UAE is aggressively amplifying its Digital Transformation, by incorporating a fruitful, long-term Digital Landscape, fostering technology growth, across the region. Not only that, the consumers in UAE have adapted to the Digital Landscape to an extent that their main Payment Mechanism, is through Digital Payment Gateways. Digital Payment ways are now the go-to in the region, and there’s no going back, given how much the Fintech Sector has grown in the region.
Importance of Payment Gateways in UAE
The COVID-19 Pandemic was a distressful global event, however, it brought on a shift in countries like UAE, where the retail shopping experience was considered to be the dominant mode of shopping, while cash was considered to be the primary source of making payments and transacting. The shift towards online shopping forced the customers to get accustomed to payment gateways, and resound to popular payment gateway solutions in the UAE. Today, UAE has seen an immense growth in the adaption of Payment Gateway Solutions by the citizens of the region.
Consumers in UAE are now habitual and frequent users of payment gateways, whether it is for B2B or B2C purposes. Payment gateways solutions provide feasibility and seamlessness to its consumers, with a safe and secure mechanism, transacted in a matter of seconds. The fact that Covid-19 was the trigger, which made consumers in UAE realize the usefulness of technology, means that there are more efforts being made the Government to promote the Fintech sector.
Having said that, you must know the best options for payment gateways in UAE.
- Amazon Payment Services (APS) – APS is one of the most widely used payment gateway solution in the UAE, simply because of how robust its mechanism is. With absolutely zero startup fees for entry-level packages, Amazon Payment Service Gateway is recognized as one of the most credible and seamless Payment Solution in the region. Even for Mid-tier accounts, E-commerce Merchants need to pay AED 200 per month only. Not only that, the additional transactional charges are as low as 2.8%, being lower than the competition, charging 3% or above. APS is, perhaps, the most viable option for large-scale merchants, as the Payment Gateway Solution offers custom packages, based on transactional volume (per month), making it ideal for Up-scaled E-commerce Merchants.
Additionally, the Payment Gateway Solution also offers its customers an installment option, allowing further flexibility for merchants. What’s more is that APS data analysis algorithms allow for business growth tracking, in real time, making it the most ideal option for most medium to large-scale businesses, and even ambitious startups.
- Telr – Undoubtedly, one of the best payment gateway solution in UAE, Telr has allowed consumers across the region to transact with ease. Providing multiple payment methods on-board, the service is exceptional, both in terms of popularity and service delivery, in the UAE. Telr has a global reach of 120 Countries, with the payment gateway being supported by Woocommerce, OpenCart, Prestashop, Magneto, and Shopify. There are three payment levels, associated with Telr Payment Gateway Solution, which includes Entry, Small, and Medium, making the payment gateway solution ideal for Startups, SMEs, and E-commerce Businesses, to make payment transactions, without any hassle, through UAE, across 120 different countries. Additionally, Telr offers multiple features, when setting up your account, which includes No Security Deposit Fee, No Setup Fee, and as high as AED 1 Per Transaction Cost.
- CCAVENUE – This is another big name in the UAE, when it comes to the best payment gateway solutions, in the region. Originating from India, CCAVENUE is widely used by the consumers in UAE, especially in the E-Commerce landscape. The best part about CCAVENUE is that its associated setup cost is Zero, with monthly charges as high as roughly $55 with an additional 3% charged on further transactions. CCAVENUE is very famous for flexible payment plans, which is why E-commerce startups tend to opt for CCAVENUE, not only because the payment gateway solution offers flexibility in pricing, but also offers unmatched customer service, with 24/ 7 on-call support. Even the maintenance fee is as low as AED 200 per month.
- Checkout – This Payment Gateway Solution may be considered as one of the most underrated service, offering a great deal of flexible payment options for E-commerce merchants, of various scalability. Launched back in 2014, Checkout.com acts as a universal Payment Gateway Solution, accommodating support of 15 languages and 87 currencies, making it the ideal choice for sending or receiving Global Payments in the UAE. Many users in UAE opt for Checkout, due to its flexibility and custom payment options. E-merchants using Checkout Payment Gateway Solution are only required to pay the one-time setup fee of $500, with additional charges of 0.95% + 2 cents, and 2.9% + 20 cents per transaction, on European Cards, and Non-European Cards, respectively.
- 2CHECKOUT – Another quite popular and heavily acclaimed Global Payment Gateway Solution, widely opted for, across UAE. 2CheckOut has an expanded reach of E-merchants, being available in 211 countries, all across the Globe. Providing full-fledge PCI Compliance, the payment gateway solution supports up to 87 currencies, with support of 15 different languages. The service also provides ‘Ultimate Fraud Detection,’ accommodating Address Verification, backed up 300+ CVV and rule checks. The additional transaction charges are slightly higher, given the payment gateway solution’s global reach, translating to roughly 4% (3.9 to be exact), + 45 cents on every transaction.
Honorary Mentions
Based on our discussion of the best payment gateway solutions in the UAE, we are also enlisting three honorary mentions that are also popular in the region, offering unique payment services to its customers:
Adyen – Adyen is another underrated, but commonly used payment gateway solution in the UAE, with large-scale international reach. This end-to-end payment processing platform connects merchants to widely used payment methods, such as Mastercard, VISA, UnionPay, and many others, which includes local offerings as well. The service allows for transacting across Global borders, from or within UAE, with ease. The service incorporates 250+ local and international payment methods with tailored checkout providing custom experiences to its merchants. Adyen’s Point of Sale (POS) feature helps in facilitating in-store payments with end-to-end processing through terminal integration. Moreover, the payment gateway solution supports up to 187 different currencies, with security protocols, in terms of fraud detection.
Hyperpay – While this service is more popular in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), as it is Saudi-based, the payment gateway solution is also used by a lot of users in the UAE. The service has over 100 banking partners and well-known credit card companies, across UAE. Additionally, Hyperpay offers secure checkout and fraud detection mechanism, with a tailored checkout experience. It is a powerful dashboard, with easy integration of E-commerce platforms such as BigCommerce, Magneto and WordPress. The Payment Gateway Solution supports Mastercard, VISA, American Express, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Mada STC Pay.
Stripe – Stripe is another popular payment gateway solution in UAE that enables merchants to send and receive payments, all across the globe. The payment gateway solution offers seamless payment mechanism for E-commerce Merchants, E-Retailers, Software Platforms, and the Online Marketplace, in general. Additionally, Stripe also has unique features on-board which include profound fraud management, invoice management, issuance of digital or physical cards, and much more. The payment options of this service include Wallets, Bank Re-directs, Cards, Bank Transfers, Bank Debits, Currencies, BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later), and cash-based vouchers.
Conclusion
UAE is thriving the digital transformation charge across Middle-East, setting example for other countries to follow. The country’s digital outlook is constantly growing and expanding, which is why you should keep note of the above Payment Gateway Solutions, to make sure that you’re well equipped to transact seamlessly in the UAE.
Also published on Medium.
