Shopify in the UAE: Shopify Payments, payment gateways, VAT, shipping and WhatsApp

Shopify UAE pricing and card rates

Shopify’s UAE pricing page lists plan prices in US dollars and Shopify Payments card rates in dirhams. Higher plans cost more per month but pay less per card transaction. These are the figures it showed on October 20, 2026:

A quick way to choose: on AED 100,000 of monthly card sales, each 0.1 point drop in the card rate (from 2.9% to 2.8%, for example) saves AED 100 a month. Start on Basic and move up when the card savings and the extra staff accounts on Grow (up to 5) are worth the higher plan price.

Shopify Payments in the UAE: who qualifies

Shopify Payments is available in the UAE to four types of business, each with a company registration number: LLC, Free Zone LLC, Sole Establishment and Free Zone Sole Establishment. Shopify says it isn’t currently available to any other business type, and non-profits aren’t eligible.

Bank account

• A checking account with a bank based in the UAE, in AED, with an IBAN that starts with AE.
• The account must accept domestic and international transfers.
• LLCs need a business account in the business name. Sole establishments use an account in the owner’s legal name.
• Savings accounts, flex-currency accounts, wire-only checking accounts and money transfer services aren’t supported.

Documents

• Sole Establishments and Free Zone Sole Establishments: a trade license or freelancer permit.
• LLCs and Free Zone LLCs: a trade license, a memorandum of association and proof of bank account dated within the last 6 months.
• Identity: a passport for everyone. UAE residents also need an Emirates ID, and foreign nationals living in the UAE also need a residence visa.

Payouts

Shopify pays out in UAE dirhams on all plans. The minimum settlement time is 5 business days, payments captured on Friday, Saturday and Sunday are combined into a single payout, and the minimum payout is AED 20.

Other payment gateways and buy now, pay later

If you don’t qualify for Shopify Payments, or want other payment options, Shopify’s payment providers page for the UAE, checked on October 20, 2026, lists regional providers including:

• Buy now, pay later: Tabby and Tamara Split Payments.
• Card gateways: Telr, Checkout.com, N-Genius Online by Network, APS - Amazon Payment Services, noon payments, Tap Payments and MyFatoorah.
• Other: Ziina and PayPal Express Checkout.

Orders paid through a third-party provider carry Shopify’s third-party transaction fee on top of the provider’s own fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus. Orders paid in cash at the door don’t, because Shopify charges no third-party transaction fee on manual payment methods. Before you add a provider, ask Shopify support whether it can run alongside Shopify Payments on your store.

Cash on delivery in the UAE

Paying in cash at the door is still widespread in the UAE. The US International Trade Administration’s UAE eCommerce guide, published on August 26, 2025, lists “the prevalence of cash on delivery over other electronic payment methods” among the barriers to e-commerce in the country, next to logistics gaps and the lack of a unified address system for last-mile delivery.

You add it as Shopify’s built-in Cash on Delivery manual method, and it runs next to Shopify Payments at checkout. Two things are worth doing from day one:

• Decide where to offer it. If refused orders are high for some emirates, products or order values, a payment customization app can hide the cash option there. The guide to cash payments on Shopify covers what is native and what needs an app.
• Confirm every cash order before you hand it to the courier, and give a complete address and a reachable phone number to every parcel. Without a unified address system, being able to reach the customer on the phone or WhatsApp helps the courier find them.

UAE VAT basics for Shopify stores

The UAE charges VAT at a standard rate of 5%, introduced on January 1, 2018, according to the UAE Ministry of Finance. Whether you must register depends on your turnover:

Once registered, set your tax settings in Shopify so prices and invoices show VAT correctly, and keep records for your returns. This is general information. For tax advice, check your situation with the Federal Tax Authority or a registered tax agent.

Shipping and couriers in the UAE

You can connect a courier through a shipping app in the Shopify admin. Three examples on the Shopify App Store:

• Aramex: Aramex International publishes the Aramex shipping app for creating shipments.
• OTO Shipping Gateway: serves Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Turkey, works with carriers including Aramex, SMSA and DHL, and lists cash collections with transfers up to twice a week.
• Shiplifier: a Dubai-based app that connects stores in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to Aramex, DHL and FedEx.

Whapi doesn’t connect to couriers. It sends WhatsApp shipping updates from the fulfillment and tracking data in your Shopify orders, whichever courier or app created the tracking number. See the couriers page for details.

WhatsApp order confirmation and updates in the UAE

Whapi confirms new UAE orders on WhatsApp with Confirm and Cancel buttons and tags each Shopify order with the answer. The same app recovers abandoned checkouts and sends shipping updates, all through Meta’s official WhatsApp Business API from your own number.

• Meta publishes an AED rate card, so a UAE business can be billed for WhatsApp in dirhams if it chooses AED when the account is created.
• Meta raised its Marketing rate for the UAE on October 1, 2026. Utility rates for the UAE didn’t change.
• The Utility list rate applies to the first 100,000 Utility messages a month to UAE numbers.

Whapi costs $18.99 per month on Pro or $45 per month on Team, with a 7-day free trial and no markup on Meta’s fees. Team adds a shared team inbox for stores with several agents. See order confirmation and abandoned cart recovery for the full flows.

Launch checklist for a Shopify store in the UAE

• Check the plan price and card rates on Shopify’s UAE pricing page.
• Apply for Shopify Payments with your trade license, bank proof and ID, using an AED account with an AE IBAN.
• Add a buy now, pay later provider if your average order value suits it.
• Turn on Shopify’s cash payment method and decide where you will hide it, if anywhere.
• Check whether you must register for VAT, and set your Shopify tax settings to match.
• Connect a courier or shipping app and agree on cash collection and transfer terms.
• Connect your WhatsApp number to Whapi, choose USD or AED billing in Meta, and switch on order confirmations and shipping updates.