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Finding a payment gateway that lets you accept both local and international payments is more complicated than it seems: many providers charge extra fees for international cards and currency conversion, and that can be on top of setup costs and maintenance fees.
What you're looking for is a payment gateway that:
- Easy to understand and quick to set up
- Clear about international card and currency conversion fees
- Able to support multi-currency payments
- Compatible with your website builder
To help you find the right solution, we’ll compare 9 of the best payment gateways for international payment processing in the UAE based on payout speed, multi-currency support, transaction fees, and more.
In this guide:
- 9 payment gateways for international payments in the UAE: A comparison
- Ziina
- Stripe
- PayPal
- Telr
- Mamo
- Network International
- Amazon Payment Services
- Checkout
- CCAvenue
Ziina is a payment app and gateway that helps businesses accept local and international payments from the UAE. Get onboarded in minutes, add Ziina to your checkout flow, and let your customers pay in 10 different currencies.
9 payment gateways for international payments in the UAE: A comparison*
| Payment gateway | Multi-currency support | Transaction fees | Onboarding times | Settlement times | Customer support | Business card to instantly access your funds in the UAE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ziina | Accept payments in AED, SAR, BHD, EUR, GBP, USD, INR, KWD, OMR, and QAR; all funds settle in AED | 2.6% + 1 AED (+ 1.5% for international cards) | Quick setup | Instantly to Ziina wallet; 1-2 days to UAE bank account and instantly for eligible users | UAE-based Arabic and English support | |
Stripe[1] | Process 139 currencies[1a] | 2.9% + 1 AED[1b] | Days | 2-5 days | Global support (English) | |
PayPal[2] | Process 200+ currencies | 2.99% + fixed fee + 4% conversion fee[2d] | Days | 1-3 days | Global support (English) | |
Telr[3] | Process 130+ currencies | 2.69% + 1 AED[3b] | Quick setup | 1-2 days | UAE-based support | |
Mamo[4] | Process 15+ currencies | 2.9% + 1 AED + 2% for non-AED currencies[4a] | Quick setup | 2-5 days | Dedicated Arabic & English support | |
Network International[5] | Multiple currencies[5d] | Not explicitly stated | Days | Not explicitly stated | UAE-based support | (but offers a corporate executive card) |
Amazon Payment Services[6] | Process 100+ currencies[6b] | 2.80% + 1 AED[6b] | Days | 7 days[6d] | UAE-based support | |
Checkout[7] | 145+ processing currencies and ~20 settlement currencies[7b] | Not publicly disclosed; Free for charities[7c] | Days | 1-3 days[7d] | English support | |
CCAvenue[8] | Process payments in 27 currencies[8a] | Around 3% + AED 1, with 200 AED monthly fee[8b] | Days | 2-3 days, with express settlement available | 24/7 support |
Ziina: A payment gateway for UAE-based businesses that need to accept local and international payments
Ziina is an all-in-one payment solution that helps UAE businesses accept payments from across the world.
Through our payment gateway solution, you can add an online checkout to your website and start accepting local, regional, and global payments through a single integration.
Here’s what you can do when you partner with Ziina:
Integrate with Ziina’s payment gateway and start accepting international e-commerce payments right away
For many businesses, integrating Ziina’s payment gateway into Shopify, WooCommerce, or a custom website can be completed quickly using our ready-made plugins and onboarding guides.
Here’s how to get started:
- Sign up. Create a Ziina Business account and complete quick onboarding.
- Choose your integration. Pick from Shopify, WooCommerce, or custom API options. Our ready-to-go plugins are simple to implement, which means you won’t require a developer.
- Follow our detailed guides to go live and start accepting payments as soon as possible.
Once you're set up, you can start accepting payments through a secure online checkout (standard processing fees apply in line with Ziina’s pricing terms).
That's actually what attracted LAS Club to Ziina. Before switching, the UAE-based beauty brand struggled with high fees, complicated integrations, and limited support. After implementing Ziina's Shopify integration, the team was able to launch quickly and create a smoother checkout experience for customers.
Within eight months, LAS Club sold more than 4,000 units of its flagship product and achieved 40% month-on-month revenue growth.
“The integration process was so easy. It took five clicks and no technical understanding. The website checkout experience is critical to our success, and I am grateful Ziina made it so convenient. As an entrepreneur navigating complexities all day long, the simplicity with Ziina was a huge relief!” said the co-founder, Sami Salem.
And with support for 10 currencies, including AED, USD, EUR, GBP, and SAR, customers can pay in a currency they already know and trust, while all settlements are processed in AED.

As for payment methods, you can accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, or Amex debit and credit cards.
There are no subscriptions, opening charges, or hidden fees with Ziina. The fee for receiving both local and international payments is a transparent 2.6% + AED 1 per transaction (VAT applies). For payments made with international cards or in a non-AED currency, an additional 1.5% fee per transaction applies.
Get local support and cash out your funds in around 48 hours
Ziina is based in the UAE and was built for UAE businesses. This means you’ll get local support in both English and Arabic.
Instead of waiting days for a response from a global support team, you can get help from people who understand the local market. We aim to respond to customer queries within 30 minutes.
The experience is just as smooth for your customers. The average Ziina checkout takes around four seconds, helping reduce cart abandonment and bring in more sales.
Once your customer has paid, those funds will be quickly deposited into your Ziina account. From there, transferring them to your bank account takes 1-2 business days for amounts under 25,000 AED (and often within 24 hours, subject to bank processing times). Eligible users can access instant withdrawal options.
Scale payments across multiple channels with Ziina’s all-in-one payments platform
Alongside our international payment gateway for website builders, Ziina also lets you accept domestic and international payments across every channel your business uses.
For example, you could use Ziina to:
- Send payment links. Have customers pay you through a single link that you can share across all social media channels, including WhatsApp messages and Instagram stories.
- Create QR codes. Generate a QR code that can help you get paid at in-person events or when you’re away from a physical storefront.
- Generate invoices. Create customized, professional invoices within seconds from the app and send them to your customers through any channel.
- Enable Tap to Pay on your phone. Turn your phone into a POS machine and accept in-person payments without having to rent or buy physical POS hardware.
Plus, Ziina also allows you to track all sales across all channels from one single app.
Stripe

Stripe1 is a global payment platform designed to handle card payments in 139 different currencies.1a Stripe allows you to unify your online and in-person sales to create a more consistent customer experience, offering access to over 100 payment methods.
To help local conversion, Stripe uses Adaptive Pricing to present prices to your customers in their own local currency based on the latest exchange rates.
When using Stripe for international processing, it's helpful to understand their fee structure:
- Transaction fees: Successful domestic card transactions cost 2.9% + AED 1.00. You will pay an additional 1% for international cards, and another 1% if currency conversion is required.1a
- Dispute management: It costs AED 60 to receive, counter, or submit evidence for a payment dispute, though this fee is returned if you win.1a
- Invoice generation: You can set the system to automatically generate invoices after a purchase for 0.4% of the transaction total, capped at a maximum of $2 USD per invoice.1a
- Currency handling: The system automatically converts incoming funds into your home country’s default currency unless you manually adjust the configuration.
You can also use your own domain while hosting your payments page or customer portal on Stripe for $10 USD per month.
PayPal

PayPal’s2 Payflow payment gateway is available in more than 200 countries and regions. PayPal users can accept payments in 24 currencies around the globe.2c The gateway lets you process debit and credit card payments, PayPal Credit, authorizations, captures, and credit voids.2a
You can accept all major debit and credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, and Diners Club. Payflow also supports L2/L3 purchase cards, prepaid cards, foreign currencies, TeleCheck, and ACH.
For the checkout experience, you have several options, such as:
- Customize and control the entire process using APIs.
- Host checkout pages on your own website or use PayPal’s secure servers.
- Host checkout pages on your site while PayPal processes payments behind the scenes.
You can also integrate several additional services into your workflow:
- Security: Add 3D-Secure to support Verified by Visa and Mastercard SecureCode programs.
- Fraud detection: Use Basic or Advanced Fraud Protection Services to manage risk (available for an additional fee).
- Reporting: Connect transaction data to your back-office applications.
The system is designed with a mobile-friendly flow so customers can shop on any device.2b
Telr

Telr3 supports payment processing in over 130 currencies through 15 different payment methods, including Mastercard, Visa, AMEX, Mada, and Apple Pay. It offers local settlement and provides services in 30 different languages.
To help you reach customers wherever they are, Telr allows you to create unlimited payment links that you can share through social media or instant messaging.
Here are a few things to keep in mind regarding their features and costs:
- Pricing: Your costs depend on the plan you choose. A Small Plan (for businesses earning between 20,001 and 50,000 AED) costs 2.69% + 1 AED per transaction, in addition to a 149 AED monthly fee. These charges are subject to 5% VAT.3b
- Payment options: You can enable Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) or split payments, and create invoices directly from your dashboard.
- Security: Because they are PCI-DSS v4.0 Level 1 certified, you can use their hosted payment forms to simplify your own compliance. They support main anti-fraud measures like CVV2/CSC and EMV 3D Secure.3c
Telr also uses tokenization for the card numbers of repeat visitors. This lets your customers save their details for a faster checkout without compromising their security.
Mamo

Mamo4 supports 15 non-AED currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, SAR, and CHF. Mamo can also offer same-day settlement.
With Mamo, you can add your own branding to your checkout and choose exactly what data you want to collect from your customers. The payment gateway allows you to offer multiple payment options, such as:
- Credit and debit cards
- Digital wallets
- Buy now, pay later (BNPL) options, which are automatically enabled on all payment links
All sales are automatically tracked and provided to you through in-depth reports. Mamo is PCI DSS compliant.4a
Network International

Network International’s5 N-Genius payment gateway was tailored for businesses across the Middle East and Africa. You can let your customers browse and pay in their preferred currency based on their IP location, delivering a localized shopping experience where prices update in real time. Enabling multi-currency processing typically involves no additional fees, though standard exchange rates apply.5b
The platform offers several ways to take payments and manage your store:
- Integration options. Create a checkout experience using Hosted Payment Pages, Web SDK, Direct API, or Mobile SDKs.
- Plugins. Connect directly to your online store with plugins for WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart, and Shopify.
- Pay By Link. Use the OneLink feature to generate payment links for both fixed and variable amounts.
To protect your business and customers, the gateway includes advanced fraud prevention tools and risk management controls. Their 24/7 support team is based locally across the region to ensure you receive assistance when you need it.5a
Amazon Payment Services

With Amazon Payment Services6, payments cost 2.80% + 1 AED per transaction, though international rates may be higher. You can process payments in over 100 currencies.
You also have the option to add "paying in installments" to your checkout for an additional 4 AED per transaction.6b
While there are no setup or integration fees, the onboarding process typically takes 20 to 30 days after you submit all required documents.6c
Here is how the service manages payments and data for regional businesses:
- Settlement cycles: Your specific period is outlined in your sales proposal. Standard settlement for the UAE is on a 7-day weekly basis, while KSA settlements typically take 24 to 48 hours.6d
- Local payment methods: The gateway supports Buy Now Pay Later, UAE bank cards, and digital wallets.
- Centralized management: You can use a single dashboard to manage local and cross-border transactions, monitor performance in real time, and view reports to help with reconciliation and cash flow.
The service is currently available in nine countries across the MENA region and provides support during standard business hours.
Checkout

Checkout7 is an international payment gateway that supports processing in over 145 currencies. It offers domestic processing in 55 countries and supports almost 20 settlement currencies.7b
There are no setup fees, account maintenance fees, or surprise charges.7c While cashout times can vary depending on the transaction type, bank transfers typically take up to three days.7d
The platform provides several ways to build and manage your payment experience:
- API control: Take complete control of the payment lifecycle through a single, customizable API that handles captures, refunds, and voids.
- Low-code options: Launch a secure, hosted payment page in less than a day using a one-time integration.
- Local reach: The gateway supports over 20 languages, including right-to-left scripts, to localize the experience for different regions.
Through Checkout’s global network, you can access a wide range of payment methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and regional options like KNET.
CCAvenue

CCAvenue8 is an Indian multi-channel payment solution that caters to nearly 3 million merchants. They have established a dedicated UAE branch and a regional office.
For online transactions using domestic Visa or Mastercard, CCAvenue charges 1.90% in platform fees per transaction. While the gateway allows you to process payments in 27 different currencies, international currency processing costs 3.50%, and American Express transactions are charged at 3%.8a
The platform includes several features to manage your sales and security:
- CCAvenue is PCI-DSS compliant and includes features such as biometric login, including fingerprint and face ID, and global IP address verification.
- You can generate QR codes or use LinkPay to create payment links for social media, WhatsApp, or SMS. You can also design custom-branded online forms.
- Use Iframe integration to embed a hosted payment page on your website or use their mobile SDK to collect payments within your own iOS or Android app.
Start accepting international payments today with Ziina’s payment gateway
Choosing the right payment gateway for cross-border payments in the UAE comes down to more than just fees. You need a solution that fits how your business operates today – and can scale with you as you grow across channels, currencies, and markets.
If you’re looking for a UAE-based solution that combines international payment support with fast onboarding, transparent pricing, quick payouts, and tools like Tap to Pay, payment links, QR codes, and invoicing, Ziina gives you everything you need in one platform.
*Disclaimer: All information relating to third-party products and companies featured in this article has been sourced solely from their respective public websites and official publications at the time of writing. Ziina makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of this information. Product features, positioning, and company details may have changed since publication. Readers should refer to each provider's official website for the most up-to-date information before making any purchasing decisions.
**Disclaimer: Availability of Ziina products and features is subject to eligibility, successful verification, device compatibility, applicable transaction limits, Ziina’s terms and conditions, and regulatory requirements. Customers are responsible for ensuring they hold any trade license, permit, tax registration, or other approval required for their business activities. Fees, limits, payout timelines, and product features may vary and are subject to change. Please refer to Ziina’s latest terms and pricing for full details.
This article was published in July 2026.
Sources:
- 1.Stripe: https://stripe.com/ae/payments
- a.https://docs.stripe.com/currencies
- b.https://stripe.com/ae/pricing
- a.
- 2.PayPal: https://developer.paypal.com/api/nvp-soap/payflow/payflow-gateway/
- a.https://developer.paypal.com/api/nvp-soap/payflow/payflow-gateway/
- b.https://www.paypal.com/ae/business/accept-payments/checkout?locale.x=en_AE
- c.https://developer.paypal.com/community/blog/currency-conversion/
- d.https://www.paypal.com/ae/business/paypal-business-fees
- a.
- 3.Telr: https://telr.com/
- a.https://telr.com/blog/telr-retail-payment-services-license-central-bank-uae
- b.https://telr.com/pricing
- c.https://telr.com/secure
- a.
- 4.Mamo: https://www.mamopay.com/business/payment-collection
- a.https://www.mamopay.com/business/pricing
- a.
- 5.Network International: https://www.network.ae/en
- a.https://www.network.ae/en/processing-solutions/card-processing/credit-cards
- b.https://www.network.ae/en/value-added-services/merchant/multicurrency-online
- c.https://www.network.ae/en/about-us/press-and-media/news/network-international-obtains-stored-value-facility-licence-from-uae-central-bank
- d.https://developer.network.global/apis/transactions?categoryid=1003&v=V2
- a.
- 6.Amazon Payment Services: https://paymentservices.amazon.com/
- a.https://fintechnews.ae/18054/fintechdubai/amazon-payment-services-receives-retail-payment-services-license-from-the-uae-central-bank/
- b.https://paymentservices.amazon.com/pricing
- c.https://paymentservices.amazon.com/support-center/faq?kw=general
- d.https://paymentservices.amazon.com/support-center/faq?kw=refunds
- a.
- 7.Checkout: https://www.checkout.com/en-ae
- a.https://www.checkout.com/newsroom/checkout-com-becomes-the-first-global-payments-platform-to-secure-acquiring-license-from-the-uae-central-bank
- b.https://www.checkout.com/solutions/international-coverage
- c.https://www.checkout.com/pricing
- d.https://support.checkout.com/hc/en-us/articles/27579056949650-What-time-will-my-settlement-be-paid-out
- a.
- 8.CCAvenue: https://www.ccavenue.ae/
- a.https://dashboard.ccavenue.com/web/genregistration.do?command=navigateSchemeForm
- b.https://login.ccavenue.ae/web/registration.do?command=navigateSchemeForm
- a.

