Accepting BNPL as a UAE merchant: Tabby, Tamara and Cashew — fees, settlement and chargeback risk

BNPL lets an eligible customer pay over time, while the merchant is paid according to the provider’s settlement agreement. Compare the actual UAE offer from Tabby, Tamara or another eligible provider: fees, payment timing, refunds, disputes and integration requirements. Settlement is not necessarily immediate, and a provider assuming customer credit risk does not remove every merchant obligation.

How the economics work

Compare net proceeds and cash-flow timing, not just the headline transaction rate. Tabby’s payout documentation lists fixed and variable fees, VAT on commission, refunds and potential payout fees. Measure any change in completed orders and margin against these costs; conversion or basket-size gains are not guaranteed. Tabby payout documentation.

The three providers, compared

Tabby: request the UAE merchant offer and reconcile its payout cycle, threshold, fees and refund adjustments against your order profile. Its documentation states that the refund amount is deducted from your next payout when a customer refunds an order after payout; excess deductions may have to be transferred back to Tabby. Tabby: fees, refunds and adjustments.

Tamara: review the merchant onboarding form together with the terms. Published clauses 1.10–1.11 describe weekly settlement, a base settlement threshold and provisions affecting initial transactions. Treat these as conditions to check against your agreement, not a universal promise of next-day payment. Tamara merchant terms, clauses 1.10–1.11.

For Cashew or any additional provider, obtain the current UAE offer before comparing eligibility, instalment lengths or settlement. Do not assume that a historic banking partnership, a foreign-market licence or another product’s licence proves the status of the service in your contract.

What to compare before signing

Request written terms for percentage and fixed fees, VAT, payout cycle and threshold, initial holds, full and partial refunds, retained fees, disputes, fraud, prohibited categories, customer credit checks and any FX or cross-border limitations. Unpublished merchant-specific terms remain quote-only; they are not zero-cost or risk-free.

In-store versus online

Check the exact e-commerce plugin, API, in-store QR or POS integration and whether it is available for your entity and sales territories. Running two providers can increase operational work as well as customer choice. Compare implementation, reconciliation, refund workflows and incremental net margin before enabling both.

Track completed BNPL orders, refunds, disputes and net payouts separately. Verify the contracting legal entity and its authorisation for the relevant UAE service. Tabby’s page distinguishes Tabby LLC’s Pay Later/Card services from Tabby Payments LLC’s cash services; a licence statement for one entity or service should not be treated as certification of every product. Tabby legal footer and payout guidance.

Compare contracts and legal entities

Register snapshot: August 2026; source review: 21 October 2026. Check newer records and the exact entity/product before contracting. No conclusion of “unlicensed” is drawn from a missing name.

Tabby: payout components and refund adjustments.

Tamara: merchant settlement clauses and contractual conditions.

Illustrative refund and payout scenario

Illustrative amounts, not a fee quote: if the next payout contains AED 500 of sales and AED 700 of refunds, the balance before fees/tax is AED -200. Tabby’s guidance says excess refund deductions may have to be transferred back. A provider carrying customer credit risk does not mean that refunds cannot reduce later merchant payouts.

Before enabling one or two providers, compare eligible orders, approved conversion, refund rate, net contribution, payout timing and reconciliation effort. Verify countries/currencies and whether cross-border use needs separate activation. Do not assume an additional checkout option is free or that gross sales growth equals improved margin.