Why is Apple Pay not working with Stripe in the UAE?

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment

Topic summary

Merchants in the UAE using Shopify with Stripe have been unable to process Apple Pay transactions due to address validation errors, specifically related to the “Emirate” or “Area” field requirement. The issue has persisted since at least 2021 despite thousands of views and numerous complaints.

Root Cause & Blame:

  • Shopify, Stripe, and Apple have each pointed fingers at the others
  • The core problem appears to be a conflict between Shopify’s address format requirements and Apple Pay’s address handling in the UAE region
  • Apple Pay only works when users enter a recognized Emirate name (Dubai, Sharjah, etc.) rather than specific neighborhood areas

Attempted Workarounds:

  • Switching payment providers (Paymob, ADCB gateway, WIO bank)
  • Using apps to rename payment methods to display “Apple Pay”
  • Domain verification in Stripe dashboard (blocked by Shopify’s platform restrictions)
  • Most alternative solutions either redirect users off-page or don’t support true express checkout

Current Status:

  • One user reported receiving an email from Stripe indicating the Apple Pay and Google Pay issues are now fixed
  • Shopify support previously stated no timeline for resolution and the feature wasn’t prioritized in their roadmap
  • Multiple merchants report competitors on other platforms have working Apple Pay integration in the UAE
Summarized with AI on October 27. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
54

@relhar2 @DXBEcom Im guessing this is not EXPRESS checkout (the only

way that really matters i my view). Many providers in uae can enable applepay like horrible execution by Paytabs.. the issue is that it leaves shopify page and requires adding address so it is not really apple pay as it should be. And i dont think any provider can do it until the issue between apple and shopify is resolved. If im wrong, please share your store so will try to buy something smoothly :slightly_smiling_face: