexible APIs and best documentation. If you want a no-code solution, Telr's hosted payment page or PayTabs' pre-built plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento may be better fits.

Settlement currency and speed. Most gateways settle in AED to your UAE bank account. Settlement cycles range from T+2 (two business days after transaction) to T+7 depending on the provider and your agreement. Faster settlement means better cash flow but may come with higher fees.

Supported payment methods. In the UAE, Visa and Mastercard dominate. But Apple Pay adoption is growing rapidly, and some customer segments prefer MADA (Saudi debit cards) if you serve Saudi customers too. Check which payment methods each gateway supports in your market.

Recurring billing. If you run a subscription business, you need a gateway that handles recurring charges, card-on-file tokenization, and failed payment retries. Stripe and PayTabs handle this well. Telr has more limited subscription features.

Multi-currency. If you sell internationally, you want a gateway that can charge customers in their local currency (USD, EUR, GBP) while settling to your AED account. Stripe supports 135+ currencies. Regional gateways typically support fewer.

Before integrating a payment gateway, be aware of UAE-specific requirements:

Trade license requirements. Your trade license must include e-commerce or online trading activities to legally accept online payments. Some gateways verify this during onboarding. If your license only covers offline services, you may need to add an activity — check with your free zone or DED.

PCI DSS compliance. If you handle card data directly (storing card numbers, processing on your own servers), you need PCI DSS certification. The simplest way to avoid this burden is to use hosted payment pages or Stripe's Elements — they handle card data on their servers, keeping you out of PCI scope.

Refund and chargeback handling. UAE consumer protection law gives customers the right to dispute charges. Each gateway has different chargeback processes and fees. Understand the dispute resolution process before you go live — chargeback fees range from AED 50-150 per dispute.

VAT on gateway fees. Payment gateway fees are subject to 5% UAE VAT. This is a deductible business expense. Ensure your accounting software captures these fees correctly for VAT return purposes.

SaaS and subscription businesses: Stripe is the strongest choice. Its subscription billing engine, webhook system, and revenue recognition tools are purpose-built for recurring revenue models. The developer experience is unmatched.

E-commerce stores: If you use Shopify, the built-in Shopify Payments (powered by Stripe) works well. For WooCommerce or custom stores, PayTabs and Telr offer pre-built plugins that minimize integration effort.

Service businesses (consultants, agencies): Stripe's payment links feature lets you send a payment URL via email without any website integration. PayTabs offers a similar invoicing feature. For simple one-time payments, either works well.

Marketplace businesses: Stripe Connect handles multi-party payments (splitting payments between your platform and sellers). Amazon Payment Services is another strong option for marketplace models in the region.

High-volume or enterprise: Network International offers custom pricing and direct bank integrations that can reduce per-transaction costs significantly at scale. Worth exploring once you process above AED 500,000/month.

Want to find the right payment setup for your specific business? Our banking and payments quiz can help you narrow down the options based on your business model and transaction volumes.