For years the standard answer to “which payment gateway should a UAE Shopify store use?” started with “Shopify Payments isn’t available here, so…”. That answer is now out of date. Shopify lists the United Arab Emirates as a supported Shopify Payments country, with AED payouts to a local bank account. A lot of the advice still circulating online, including forum threads and older agency blogs, has not caught up.
That does not mean every UAE store should switch overnight. Local card gateways, buy now, pay later providers and cash on delivery all still have a place, and the right mix depends on your licence, your plan, where your customers are and how you want to be paid. This guide walks through what actually works on Shopify in the UAE today, what each option costs you in practice, and how to choose.
Shopify Payments in the UAE: what has changed
Shopify’s own help centre now includes the UAE in its list of supported countries for Shopify Payments. Access was rolled out in stages, so do not assume your store has it just because the country is listed. The reliable check is in your own admin: go to Settings, then Payments, and see whether Shopify Payments is offered for your store.
Who is eligible
According to Shopify’s UAE requirements page, you need:
- A company registration number and a UAE-issued trade licence (or a freelancer permit for sole establishments).
- One of the supported business types: LLC or Free Zone LLC, or Sole Establishment or Free Zone Sole Establishment. LLCs also need a memorandum of association and proof of bank account.
- A UAE-based checking account in AED, with an IBAN starting with AE. LLCs need an account in the business name; sole establishments use an account in the owner’s legal name.
Non-profits are not currently eligible, and savings accounts, flex-currency accounts and money transfer services are not accepted for payouts. Businesses in categories prohibited by the Shopify Payments terms are excluded as well, so check that list before you plan around it.
What customers can pay with
In the UAE, Shopify Payments supports Visa, Mastercard and Maestro, plus Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay as accelerated checkouts. These switch on automatically once Shopify Payments is active, with no separate merchant agreements to sign. It is online only: Shopify states you cannot use it for in-person POS payments in the UAE.
Payouts and settlement
Payouts land in AED. USD payouts are available through multi-currency payouts for an extra fee, and the receiving account must still be in the UAE. Shopify’s UAE payouts page gives a minimum settlement time of five business days, says new accounts may start with longer settlement periods, and sets a minimum payout of AED 20. Payments captured on Friday, Saturday and Sunday are combined into a single payout, which is worth knowing when you plan cash flow around weekend campaigns.
Fees
Card rates depend on your plan. At the time of writing, Shopify’s UAE pricing page lists online card rates from 2.9% + AED 1.00 on Basic down to 2.5% + AED 1.00 on Plus. The bigger point is what happens when you don’t use it: Shopify charges an additional transaction fee on orders processed through third-party gateways, listed at 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus. Pricing changes, so confirm these figures on the live page before you model margins.
Third-party card gateways with real Shopify integrations
Shopify Payments is not the only option, and for some businesses it will not be the best one. You may not meet the eligibility rules, you may already have a negotiated rate with an acquirer, or you may want a single provider across Shopify and other channels. Several regional and global providers publish their own Shopify integrations:
- Checkout.com offers onsite and offsite Shopify payments apps, documented on its developer site. The onsite app works with Shopify’s current checkout, not the classic version.
- Network International (N-Genius Online) has an app on the Shopify App Store published by Network International itself.
- Telr has rebuilt its integration as a Shopify payments app, with both offsite and onsite versions, after Shopify retired the older gateway API.
- PayTabs publishes a Shopify plugin manual in its support centre. Confirm current availability with them before you commit.
When you assess any of these, ask the same questions every time:
- Is it an official payments app? Shopify has moved third-party gateways onto its Payments Apps platform. Avoid anything that relies on the old gateway route or on a script that redirects customers in an unsupported way.
- Onsite or offsite? Onsite apps keep the customer on your checkout. Offsite apps send them to a hosted payment page, which adds a step and can affect conversion.
- Which wallets work inside Shopify checkout? A provider may support Apple Pay in general but not through its Shopify app. Ask specifically.
- What is the all-in cost? Add the gateway’s own rate to Shopify’s third-party transaction fee for your plan. On Basic, that extra 2% can cancel out a cheaper headline rate.
- Settlement terms: currency, payout frequency and any rolling reserve.
Apple Pay and Google Pay
Wallets remove the slowest part of mobile checkout: typing a card number. With Shopify Payments, Apple Pay and Google Pay are included by default. With a third-party gateway, wallet support depends entirely on that provider’s Shopify app, so treat it as a selection criterion rather than an afterthought. Whatever you choose, test the wallet buttons on a real iPhone and Android device before launch, including on the product page and cart if you show express checkout there.
Buy now, pay later: Tabby and Tamara
BNPL is well established in the Gulf, and the two names UAE shoppers will recognise are Tabby and Tamara. Both have official Shopify integrations:
- Tabby documents a Shopify setup where you register with Tabby, install the Tabby payments app, activate it in your Shopify payment settings and add your live API keys. Refunds can be started from the Shopify admin. Tabby notes that Shopify order numbers do not sync automatically, so plan for that in your reconciliation.
- Tamara provides a Shopify payments app plus on-site messaging widgets for product and cart pages.
Two practical points. First, BNPL providers run their own merchant approval, so apply early. Second, the product page widgets only display messaging; the provider has to be live as a payment method at checkout first, and Tabby’s documentation says so explicitly. BNPL apps are third-party gateways, so Shopify’s additional transaction fee applies to those orders on top of the provider’s own fee.
Cash on delivery
Many UAE shoppers still expect to see cash on delivery, especially when buying from a store for the first time. Shopify supports it as a manual payment method: orders arrive marked as unpaid, and you mark them as paid once your courier remits the cash. Shopify does not charge third-party transaction fees on manual payments.
The cost of COD is operational rather than a fee line. Expect refused deliveries, courier COD charges, slower cash flow and more manual reconciliation. Many stores keep COD but nudge customers towards prepaid options, for example by showing wallets and BNPL more prominently or limiting COD on certain products, using checkout customisation where your plan allows it.
Selling in AED, SAR and other currencies
If you sell across the GCC, multi-currency matters. Shopify’s Markets payments documentation is clear: only stores with Shopify Payments or Adyen as the primary gateway can charge customers in their local currency. With other gateways, local currency changes only how prices are displayed; the customer is charged in your store’s default currency and may face conversion fees from their bank.
In practice, a UAE store on a third-party gateway that shows SAR prices to Saudi visitors will still charge them in AED, or whatever your store currency is. That mismatch can cause abandoned checkouts and support tickets. If GCC expansion is part of your plan, factor this into your gateway choice now rather than after launch.
How to choose: a simple framework
- Check Shopify Payments eligibility first. If your licence, business type and AED bank account qualify and it appears in your admin, it is usually the simplest base: wallets included, AED payouts, local-currency checkout, and no third-party transaction fee on those orders.
- Add BNPL if your average order value supports it. Tabby or Tamara, or both, alongside your main card gateway.
- Keep COD if your customers expect it, but measure refusal rates and push towards prepaid where you can.
- Use a third-party card gateway when there is a clear reason: you are not eligible for Shopify Payments, you have a better negotiated rate that survives Shopify’s extra fee, or you need a provider that works across all your channels.
- Model the real cost per order for each method on your current plan, including Shopify’s transaction fee, gateway fees, COD courier charges and refunds.
Whatever you choose, place test orders through every method before launch, including refunds and partial refunds, and confirm the money arrives in your bank as expected.
Getting your payment setup right
Payment configuration sits at the point where small mistakes cost real orders, and the UAE landscape has shifted enough that it is worth reviewing even an established store’s setup. ConversionsKing works with UAE merchants on checkout and payment configuration, from choosing and connecting gateways to setting up Markets for GCC selling. If you would like a second pair of eyes, see our Shopify agency services in Dubai or, for larger stores, our Shopify Plus development work.
