A UAE-based entrepreneur with a UK-registered company is struggling to find a working payment gateway after Stripe blocked their account two weeks ago with no resolution.
Gateways attempted:
Stripe: Account under review for 2+ weeks with no updates
Amazon Pay & Myfatoorah: Require UAE company registration
Checkout.com: Demands $100k monthly revenue history (unrealistic for startups)
Adyen: Not available in their region
Key issue: The mismatch between UK company registration (chosen for cost savings—$200 vs $2,000 in UAE) and UAE residency creates compliance barriers with most providers.
Suggested solutions:
Verify Shopify settings show UK as the business country and provide proof of UK business presence
Consider UAE-supported gateways (list provided)
Explore alternative options like WallidPay (UK-based, startup-friendly, no revenue requirements) or high-risk gateways if selling restricted products
Multiple users mention Telr, PayTabs, and other regional options
Status: The issue remains unresolved, with the merchant seeking viable alternatives while awaiting Stripe’s response.
Summarized with AI on October 28.
AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
I’m facing an issue with my payments gateway since almost 2 weeks and it’s really getting out of control
I’m a UAE resident and have my company registered in the UK, I used Stripe for the first 2 weeks in my business until they have blocked my account and since then whenever I ask them on update regarding blocking my account they reply we are still reviewing you account, for 2 weeks!!
So now I gave up and I’m trying to use another payment gateway and so far no luck
Amazon gateway payment asking for the company registration to be in the UAE
Myfatoorah also is asking for the company registration to be in the UAE
Checkout.com asking of minimum of 100k dollars a month revenue history, I’m just a start up!! if I’m making 100k a month I wouldn’t come to you in the first place
Adyen not available in my country
Stripe waiting for their reply but I don’t think they are even working reviewing my account
I’m out of options…
any advise here! I have opened my company in the UK as it’s much cheaper than opening it here in UAE as it cost around 2000 dollars here while I just opened it in the UK for around 200 dollars
Sorry to hear that you have been having all of these issues with the gateways, I understand that it is frustrating.
You mentioned that you are a UAE resident, but your business is registered in the UK - in your Settings > Generl, have you set the United Kingdom as your country? If you have, that would mean that when you went to set up your payment gateways, you were setting them up for a UK based business.
It is possible that the above may have caused your issues, as in order to use a payment gateway supported in the UK, you must be able to provide a proof of either your physical/business presence over there. Have they requested documents for this, and were you able to provide them?
In the case that the documents that you’re providing are not sufficient for the gateways, I would recommend you instead opt for a gateway supported in the UAE. I have a list of them available for you here.
However, the issue may also be with your products not being supported by those gateways. What kind of products are you selling? In some cases, depending on the products, merchants have to opt for a high risk gateway such as Emerchantbroker (EMB). Let me know if you think this might be the case by telling me a little bit more about your business.
I have been trying to start up dropshipping since last year but I always hit the wall at payment gateways . Can you tell me the process to open UK based company and bank account ?
To offer your customers a wide range of payment methods via Stripe, regardless of the location of your Shopify store, check out this solution https://lnkd.in/dtia-EBS
Totally get your frustration — it’s really tough trying to get things moving when payment gateways keep throwing up roadblocks.
Stripe can be really slow (and unclear) when it comes to account reviews, and yeah, most UAE-based providers require local registration — which doesn’t help if you’ve already set up your company in the UK to save on startup costs.
It’s a UK-based option that lets your customers pay directly from their bank accounts — no cards involved, and generally fewer compliance headaches. It’s pretty startup-friendly too:
No big revenue history needed
Lower fees
Real-time payouts
Works fine with UK companies, no matter where you’re based
It may not be as big as Stripe, but it’s a stable option that many sellers are using when traditional gateways fall short.
You’re definitely not alone in this — hope this gives you a direction to explore.