What payment gateway options work best for UAE-based drop shippers?

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment
,

Topic summary

A UAE-based entrepreneur seeks payment gateway recommendations for a dropshipping business without a license, as many providers don’t support UAE operations, unlicensed businesses, or dropshippers. PayPal isn’t viable for UAE customers who prefer Visa, Mastercard, and Apple Pay.

Recommended Solutions:

  • Shopify staff suggested Stripe, 2Checkout, Payoneer Checkout, and Skrill as UAE-compatible options
  • Community members report Stripe works well but requires a valid business license
  • Alternative UAE-specific options mentioned: Ziina (no AmEx support), Tap Payments, and Telr
  • Easy Pie Checkout suggested as a Stripe-powered third-party solution supporting multi-currency

Key Challenges:

  • Shopify Payments unavailable in UAE despite Stripe operating there
  • Currency display issues: stores default to AED, causing checkout confusion for international customers
  • Shopify charges 2% transaction fees even when merchants use external payment providers
  • Most payment gateways require business licenses

Current Status:

  • Shopify recently added payment support for multiple countries but excluded UAE
  • Multiple users express frustration with limited UAE support and consider switching platforms
  • Some merchants successfully configured multi-currency checkout (USD/EUR/GBP) while UAE-based, though setup details require individual troubleshooting
Summarized with AI on October 28. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
18

Hey Nwk,

Would you care to expand on your comments here:

“You can sign up directly for Stripe when based in the UAE. I have now done this and their support is excellent, vastly superior to Shopify support. Your checkout will look the same, you will still be able to offer Amex, Visa & Mastercard payment as well as Apple Pay.”

How exactly do you sign up for Stripe directly in the sense of using Stripe at Shopify checkout and enabling Apple Pay. I am not understanding the difference for the setup.

Thanks in advance,