In the dynamic landscape of the UAE’s digital economy, the e-commerce sector is witnessing unprecedented growth, propelled by strategic government initiatives aimed at boosting the digital economy. To navigate this booming e-commerce landscape, the choice of payment gateways in the UAE becomes crucial for businesses aiming to provide seamless transaction experiences. Prominent gateways like PayPal, Stripe, Skrill, CCAvenue, 2Checkout, CashU, PayTabs, Telr, Checkout.com, and Amazon Payment Services are essential for e-commerce success. Optimizing these payment gateways not only enhances customer experience but also ensures that businesses stay competitive in the rapidly evolving digital market of the UAE.
CashU
Established in 2002 by Maktoob.com, CashU is a leading online payment solution in MENA, serving nearly 2.3 million users. With a network of 75,000 vendors, it facilitates transactions in markets with low credit card penetration, providing a vital e-commerce tool.
Key Features and Benefits
- E-Wallet System: Users create an account, fund it through various means like CASHU Refill Coupons, direct top-ups, or mobile top-ups, and can start making payments efficiently.
- Merchant Advantages: Provides access to broader markets, reduces the risk of returns, and supports multiple payment options beyond credit cards which helps in increasing sales.
- Consumer Benefits: Offers a trusted, convenient, and secure payment method even if a credit or debit card is unnecessary. It also supports multiple languages and currencies, enhancing the shopping experience for users across supported countries like Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE.
Telr
Established in 2014 by Sadie Lalami, Telr is a leading player in the UAE’s payment gateway scene, known for its innovative and secure payment solutions. Operating in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the GCC, Telr supports transactions in 120 currencies and 30 languages, facilitating various payment methods globally.
Products and Services
- TelrGrowth: Tailored to help businesses scale effectively.
- TelrSecure: Focuses on advanced security features to ensure transaction safety.
- TelrSocial: Aids businesses in integrating social commerce and payment innovations.
- Telr Buy Now Pay Later: Provides flexible payment options to enhance customer convenience.
- Telr Finance: Offers pre-approved business loans to support business expansion.
Pricing and Security
- Telr offers three main pricing tiers: Entry, Small, and Medium, catering to businesses of varying sizes and transaction volumes.
- The pricing structure is designed to accommodate different business needs and budgets.
- Telr ensures security through real-time monitoring and state-of-the-art security measures.
- It recently received in-principle approval for The Retail Payment Services & Card Schemes (RPSCS) License from The Central Bank of the UAE, highlighting its compliance with regulatory standards.
- Telr’s services are comprehensive, with a strong emphasis on security, best for businesses looking to expand digitally in the UAE and beyond.
Amazon Payment Services
Amazon Payment Services, formerly Payfort, is a leading online payment gateway serving the UAE and neighboring Arabic-speaking nations. Offering a range of secure online payment options, it operates in nine MENA countries. Trusted by 3500+ businesses, it ensures operational efficiency crucial for e-commerce in the region, serving diverse sectors from airlines to educational institutions.
Key Features and Benefits
- Flexible Plans: Amazon Payment Services offers Standard and Customized plans, catering to diverse business needs.
- Advanced Security: The platform ensures safe transactions with advanced fraud protection and compliance with UAE Central Bank regulations.
- Customization and Scalability: Amazon Payment Services allows businesses to customize and scale their payment gateway for specific requirements, accommodating high transaction volumes.
- Diverse Payment Options: Supporting popular local methods and modern solutions like Buy Now, Pay Later, and Amazon Payment Services enhances customer convenience.
Technical Advantages and Integration
- User-Friendly Dashboard: The service includes a comprehensive dashboard for easy management of transactions.
- Real-Time Processing: Ensures that payments are processed instantly, enhancing the customer experience.
- Developer Resources: Provides extensive documentation, API references, and resources to aid developers in integration and troubleshooting.
PayTabs
PayTabs has established itself as a prominent player in the UAE’s payment gateway landscape, offering robust solutions tailored for a diverse range of industries including Retail & Ecommerce, Dining, Education, and more. Recognized by major credit companies like Mastercard and Visa, PayTabs provides a comprehensive suite of services designed to enhance the e-commerce experience both locally and globally.
Key Features and Integration
- Multiple Payment Solutions: Supports a variety of payment methods, catering to a global audience.
- Real-Time Onboarding: Businesses can start processing payments within a few hours of registration, significantly speeding up the go-to-market time for new ventures.
- Advanced Merchant Dashboard: Offers a powerful dashboard that provides analytics data and insights, in a single interface. Merchants can manage transactions, send invoices, and even share payment links via QR codes, email, SMS, WhatsApp, or social media.
Plans and Pricing
- Flexi Plan: Ideal for startups and small businesses looking for flexibility.
- Standard Plan: Designed for growing businesses that require more comprehensive features.
- Advanced Plan: Best suited for large enterprises with high transaction volumes.
Checkout.com
Established in 2012, Checkout.com is a major player in online payments in the UAE and the Middle East. It offers direct acquiring, improving payment acceptance rates for merchants. With a Retail Payment Services license from the Central Bank of the UAE, it’s the first global provider to secure such a license, enabling various payment solutions.
Key Features and Services
- Payment Methods: Checkout.com supports five major payment methods including VISA, Mastercard, JCB, Mada, and American Express, catering to a diverse consumer base.
- Merchant Services: Offers solutions like payment aggregation and merchant acquiring.
- Cross-Border Transactions: Facilitates cross-border fund transfers, essential for businesses operating on a global scale.
Security and Integration
- Advanced Security: Utilizes network tokens for next-gen security and encryption, ensuring safe transactions.
- Integration and Support: Provides comprehensive documentation, resources, and case studies to assist in seamless integration and troubleshooting.
- Real-Time Solutions: Offers fraud detection, identity verification, and real-time account updater features to optimize revenue and enhance security.
Stripe
Stripe has solidified its position as a versatile payment gateway in the UAE, supporting a wide range of payment methods including Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link. This inclusivity enables businesses to cater to a diverse consumer base, enhancing the shopping experience across various platforms.
Payment Methods and Currencies
Stripe’s capabilities extend to accepting charges in over 135 currencies, including the Bahraini dinar, Jordanian dinar, Kuwaiti dinar, Omani rial, and Tunisian dinar. There is a minimum charge amount of 2.00 AED; transactions below this threshold will not be processed, ensuring compliance with local financial regulations.
Products and Bank Account Requirements
- Stripe offers a range of products in the UAE, including Billing, Checkout, Connect, Payment Links, Radar, Sigma, Climate, and Tax, catering to diverse business needs.
- Bank account requirements for UAE Stripe accounts vary based on business structure.
- Sole and free zone establishments can use personal bank accounts.
- Single-member LLCs can choose between personal or business bank accounts.
- Multi-member LLCs must use a business bank account.
- Stripe’s Connect product is notable, offering Standard, Custom, and Express options for tailored solutions.
- JCB payments are supported for Connect platforms and connected accounts, expanding Stripe’s utility in the UAE market.
Integration with Shopify
- Settings > Click Payments.
- Click on Choose a Provider in the Payment Provider section.
- Select Stripe from the list and enter the necessary account credentials.
- Click Activate, then Save to complete the setup.
2Checkout
2Checkout has been a stalwart in the UAE’s online payment landscape for over a decade, offering a comprehensive billing and payment processing platform that is compatible with most shopping carts. Its flexibility makes it an attractive preference for businesses of varying sizes and industries, looking to facilitate both local and international transactions.
Key Features and Integration
- Multiple Payment Options: Supports 10 payment methods, catering to a broad audience across over 200 countries.
- Recurring Billing: Allows businesses to set up subscriptions with automatic billing, enhancing customer retention.
- Mobile Management: Provides tools for managing transactions and accounts from mobile devices, ensuring business continuity on the go.
- Customization: Offers customizable user interfaces that are optimized for all devices, making it easy for merchants and customers to interact with the gateway.
Pricing and Security
Security is a paramount concern for 2Checkout, which maintains PCI Level 1 Compliance and has an aggressive Fraud Prevention program to protect against online threats. This high-end safety is important for obtaining consumer trust and ensuring secure transaction processing.
The platform’s support for 15 languages and 26 currencies also enhances the personal customer experience, making it a versatile and user-friendly option for global e-commerce ventures.
Skrill
Skrill, a well-established digital wallet provider, offers a robust payment gateway solution that caters to both individual and business needs across the UAE. With its global presence, Skrill facilitates international transactions with ease, making it a preferred choice for e-commerce platforms that cater to a diverse customer base.
Key Features and Benefits
- Wide Range of Currencies: Skrill supports over 40 currencies, allowing users to make transactions in multiple currencies without the need for currency conversion, thereby saving costs and simplifying processes.
- Direct Bank Transfers: Offers the capability to perform direct bank transfers, which is a crucial feature for businesses that deal with large transaction volumes.
- Prepaid Card: Skrill provides a prepaid Mastercard that customers can use to make payments or withdraw cash from ATMs, enhancing flexibility in managing finances.
Integration and Usability
- User-Friendly Interface: Skrill offers a straightforward and intuitive user interface for simplifying new users to manage their accounts.
- Mobile App: A comprehensive mobile app supports on-the-go management of accounts, allowing users to check balances, transfer funds, and perform other operations from their mobile devices.
- API Integration: Provides seamless API integration that enables businesses to incorporate Skrill’s payment solutions into their existing systems effectively.
CCAvenue
CCAvenue, an established Indian payment gateway provider, extends its services to the UAE, offering a robust platform tailored for businesses at every level. With an office in Dubai, CCAvenue caters to a diverse market by providing a free setup for its Startup package, ensuring cost-effectiveness for emerging businesses.
Key Features and Integration Capabilities
- Extensive Payment Options: CCAvenue supports an impressive array of payment methods including 6 credit cards, over 97 debit cards, and multiple net banking options, making it a versatile choice for businesses.
- High Transaction Success Rate: Tools like Transaction Booster and Smart Dynamic Routing enhance the reliability and efficiency of transactions.
- Fraud Prevention: The F.R.I.S.K system provides a sophisticated fraud and risk identification framework to safeguard online transactions.
Pricing and Support
In addition to competitive pricing, CCAvenue offers ’24/7 Super Support’, a dedicated service ensuring continuous assistance for merchants. This support system is crucial for maintaining seamless operations and addressing any issues promptly.
Through features like the card storage vault for faster repeat transactions and real-time business insights via its mobile app, CCAvenue enhances the overall user experience. This makes it a chosen choice for businesses aiming to optimize their online payment systems in the UAE’s dynamic e-commerce landscape.
XPay
XPay offers comprehensive fintech solutions for individuals and businesses. It’s Bill. Track. Collect.’ solution simplifies billing processes for businesses with customizable products, multiple payment methods, and analytics. For personal finance, XPay’s user-friendly app consolidates financial management, enabling electronic invoice receipt and bill payments via a prepaid digital card.
Key Features and Integration
- XPay Business Solutions: Offers a powerful dashboard for businesses to bill, track, and collect payments efficiently. It includes features like flexible billing, multiple payment options, and maximum security.
- XPay Personal Solutions: Simplifies personal finance management with features like one-place finance tracking and a prepaid digital card for bill payments.
- Integration and Security: XPay is PCI DSS Compliant and offers various integration options such as a Direct Payment Page, Embedded Payments Experience, and Payment Links API. This ensures a seamless, secure, and compliant payment processing environment.
Advanced Features and Customer Engagement
XPay stands out with its innovative features like XPay One-Tap Wallet, BIN Discounts, and Federated Links. The platform also offers Analytics, Automated Emails, and Settlement Reconciliation to enhance business operations.
Overall, XPay’s robust features and dedicated support make it an ideal choice for managing diverse financial transactions, from utility payments like school fees and mobile recharges to more complex business financial management needs.
Noon
Noon Payments is a versatile payment gateway serving e-commerce needs in the UAE and beyond. It facilitates multi-currency transactions and international payments through its acquiring network. With popular payment methods like Cards, EMI, and digital wallets including Apple Pay and PayPal, it ensures businesses can serve diverse customers seamlessly.
Integration and Customization
- Direct Integration: Provides a seamless payment experience by integrating directly into the website’s backend.
- Iframe Integration: Embeds Noon’s payment gateway within the site, maintaining brand consistency.
- Redirect Integration: Redirects customers to Noon’s platform for payment processing.
- Lightbox Integration: Allows payments to be made in a pop-up window on the existing webpage, which helps in maintaining customer engagement during checkout.
Security and User Experience
Noon Payments prioritizes security and user convenience, offering a tokenization service that allows returning customers to save their card details for faster one-click checkouts. This service automatically updates the expiry of tokens on card expiration, ensuring data is always current and secure. The customizable checkout UI adapts perfectly to any device size or shape, enhancing the user experience across all platforms. For businesses looking to reach expansion and unify their payment processes, Noon Payments provides a strong solution with its comprehensive suite of services including a Payment Gateway, Payment Links, EMIs, and Subscriptions.
Google pay
Google Pay has become a staple for mobile payments in the UAE, offering a seamless and secure method for both in-person and online transactions. It supports a wide range of devices and cards, including Emirates Islamic Credit, Debit, or Prepaid Cards. Users can easily link their cards to NFC-enabled devices running Android Lollipop 5.0 or higher, and a Google account is required for setup. The process involves downloading the Google Pay app, adding card details, and completing any necessary verifications.
Transaction Process and Security
To make a purchase, users simply wake up their device and hold it near the contactless reader until the device beeps or vibrates, indicating a successful transaction with a visible checkmark on the screen. For transactions under AED 300, no PIN or signature is required, streamlining the checkout process.
Acceptance and Integration
Google Pay is accepted wherever the Google Pay logo or contactless symbol is displayed, including millions of locations worldwide. It is also integrated into various apps such as Uber and Airbnb, and on websites that show the Google Pay button during checkout. This widespread acceptance is complemented by the fact that transactions do not require Wi-Fi or cellular data, although an internet connection is needed for adding or disabling cards. The system supports a vast array of payment terminals and is particularly beneficial for its quick transactions, discounts, free shipping, and rewards.
PayPal
PayPal is renowned globally for its robust online payment system that offers both individual and business solutions, making it a key player in the UAE’s e-commerce sector. With its seamless integration capabilities and a broad range of supported payment methods, PayPal provides a reliable and convenient platform for managing digital transactions.
Key Features and Integration
- Wide Currency Support: PayPal supports transactions in multiple currencies, facilitating easier cross-border commerce for UAE businesses.
- Buyer Protection: Offers comprehensive buyer protection policies that enhance consumer confidence and encourage online shopping.
- Flexible Integration: Easily integrates with various e-commerce platforms, enhancing the functionality of online stores with secure checkout solutions.
PayPal’s commitment to security is evident through its advanced encryption technologies and continuous fraud prevention efforts, ensuring that all transactions are protected.
Pricing and Accessibility
In addition to its competitive pricing, PayPal offers extensive customer support and merchant services, which are essential for businesses looking to expand their online presence. The platform’s global reach and reputation make it a preferred choice for many e-commerce ventures in the UAE, contributing significantly to their operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
