A deep dive into Telr payment gateway and top UAE alternatives

If you’re considering using Telr’s payment gateway to power your online checkout, it’s probably already on your radar for a few reasons.

It’s a regional provider with UAE pricing, local support, and integrations for popular eCommerce platforms. Maybe an agency, developer, or another merchant recommended it.

Or its Entry Plan caught your eye: AED 349 per month with no transaction fee for businesses processing up to AED 20,000 per month.¹

With that pricing, Telr is a solid starting point for your research. But once your monthly sales pass AED 20,000, its plans combine a monthly charge with a fee on every transaction.

That means the complete cost depends on the plan and the amount and number of payments you process.

The gateway itself is also only one part of the decision. Different UAE providers take different approaches to website integrations, local support, and the other payment tools you might eventually need. If your setup doesn’t cover the ways you accept payments, you could end up adding more tools – and another provider – later.

Let’s dig a little deeper into what each of those provider differences really means for you. We’ll start with Telr’s pricing and checkout options, then compare it with Ziina and other popular UAE alternatives.

In this article:

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Let’s put the online payment gateway options side by side. The table below gives you a quick look at each provider’s standard pricing, website payment options, wider payment solutions, and support.

Use it to see which providers could fit your website and the way you expect to take payments.

Telr is a regional payment gateway built for startups and SMEs. It supports varied payment methods and currencies.¹⁰

Telr publicly lists three standard UAE plans based on monthly payment volume:¹

AED 0–20,000 in monthly payment volume

AED 349 monthly fee

No transaction fee

AED 20,001–50,000 in monthly payment volume

AED 149 monthly fee

2.69% + AED 1 per transaction

AED 50,000 and above in monthly payment volume

AED 99 monthly fee

2.49% + AED 0.50 per transaction

Custom pricing is also available for businesses processing more than AED 500,000 per month.¹

The Entry Plan gives businesses processing up to AED 20,000 a fixed monthly gateway cost. Once monthly payment volume passes AED 20,000, Telr’s Small and Medium plans combine a monthly fee with a percentage and fixed charge on every transaction.¹

To estimate what Telr could cost, look at:

Bank charges, VAT, currency costs, and other fees can affect the total cost. Contact Telr to confirm the pricing available.¹

Now that we’ve covered Telr, we’ll introduce ourselves before moving on to the other alternatives.

We launched Ziina in 2020 because we wanted to make moving money across the Middle East a lot easier. For UAE entrepreneurs, getting ready to accept online payments could mean lengthy onboarding, strict requirements, and complicated systems that delayed their first customer order.

As more businesses began using Ziina to get paid, our payments app grew into a wider payment platform.

Today, our payment gateway helps UAE businesses add checkout to their websites without setup or monthly fees – you just pay for each successful transaction.

Here are the main reasons businesses pick Ziina:

We offer ready-made integrations for Shopify and WooCommerce, along with other platform integration options and custom APIs to offer embedded checkout for businesses with developer support.

You can complete the setup in a few steps:

As it’s so easy to set up, companies like LAS Club have gone on to sell more than 4,000 units of its flagship product in eight months and achieve 40% month-on-month revenue growth after implementing Ziina.

The UAE-based beauty brand wanted to add payments to its Shopify store without high fees, a complicated integration, or limited support. Ziina helped the team get its checkout live quickly and create a smoother payment experience for customers, without building anything custom or bringing in a developer.

For co-founder Sami Salem, the process felt refreshingly simple: “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!”

Some payment gateways may start costing you money before your website has made its first sale.

Ziina has no setup fees, monthly gateway fees, or minimum balance requirements. Standard fees are 2.6% + AED 1 per transaction, plus applicable charges for international cards or non-AED currency. Check Ziina’s latest pricing for a complete breakdown of the fees that could apply.

With Ziina, customers can pay by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay through supported website integrations once your checkout is live. You can manage those payments through the Ziina app, and keep track of what each payment costs and when your money can be withdrawn.

Funds land in your Ziina Wallet. From there, quick cashout is available to eligible users, subject to bank processing, verification, limits, and Ziina’s latest terms. Eligible businesses can also spend from the wallet using the Visa-powered Ziina Card wherever contactless payments are accepted.

If you sell to tourists, expats, or customers abroad, Ziina supports multiple currencies. Customers can see a currency they recognize, while settlement to your Ziina Wallet is processed in AED at Visa’s exchange rate.

And if something goes wrong at checkout, Ziina offers UAE-based support in English and Arabic from a team that understands the market you operate in.

Your website might be where most customers buy, but some orders could start in a DM, through an invoice, or in-person at a popup. If your payment gateway provider only covers website checkout, you’ll need another way to collect those social commerce and in-person payments.

With Ziina, you can accept payments beyond your online store and manage all of these digital payment solutions in one mobile app:

That flexibility can help an online-first business handle custom orders, seasonal pop-ups, or occasional in-person sales without rebuilding its payment setup each time.

Website, social, and in-person payments flow into the same Ziina ecosystem. That means fewer providers, fewer dashboards, and fewer payout schedules to track.

Now that we’ve covered Ziina in detail, let’s look at how the other Telr alternatives approach website payments.

Stripe is a global payments platform with checkout, billing, subscription, marketplace, and developer products.

Its standard UAE pricing has no setup or monthly fee and charges 2.9% + AED 1 for domestic cards, plus 1% for international cards and another 1% if currency conversion is required.³

So, an international card payment that also requires currency conversion costs an additional 2%.³

For website payments, businesses can use Stripe Checkout, Elements, APIs, and third-party platform integrations. Stripe also has extensive documentation for businesses building more customized payment flows.³

Standard payout timing depends on the account. Eligible businesses can use Instant Payouts for 1.5% of the payout amount, with a minimum fee of AED 2. Otherwise, Stripe’s standard payout schedule is free. Stripe offers 24/7 support by phone, chat, and email.³

Network International is an established regional payments company operating throughout the Middle East and Africa.

Its N-Genius Online gateway supports hosted payment pages, direct APIs, web and mobile SDKs, and plugins for WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop, OpenCart, and Shopify.⁴,¹³

Transactions, refunds, reports, and other payment activity are managed through the N-Genius portal. You can also create a free test account to explore the gateway before applying for the live merchant account required to accept real payments.⁴

Pricing and settlement terms are generally provided through a merchant proposal rather than published as one standard UAE package. Ask Network International to confirm the complete fee structure, settlement schedule, payment methods, and support included with your account.

Pay By Link and other payment products are also available if you need them beyond website checkout.⁴

Tap Payments helps businesses accept local, regional, and international payment methods across the UAE and wider GCC. Its website payment options include checkout tools, APIs, and plugins for platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Zid, and Salla.⁵,¹⁴

The regional coverage could suit you if you sell across a few GCC countries and want customers to see payment methods they already use. Check which methods are available for your UAE account and chosen integration, because availability can differ by country, currency, and payment setup.⁵

Tap doesn’t publish one standard UAE transaction rate for every business and setup. Confirm processing fees, international card and currency charges, settlement timing, integration requirements, and support during onboarding.

Branded payment links are also available for payments outside your website.⁵

PayTabs is a Saudi-based regional payment provider offering website checkout, APIs, mobile SDKs, and plugins for Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, OpenCart, PrestaShop, CS-Cart, WHMCS, and Drupal.⁶,¹⁵

Its public pricing page currently shows Saudi pricing in SAR rather than one standard UAE package. But PayTabs has also separately announced an SMB rate for eligible UAE accounts moving to that plan from August 28, 2026: 2.85% + AED 1 per AED transaction, with a USD 50 monthly minimum in months when sales fall below USD 2,000.⁶,⁷

Ask PayTabs which plan, transaction fees, monthly minimums, and settlement terms would apply to your account.

Payment links, digital invoices, and QR payments are also available beyond the website gateway.⁷

The providers in this guide all stand out for different reasons.

Telr offers a range of checkout experiences with UAE pricing based on monthly payment volume. Some of the alternatives publish standard rates, while others offer custom quotes based on your business type, sales volume, and any other payment features you need.

The right choice depends on which option works best with your website and what it would cost at the sales volume you expect.

Ziina offers a pay-as-you-go option made for UAE businesses. You can connect it to Shopify or WooCommerce through a ready-made integration, start accepting popular payment methods, and get local support if a checkout question comes up – all without adding a monthly gateway fee.

Ready to connect Ziina to your online store and start accepting payments?

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 can vary and are subject to change. Please refer to Ziina’s latest terms and pricing for full details.

All information relating to third-party products and companies has been sourced from their respective public websites and official publications at the time of writing. Product features, pricing, and company details can change. Check each provider’s official website before making a purchasing decision.

This article was written in August 2026 and published in October 2026.

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