A UAE-based merchant is struggling to implement subscription payments on their Shopify store launching soon. The core issue: Shopify’s subscription feature requires one of three payment gateways (Shopify Payments, Authorize.net, or PayPal Express), but none work for UAE businesses.
Key constraints:
Shopify Payments and Authorize.net are unavailable in the UAE
PayPal Express doesn’t support AED (UAE dirham), the store’s only currency
Store only ships to UAE addresses, making AED support essential
Current status:
Multiple Shopify support agents confirmed the three-gateway limitation per official documentation
A feature request has been submitted to Shopify’s development team
At least one other merchant reported the identical problem
Potential workaround:
One user suggested Easy Pie Checkout, a third-party Stripe-powered solution that may support subscriptions with broader payment method compatibility
Another user confirmed this alternative “works better”
The discussion remains open as merchants await either Shopify’s official solution or validation of third-party alternatives.
Summarized with AI on November 2.
AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
I am hoping someone can help as so far I have been round the houses trying to get a solution with no joy.
Our site is due to launch in the next few weeks. We are based in the UAE. We offer one off products + subscriptions (hopefully via Recharge).
I was told by shopify + recharge that we have to use Shopify Payments, Authorize.net or Paypal Express for our Subscription payments. However, Shopify Payments and Authorize.net is not available to us in the UAE. We opted for Paypal and thought we had the solution however the local currency AED is not supported by Paypal so customers cannot checkout using Paypal in AED!
Has anyone got a workaround for this? As if I have no choice but to use one of the 3 specified gateways by Shopify none work for a UAE based company.
Have you looked into any of the payment gateways listed there to see if they can do what you need?
I also wonder if using a different subscription app could allow you to use a different gateway other than SP or Authorize.net. I know it might not be exactly how you wanted, but if it can be done another way, you would at least know that.
Thanks for the reply.
We could only choose one of 3 according to support. Which we did in PayPal
however PayPal don’t support AED and as that is the default and only
currency we offer as we only supply to UAE addresses we can’t accept
payment via PayPal so I do not know how we can process subscriptions?
Did they give a reason as to why that is, exactly? Each payment gateway is different, but it seems very odd to be that only certain gateways would work for this feature. It could be worth exploring different subscription apps with different gateways to see if you can find a fit for your needs. It might take some time to research through them to figure it out, but it seems it would be the best and only way for this for now.
Ah yes, that would be the correct information then. I completely understand your frustration and confusion with this. Especially as one of the gateways is available with Paypal Express checkout, but then the fact that AED isn’t supported by Paypal removes that benefit. While it would work for your international customers, it would look odd for your local ones.
I’m going to create a feature request on your behalf for this, I can see how this could affect and help your business if it was available. If there’s any other information you can give me to add to it then please reply and let me know. I wish there was more I could do directly for you!
I have exactly the same problem trying to implement subscriptions in the UAE. Please advise you have managed to find a solution or how can we escalate the problem with Shopify, as it’s currently quite a major drawback for Shopify in the region.
Thanks for letting me know. I’ve added your feedback to the feature request for our development team also! In the meantime, please keep an eye out on the Shopify Changelog for any updates on this.
With Easy Pie Checkout for Shopify, a 3rd party Stripe powered checkout solution, you can accept payments and subscriptions with many payment methods supported by your Stripe account.
