Business Payment Fees Calculator in the UAE
This calculator helps UAE businesses see the real cost of their current payment provider – and what their annual fees could look like if part of that volume moved to lower-fee pay-by-bank payments instead. Select your gateway, set your monthly revenue, and get a clear, data-driven view of what you’re really paying.
Payment fees in the UAE – quick overview
Before you punch numbers into the calculator, it helps to know where your fees sit versus the wider UAE market. Most SME merchants pay a blended card fee in the 2.5–3.0% range for local transactions, plus higher rates for international cards and FX.
Card payment gateways & POS
Examples: Telr, PayTabs, Stripe, Checkout.com, Noon Payments.
Typical SME fees: roughly 2.3–3.0% + AED 0.50–1.00 per successful domestic card charge. Great coverage and UX, but expensive once you start taking AED 5k–100k+ tickets.
Mobile & social payment apps (links, QR, Tap-to-Pay)
Examples: Nomod, Ziina, Zbooni, Tap Payments.
Typical SME fees: around 2.37–2.6% + ~AED 0.8–1.0, and in some cases ~3.5% per order for pure link-based platforms with no monthly fee. Fast to start and perfect for payment links and QR, but still very much card-fee territory.
Manual bank transfers & cheques
Effectively 0% – you only pay whatever your bank charges in general account fees.
The trade-off is friction. Customers must add your IBAN, send screenshots, and your team reconciles payments manually. There is no real-time confirmation and a lot of follow-up work for finance teams.
Pay-by-bank (A2A) over Aani rails
Infrastructure: Aani, the national instant payment system under Al Etihad Payments / CBUAE, allows transfers up to AED 50,000 in seconds, 24/7. It supports QR codes, proxy payments (e.g. mobile number) and Request-to-Pay – ideal rails for “pay from your bank” experiences.
Typical fees: around ~1% per transaction for domestic pay-by-bank, because there are no card schemes or interchange layers to fund. It is particularly attractive for domestic, mid- to high-ticket payments where 2–3% card fees really hurt.
See our guide Best payment solutions for businesses in the UAE.
UAE Payment Fee Savings Calculator
Use the calculator below to estimate how much you're paying in card gateway fees today – and how much you could save each year by shifting part of your volume to pay-by-bank with Census Pay.
Monthly Revenue
Fees shown are estimates for domestic payments only. Actual rates vary by plan, volume, and provider updates.
Potential Savings
Switching to Census Pay · Per year
Fees with Stripe
130,500
Fees With Census Pay
45,000
How we estimate your payment fee savings
Our calculator uses publicly available pricing from leading UAE payment providers to estimate your current costs:
Stripe UAE: 2.9% + AED 1 per successful card charge on its standard plan.
Telr: SME plans such as “Medium” show 2.49% + AED 0.50 per transaction with a monthly fee.
Nomod: Pricing from around 2.37% per transaction for major cards with ~two-day payouts.
Ziina Business: 2.6% + AED 1 per transaction for links, QR, NFC and Tap-to-Pay, plus higher fees for international cards and non-AED payments.
For pay-by-bank, we assume payments run over Aani instant rails, which settle transfers up to AED 50,000 in seconds, 24/7, and support QR codes, proxy payments and Request-to-Pay. With no card schemes or interchange layers, a typical target fee for domestic A2A payments is around 1.0% per transaction.
The calculator is an estimate, not a quote. Actual fees depend on your sector, chargeback profile and negotiated rates – but it gives you a solid sense of the ballpark savings when you redirect part of your card volume to pay-by-bank.
Next steps – add pay-by-bank on top of your current gateway
You don’t have to rip out Stripe, Telr, PayTabs or your bank POS. The highest‑ROI move for many UAE SMEs is to:
- Keep your existing card gateway for international and card-loyal customers.
- Add Census Pay as a “Pay from your bank” option for domestic, high-ticket payments.
- Nudge customers toward the cheaper rail using your invoices, QR codes and payment links.
That’s usually enough to unlock tens of thousands of dirhams per year in savings without changing banks or hardware.