- Where your company is registered decides which gateways can onboard you. Check that first, before you compare fees.
- A Saudi store needs mada, processed locally through a SAMA-licensed gateway. Add Apple Pay, Visa and Mastercard on top.
- Ask for rates split by payment method. Published mada rates are about 1%, while credit cards cost several times more.
- On Shopify outside the UAE, budget Shopify's 0.2–2% extra fee on top of the gateway's own fee.
- Apply to two gateways at once, and keep the second one live as a backup.
Gulf shoppers want to pay online, and they want to do it fast. Most of them tap a card or Apple Pay, and they expect their local debit card to work.
Your payment gateway makes that happen. Pick the right one and you get more approved payments, lower fees and cash in your account within days.
The good news? You have plenty of strong options, from Saudi-born fintechs to global acquirers.
You'll find 12 independently researched gateways below, plus a 7-step way to choose, the pricing models you'll see and the questions to ask before you sign. It's part of our directory of GCC service providers.
When do you need a payment gateway?
You need one as soon as you sell on your own website or app. A gateway takes the shopper's card or wallet payment, checks it, and pays the money into your bank account.
Think of it as the cashier for your online store. It doesn't make the sale, but without it nobody can pay.
You'll want a gateway when:
- You run your own store. For example, Shopify, WooCommerce, Salla, Zid or a custom app.
- You sell through social media. Payment links let you get paid in a WhatsApp or Instagram chat.
- You want local methods. Mada in Saudi Arabia or KNET in Kuwait won't show up without the right gateway.
- You want to cut cash on delivery. Every prepaid order is one less refused parcel.
Do you always need one? No.
If you sell only on Amazon.sa, Amazon.ae or noon, the marketplace collects payment for you and pays you out. Our guide to payment methods in the GCC shows what shoppers use in each country.
Which type of payment gateway fits your business?
GCC sellers usually pick from five types of gateway. Each one fits a different company setup and sales footprint.
| Best for | Examples | How you sign up | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi local gateways | Saudi CR holders who want domestic mada at local rates | Moyasar, HyperPay, Geidea | Online application, then a sales or compliance call |
| Regional GCC gateways | Stores selling to several Gulf countries on one contract | Tap Payments, PayTabs, MyFatoorah, Amazon Payment Services | Online application per country entity |
| UAE-first gateways | UAE-licensed stores that want published prices or a large local acquirer | Telr, Network International | Online sign-up or sales team |
| Global gateways | Cross-border and high-volume brands, or UAE stores that want self-serve tools | Checkout.com, Stripe (UAE) | Self-serve (Stripe) or enterprise sales (Checkout.com) |
| Platform payments | Small stores that want payments switched on inside their store builder | Shopify Payments (UAE), Salla and Zid payments | Inside your store admin |
Here's a simple rule of thumb:
- Saudi company, Saudi shoppers? Start with a Saudi local or regional gateway.
- UAE company? Compare a UAE-first gateway with Stripe or Shopify Payments.
- Selling across the Gulf or from abroad? Talk to a regional or global gateway.
Who can onboard you? Your company decides
Before you compare a single fee, check where your company is registered. Gateways can only onboard businesses they're licensed to serve, and local debit networks follow the same rule.
| Your company | Domestic mada? | Gateways that typically onboard you |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi CR (commercial registration) | Yes | Tap, HyperPay, Moyasar, PayTabs, Geidea, Amazon Payment Services, MyFatoorah |
| Saudi freelance licence | Yes, with some gateways | Moyasar, and others on request |
| UAE trade licence | No, mada cards are charged as Visa or Mastercard | Stripe, Shopify Payments, Telr, Network International, Tap, Checkout.com, Amazon Payment Services |
| Company outside the GCC | No | Global acquirers such as Checkout.com, or a marketplace |
A CR is your Saudi business licence. SAMA's rule is simple: stores inside Saudi Arabia process mada through the domestic system, and stores outside go through the international card schemes.
So a UAE or foreign company can still charge most Saudi cards, because many mada cards are co-badged with Visa or Mastercard. Expect more declines and higher fees, though. Our guide on whether a foreign company can accept mada explains the options.
Payment gateways serving Saudi Arabia and the UAE
The companies below were independently researched. They aren't ranked, and the order isn't a recommendation.
On each card, the "Best for" line is our summary of where the company fits. The bullet points are what the company says about itself, or what the press has reported.
How do you use the list? Find your company type in the table above, then pick two or three cards that match it. Check each card's countries line against the markets you sell to.
Tap Payments
Best for: GCC-wide merchants that want one gateway with mada, KNET-region coverage and marketplace splits
- Calls itself a licensed payment institution in Saudi Arabia, licensed across the GCC
- mada payment gateway certification
- PCI DSS Level 1
Moyasar
Best for: Saudi-registered stores on WooCommerce, Zid or a custom site that want a developer-friendly local gateway
- Says it operates under the supervision of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)
- Says it is PCI DSS Level 1 and eMSP-certified
- Methods: mada, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, STC Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay
HyperPay
Best for: Mid-size and enterprise Saudi merchants wanting gateway plus payouts and spend tools
- Says it holds a Saudi Central Bank licence
- PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 27001 and ISO 27701
- Claims to serve hundreds of thousands of clients and partners across the Arab world
PayTabs
Best for: Multi-country GCC/MENA sellers that need local debit schemes (mada, KNET, OmanNet) on one contract
- Accepts mada, KNET, OmanNet, Meeza, UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB
- Wallets: Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, STC Pay, URPAY, PayPal
- BNPL at checkout: Tabby, Tamara, valU, Souhoola
Telr
Best for: Small UAE/KSA stores that want transparent published pricing and payment links
- Says it is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE for retail payment services
- Publishes its full price list
- Unlimited payment links and branded invoices on all plans
Checkout.com
Best for: Cross-border and high-volume brands that want one global acquirer with GCC local acquiring
- Says it has local acquiring in 50+ countries including the Middle East
- 19 offices worldwide
- Publishes an annual MENA consumer payments report
Stripe (UAE)
Best for: UAE-registered D2C brands and SaaS that want self-serve onboarding and good developer tools
- No setup, monthly or hidden fees
- 135+ currencies
- Merchant must be a UAE business; not available to Saudi entities
Amazon Payment Services (formerly PAYFORT)
Best for: Established mid-to-large merchants in the UAE/KSA wanting a brand-name gateway with instalments
- Says it is available in 9 MENA countries
- Claims 3,500+ business customers
- Named clients include Air Arabia, Ticketmaster, Vodafone, InstaShop, Ounass
MyFatoorah
Best for: Social-commerce and invoice-led sellers in Kuwait and KSA who sell through WhatsApp/Instagram links
- Claims 80K+ merchants and 4.5B+ transactions
- Says its Saudi company is supervised by SAMA (licence 21/م ش م/1444)
- Integrated natively with Salla
Geidea
Best for: Omnichannel retailers in KSA that want POS and online payments from one provider
- Says it serves 530,000+ establishments
- 300+ support agents across Saudi Arabia
- Operates under SAMA supervision
Network International (N-Genius Online)
Best for: UAE businesses that want a large local acquirer with in-store and online acquiring together
- Taken private by a Brookfield-led consortium (Bidco); deal completed 17 Sep 2024; merged with FAB's Magnati in Oct 2025
- N-Genius Online ready-made plugins for WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento 2, PrestaShop and OpenCart (developer docs)
Paymob
Best for: SMEs on Shopify in the UAE/KSA/Oman that want an embedded checkout
- Says it processes millions of transactions
- PCI-certified
- Expanded embedded Shopify payments across MENA in July 2024 (see platforms-shopify.md)
Need a gateway for one country? See our lists of payment gateways in Saudi Arabia and payment gateways in the UAE.
How do you choose a payment gateway in 7 steps?
Start with your company and your shoppers, not with the gateway. Once you know who can onboard you and which methods you need, the shortlist gets short fast.
- 1
Confirm your entity
A Saudi CR, a Saudi freelance licence, a UAE trade licence or a foreign company. Each one opens a different set of gateways.
- 2
List the methods your shoppers use
Apple Pay, Visa and Mastercard everywhere. Mada for Saudi Arabia, KNET for Kuwait. Add STC Pay, Tabby or Tamara if they fit your store.
- 3
Check your platform
On Shopify, pick a gateway with a real app or plugin. On Salla or Zid, start with the built-in payments and compare outside gateways later.
- 4
Get two or three written quotes
Ask for rates per method, fixed and monthly fees, payout timing, reserves and chargeback fees.
- 5
Model the all-in cost
Add your platform fee and VAT on the gateway fee. Use the calculator further down this page.
- 6
Test with real cards
Pay with a real local debit card, directly and inside Apple Pay. Then test a refund from your admin.
- 7
Keep a backup gateway
Onboarding delays and outages happen. A second gateway also lets you retry failed payments.
How do payment gateways charge?
Most Gulf gateways charge a percentage of each payment, often plus a small fixed fee. The details vary a lot, so it pays to know which model you're being offered.
| Pricing model | How it works | Example | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per-method rates | A different rate for mada, credit cards and wallets | Mada about 1%, Saudi credit cards about 2.25–2.8% plus SAR 1 | Apple Pay priced at the card inside it |
| Blended rate | One rate for every card | Stripe UAE: 2.9% plus AED 1 | You pay the same on cheap debit cards |
| Monthly plans | A subscription plus lower per-payment fees | Telr UAE: AED 99–249 a month | Plans that only pay off above a certain volume |
| Interchange++ | The card network's cost plus a fixed margin | Checkout.com, quoted on application | Best suited to large volumes |
| Quote-based | Rates set after your application | Tap, Moyasar, HyperPay, Geidea | Get every line in writing |
On top of the headline rate, ask about these extras:
- Foreign cards. Stripe adds 1% for international cards in the UAE, and Telr adds 0.5%.
- Setup and monthly fees. Amazon Payment Services charges SAR 200 a month on its standard Saudi plan.
- Chargebacks and refunds. For example, Stripe's UAE dispute fee is AED 60.
- VAT on the fee. You pay 15% on gateway fees in Saudi Arabia and 5% in the UAE.
- Your platform's fee. Shopify adds 0.2–2% when you use an outside gateway.
Worked example: per-method or blended pricing?
Say your Saudi store sells SAR 50,000 a month across 200 orders. Seven in ten shoppers pay with mada, directly or through Apple Pay, and the rest use credit cards.
Here's the same month priced two ways. The per-method column uses Amazon Payment Services' published Saudi rates. The blended column uses 2.5% plus SAR 1, the low end of typical blended rates.
| Fee line | Per-method pricing | Blended pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Mada and Apple Pay on mada (SAR 35,000) | SAR 350 (1%) | SAR 875 (2.5%) |
| Credit cards (SAR 15,000) | SAR 420 (2.8%) | SAR 375 (2.5%) |
| Fixed fee per payment (SAR 1) | SAR 60 (cards only) | SAR 200 (all orders) |
| Monthly fee | SAR 200 | None |
| Total before VAT | SAR 1,030 (2.1%) | SAR 1,450 (2.9%) |
Per-method pricing saves about SAR 420 a month here, even with a monthly fee. That gap grows as more shoppers pay with mada.
So always ask for mada priced separately, and make sure mada inside Apple Pay gets the mada rate. Try your own numbers:
Payment gateway fee comparator
Estimated monthly cost of gateways that publish their rates
Where is your business registered?
These gateways onboard Saudi entities (CR or, for some, a freelance licence) and settle in SAR.
Average ticket: SAR 200.00
Apple Pay is priced as the card inside it. Exception: Amazon Payment Services charges Apple Pay at its card rate, even for mada.
Store platform
Shopify plan
Shopify adds a 2.0% transaction fee to every order paid through a third-party gateway.
Cheapest published option: PayTabs Paymes
effective rate: 4.07%
Shopify's fee here is SAR 1,000. On Grow it would be SAR 500 (before the plan price difference).
Estimated monthly cost
- Processing (% + fixed)
- Monthly fee
- Shopify transaction fee
- VAT on gateway fees (15%)
#1PayTabs PaymesCheapest
SAR 2,034 · 4.07%
Paymes SuperApp pricing ("testing phase"). International cards assumed at the credit rate.
#2Telr KSA
SAR 2,172 – SAR 2,448 · 4.34%–4.90%
Published as a range: cards 2.6-3% + SAR 1, SAR 99-259/month. Bar shows low to high.
#3Amazon Payment Services
SAR 2,651 · 5.30%
Standard Plan. Apple Pay billed at card rate. International card rates may differ.
Quote-based gateways
These do not publish rates, so we can't rank them. Ask each for a written rate card split by method.
- Tap Payments — Native Shopify checkout app; mada, Apple Pay, Jaywan (UAE), KNET.
- HyperPay — Riyadh-based, Shopify app. Only third-party estimates exist.
- Moyasar — Saudi entities only (CR or freelance licence); STC Pay supported.
- Checkout.com — Enterprise acquirer, flat-rate or interchange++. mada for KSA entities only.
- Geidea — Rates negotiated per merchant. Shopify app with Tabby and Tamara.
Shopify adds a 2.0% transaction fee to every order paid through a third-party gateway.
Estimates based on published fees as of October 2026; confirm with the provider. Excludes refunds, chargebacks, FX, payout and setup fees. Shopify plan subscriptions not included.
Use the result to sanity-check every quote you get. Our breakdown of payment gateway fees shows where each point goes.
What should you ask before you sign?
Ask these questions to every gateway on your shortlist. Clear, written answers are a good sign; vague ones are your answer too.
Most gateways ask for the same documents. Expect your CR or trade licence, an IBAN letter from your bank, the owner’s ID and a live website with refund and contact pages. Have them ready, and approval is usually quick.
Saudi Arabia or the UAE: what changes?
The two biggest Gulf markets pay differently, and the rules for gateways differ too. Here's what to tell your gateway about each one.
Saudi shoppers pay mostly with mada debit cards, often through Apple Pay. A local, SAMA-licensed gateway processes mada domestically at the lowest rate.
- Published mada rates are about 1%, and credit cards about 2.25–2.8% plus SAR 1.
- Shopify Payments and Stripe aren't available to Saudi companies.
- Gateway payouts usually arrive one to five business days after the sale.
See our Saudi gateway list and the guide to payment methods in Saudi Arabia.
Selling in both? Many brands use a UAE company for Stripe or Shopify Payments, then add a Saudi entity and a local gateway once Saudi orders grow.
Notes for Shopify stores
- Shopify Payments is UAE-only in the Gulf. Everywhere else, you connect an outside gateway.
- Budget the extra fee. It's 2% on Basic and 0.2% on Plus. On Basic, that's more than the gateway charges for mada.
- Pick a gateway with a real app. Tap, HyperPay, Amazon Payment Services and Geidea list Shopify apps. PayTabs installs from its own dashboard.
Our guide to the best Shopify payment gateways in Saudi Arabia compares the apps side by side.
Notes for sellers across the GCC
- Each country has its own debit network. Mada in Saudi Arabia, KNET in Kuwait, Benefit in Bahrain, NAPS in Qatar and OmanNet in Oman.
- One contract can cover several. Tap, PayTabs and Checkout.com list most Gulf networks, but each method may need switching on.
- Kuwait runs on KNET. It carries most online payments there, so don't launch without it. See how to accept KNET online.
Notes for Chinese and other foreign sellers
- No GCC company yet? Sell on Amazon or noon first. They collect payment and pay you out.
- A UAE company is the easiest first step for your own store. It opens Stripe, Shopify Payments and UAE gateways.
- Domestic mada needs a Saudi entity. Without one, co-badged mada cards go through as Visa or Mastercard.
- UnionPay acceptance isn't onboarding. PayTabs accepts UnionPay cards, but you still need an eligible company to open an account.
The full route, company setup and payouts are covered in selling in Saudi Arabia from China.
Get payment gateway quotes
Share your company details and monthly sales once. We'll match you with gateways that can onboard you and support your shoppers' methods.
In this section
Frequently asked questions
For most local gateways, yes. Saudi gateways onboard companies with a Saudi CR, and some accept a freelance licence. UAE gateways want a trade licence and an AED bank account. Without either, a global acquirer such as Checkout.com, or a marketplace like Amazon or noon, is the usual route.
Sources & further reading
- Use mada bank cards for buying products through the internet (rulebook) — SAMA Rulebook
- E-Payments Account for 85% of Total Retail Payments in 2025 — Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)
- Amazon Payment Services pricing (KSA) — Amazon Payment Services
- Telr pricing — Telr
- Stripe UAE pricing — Stripe
- Shopify Payments supported countries — Shopify Help Center
- Moyasar FAQs — Moyasar
- Dubai's ecommerce market to reach $13 billion by 2029 — Digital Commerce 360 (Invest in Dubai data)
This guide is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and fees change — always confirm with the official source or a licensed advisor.
Maya is MiddleEastEcom's lead guide and editor. She researches GCC marketplaces, payments and regulations and turns them into practical playbooks for sellers.
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