Raqma

Data

The real cost of a founder's finance stack

Account + gateway + card: what the combination costs in year one, modelled from published rates for three founder profiles. This is arithmetic on published fees, not a recommendation.

Solo consultant, free-zone licence

AED 30,000/month billed through ~20 payment links · average ticket AED 1,500 · free-zone licence

Component Lowest-cost published options Cost
Business account RAKBANK RAKstarter — ~3 days · Mbank Business Account · Yuze Business Account AED 0/yr
Payment gateway Network International (N-Genius) · PayTabs · Nomod · botim money for Business AED 450–AED 1,050/mo (1.50–3.50% eff.)
Spend card Pemo (2% cashback) · Qashio (2% cashback) · Wio Business cards AED 0/mo
Stack total account + cheapest gateway + card ≈ AED 5,400–AED 12,600/yr

Agency with international clients

AED 100,000/month across ~50 larger invoices · average ticket AED 2,000 · free-zone licence

Component Lowest-cost published options Cost
Business account RAKBANK RAKstarter — ~3 days · Mbank Business Account · Yuze Business Account AED 0/yr
Payment gateway Network International (N-Genius) · PayTabs · Nomod · Telr (SME plans) AED 1,500–AED 3,500/mo (1.50–3.50% eff.)
Spend card Pemo (2% cashback) · Qashio (2% cashback) · Wio Business cards AED 0/mo
Stack total account + cheapest gateway + card ≈ AED 18,000–AED 42,000/yr

E-commerce merchant

AED 300,000/month over ~1,000 card transactions · average ticket AED 300

Component Lowest-cost published options Cost
Business account RAKBANK RAKstarter — ~3 days · Mbank Business Account · Yuze Business Account AED 0/yr
Payment gateway Network International (N-Genius) · PayTabs · Telr (SME plans) · Nomod AED 4,500–AED 10,500/mo (1.50–3.50% eff.)
Spend card Pemo (2% cashback) · Qashio (2% cashback) · Wio Business cards AED 0/mo
Stack total account + cheapest gateway + card ≈ AED 54,000–AED 126,000/yr

How to read this

  • Ranges are published tiers, not guesses. Where a provider publishes a rate band (e.g. 1.75–2.9%), both ends are shown — your mix decides where you land.
  • "Lowest-cost" ≠ "best". Settlement speed, approval odds, multi-currency depth and support are not priced here. This is the arithmetic floor, not a verdict.
  • Locked capital is real money. A zero-fee account with a AED 50,000 minimum balance costs you the use of that capital — see account costs.
  • Volume changes the answer. Gateway economics flip around AED 100–200k/month; model your exact mix in the cost calculator.
  • Publish gaps are shown, not filled. Providers without published rates are excluded rather than estimated — see the hidden-fees tracker.

Modelled from the Raqma catalogue at published starting tiers; negotiated rates can land lower. Last field reviews carry per-product dates. Reuse welcome with a link.