Payment Gateway in the UAE: Rules, Methods and How to Choose
A payment gateway in the UAE is the service that lets a business accept card, wallet and other digital payments online and moves that money into the business’s bank account. Under federal rules, a company that collects, pools or settles those funds for merchants in the UAE must be a bank or hold the relevant license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).
That license question decides which providers you can sign with. The rest of the choice comes down to local methods such as the new Jaywan card scheme, how 5% VAT applies to your fees, and whether the provider also covers the other markets you sell into, Saudi Arabia above all.
Which rules govern a payment gateway in the UAE?
Payment gateways in the UAE fall under the CBUAE’s Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, issued as Circular 15/2021 dated 6 June 2021. It defines nine retail payment services, including merchant acquiring and payment aggregation, and sorts licenses into four categories according to which of those services a provider offers.
The full text is on the CBUAE Rulebook. Law firm Al Tamimi & Company notes that the regulation came into force in July 2021 and that initial capital ranges from AED 100,000 for a Category IV license to AED 3 million for Category I.
| CBUAE license category | Retail payment services it can cover (Article 3) |
|---|---|
| Category I | Payment account issuance, payment instrument issuance, merchant acquiring, payment aggregation, domestic fund transfers, cross-border fund transfers, payment token services |
| Category II | The Category I services except payment token services |
| Category III | Payment account issuance, payment instrument issuance, merchant acquiring, payment aggregation, domestic fund transfers |
| Category IV | Payment initiation and payment account information services only |
For an online store, Categories I to III matter. Category IV covers open-banking style services only.
Two details in the regulation are worth knowing. It excludes technical service providers that support a payment service but never take possession of the money, and it leaves stored value facilities to a separate regime. It also defines payment aggregation as receiving shoppers’ payments, pooling them and transferring them on to merchants after a time period. A provider that holds your money at any point, even for a day, must be a bank or hold a CBUAE license.
How do you check whether a UAE payment provider is licensed?
The CBUAE publishes a searchable register on its licensing page. You can filter by license type, including Retail Payment Services and Stored Value Facility, and each result shows the institution name, head office and identification number. Search for the legal entity named in your contract, not the brand on the website.
Some providers publish their entity and number. Checkout.com’s regulatory page states that Checkout MENA FZ-LLC is licensed by the CBUAE as a provider of Retail Payment Services under identification number 08.01.02.008.2023.02. Telr’s pricing page states that Telr is licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE to provide Retail Payment Services.
Which payment methods do UAE shoppers expect at checkout?
Cards still lead online payments in the UAE, with digital wallets close behind. Euromonitor’s Digital Consumer Survey, cited in EZDubai’s e-commerce report, found credit and debit cards remain the most used method, while wallet use rose from 41% in 2020 to 53% in 2024. The same report put the UAE e-commerce market at AED 32.3 billion in 2024 and projected it to pass AED 50.6 billion by 2029.
Jaywan is the newest method to plan for. It is the UAE’s first national card scheme, operated by Al Etihad Payments, a CBUAE subsidiary. Nationwide issuance through banks, licensed financial institutions and exchange houses started in July 2026, and Network International added Jaywan to its e-commerce gateway, saying merchants on that gateway pay no additional fee for Jaywan transactions (Gulf News). Jaywan-only cards mainly run on the domestic network, while co-badged cards pair Jaywan with Visa, Mastercard, Discover or UnionPay for international use.
Aani is the UAE’s instant payments platform, launched by Al Etihad Payments on 16 October 2023. It supports transfers by phone number, Request Money, Split Bills and QR payments at merchants (CBUAE).
Authentication has changed too. Several large UAE banks stopped sending SMS one-time passwords for online card purchases from 6 January 2026, and shoppers now approve payments in their bank’s app, following CBUAE instructions to phase out SMS and email OTPs (Gulf News). Test that a mobile shopper can switch to the banking app and back without losing the order.
How does VAT apply to online payments in the UAE?
The UAE charges VAT at a standard rate of 5%, administered by the Federal Tax Authority. For a merchant this touches payments twice: the VAT you charge customers on taxable sales, and the VAT your payment provider adds to its own fees.
Check how each quote shows tax. Telr’s UAE rate card, for example, states that all its fees and charges are subject to 5% VAT (Telr). Registered businesses file VAT returns and pay within 28 days of the end of each tax period (FTA), so a gateway report that separates gross sales, fees, VAT on fees and refunds saves time every quarter. If you also sell into Saudi Arabia or other GCC markets, keep the reports split by country.
Which payment gateway companies operate in the UAE?
Payment gateway companies in the UAE range from local acquirers to global processors and regional gateways. The table records what each states publicly about its UAE presence. Use it to build a shortlist, then confirm each entity on the CBUAE register.
| Provider | What it states publicly about the UAE | Shortlist it if |
|---|---|---|
| Network International | Added Jaywan to its e-commerce payment gateway in July 2026, with no additional merchant fee for Jaywan transactions (Gulf News) | You want early online acceptance of the domestic card scheme |
| Checkout.com | Checkout MENA FZ-LLC licensed by the CBUAE for Retail Payment Services, ID 08.01.02.008.2023.02 (Checkout.com) | You run international e-commerce and want one processor across many countries |
| Telr | Licensed by the CBUAE to provide Retail Payment Services; publishes UAE plans; a valid trade license is mandatory (Telr) | You want published pricing before you talk to sales |
| Stripe | Lists the UAE as a supported country on its global availability page | You already use Stripe in other countries |
| Amazon Payment Services | Lists the UAE among the markets it serves (Amazon Payment Services) | You want a regional gateway with UAE and Saudi coverage |
| HyperPay | Operates an office in the UAE; headquartered in Riyadh as a SAMA-licensed Electronic Money Institution with a Saudi Payments eMSP Payment Gateway permit | You sell in the UAE and into Saudi Arabia, and want mada and Saudi wallets handled by a licensed Saudi provider |
How do you choose the best payment gateway in the UAE for your business?
Rank providers on five points: a license you can verify, the methods your customers use, settlement currency and timing, total cost including 5% VAT on fees, and coverage of the other markets you sell into. For a business that sells only inside the UAE, the first four decide it. For one with Saudi customers, the fifth usually does.
Questions to ask a UAE payment gateway before you sign
- Which legal entity will contract with us and settle our funds, and where is it on the CBUAE register?
- Do you accept Jaywan cards online today, and on which card types?
- Which wallets and buy now, pay later options are live for UAE merchants?
- In which currencies can we settle, and how often are payouts made?
- Are your quoted fees shown before or after 5% VAT?
- Can the same relationship cover our sales into Saudi Arabia, including mada?
The last question matters for any UAE business with Saudi customers. A payment gateway in Dubai that serves the UAE well may not reach Saudi shoppers on their own scheme. mada e-commerce transactions must be processed through the national mada network, according to SAMA, and under SAMA Circular 46004436 final settlement to merchants in Saudi Arabia sits with SAMA-licensed providers and banks.
Charging a Saudi shopper in AED on a co-badged mada card also changes the route: international or foreign-currency transactions go over Visa or Mastercard rather than mada, according to processor documentation such as Checkout.com’s mada guide. Our guide to payment gateways in Saudi Arabia covers the Saudi side in full.
Why is HyperPay the right choice for UAE businesses selling into Saudi Arabia?
For a UAE business whose growth depends on Saudi customers, HyperPay is the provider to choose. It is headquartered in Riyadh with offices in Jordan and the UAE, and serves merchants across Bahrain, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait. That gives you a team in the UAE and a licensed, mada-permitted base in the Kingdom, which a UAE-only gateway cannot offer.
The Saudi credentials are public. HyperPay appears on SAMA’s register of licensed payment service providers as Hyperpay Inc Saudi Information Systems Technology Company, an Electronic Money Institution, unified number 7016872546, license valid until 29/12/2029. Saudi Payments has separately permitted HyperPay as a Payment Technology Service Provider and as an eMSP Payment Gateway. HyperPay is certified to PCI DSS v4.0.1 Level 1, ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO 22301.
HyperPay supports mada, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, STC Pay, UnionPay, Apple Pay, Tabby, Tamara, SADAD and PayPal, so Saudi shoppers see the methods they already use. The HyperPay payment gateway handles online acceptance, and HyperPay Protect adds fraud prevention. For pricing and settlement in several currencies, see our multi-currency payment gateway guide, and for the other Gulf markets, our guide to cross border payments in MENA.
When you speak to HyperPay’s team, confirm three onboarding details: which HyperPay entity you would contract with, which methods are live for your UAE storefront, and which currencies you can settle in.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trade license to get a payment gateway in the UAE?
In practice, yes. Providers onboard registered businesses and run checks under UAE anti-money laundering rules, so expect to show a trade license, ownership details and a business bank account. Telr, for example, states on its pricing page that a valid trade license is mandatory for its UAE plans. Ask each provider for its full document list early.
Is a payment gateway in Dubai regulated differently from one in Abu Dhabi?
No. The CBUAE Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation is federal and applies across all seven emirates. The financial free zones, DIFC and ADGM, have their own regulators, and Al Tamimi & Company notes that firms incorporated there may not apply for these CBUAE payment licenses. Check which regulator covers your provider’s contracting entity.
Can customers pay online with Jaywan cards?
Yes, where the merchant’s payment provider accepts them. Network International added Jaywan to its e-commerce gateway in July 2026, and Gulf News reports that First Abu Dhabi Bank’s Jaywan debit card works on UAE-based online platforms. Jaywan-only cards mainly work domestically, while co-badged cards can also run on Visa, Mastercard, Discover or UnionPay.
What VAT applies to payment gateway fees in the UAE?
The standard UAE VAT rate of 5% applies to taxable services, and providers commonly add it to their fees. Telr, for example, states that all fees on its UAE rate card are subject to 5% VAT. When comparing quotes, put every provider on the same basis, either before or after VAT, so a quote that leaves tax out does not look cheaper than it is.
Can a UAE company accept mada payments from Saudi customers?
Yes, through a provider connected to the mada system for e-commerce. mada online transactions run through Saudi Arabia’s national mada system, and settlement to merchants in the Kingdom sits with SAMA-licensed providers and banks. HyperPay is a SAMA-licensed Electronic Money Institution with a Saudi Payments eMSP Payment Gateway permit, so confirm the setup for your UAE entity with its team.
If your UAE business already sells into Saudi Arabia, or plans to, talk to HyperPay’s team about methods, onboarding and settlement for both markets.