The UAE’s payment maret has developed quickly over the last decade, becoming one of the region’s most digitized ecosystems. But as adoption grows, so do the expectations placed on the infrastructure beneath it.
Many of today’s platforms were designed for a different pace. When payouts could take a day, credit checks were mostly manual, and compliance was something you handled after the fact. That model doesn’t hold up anymore. Friction is now felt early: when a payout is late, when a customer drops off at checkout, when a flagged transaction can’t be reviewed in time.
For teams building or managing payment systems, the work isn’t about keeping up with trends. It’s about making sure the core functions hold under new conditions: higher volumes, tighter timelines, more embedded decision logic, and real-time compliance visibility.
Here are five shifts that are already reshaping how payment systems operate in the UAE, and what they require from teams responsible for keeping those systems reliable.
Settlement speed used to be an internal metric. Now, it shapes whether a merchant chooses to even onboard at all.
UAE businesses (especially SMEs) can’t afford payout delays that disrupt payroll, inventory cycles, or supplier terms. T+1 settlement is too slow for merchants who rely on daily turnover to meet payroll, restock inventory, or pay suppliers. In 2024 alone, over $150 billion in card and digital transactions moved through the acquiring market. That number is growing, and so is the cost of waiting.
Three factors are driving this shift:
Same-day clearing is no longer a differentiator. It’s table stakes for onboarding merchants who expect funds to move in sync with their operations.
Consumers in the UAE are no longer relying on IBANs or bank portals to move money.
App-based P2P wallets like Ziina and Payit are being used for everything from rent and salaries to merchant payments. The logic is simple: phone-number-based transfers are faster to set up and easier to use. For younger users and informal sellers, these wallets are mor accessible than bank accounts.
Usage is growing:
As these wallets gain traction, they’re becoming more than a convenience layer:
Regulators are responding with stricter licensing and KYC requirements. For providers, that means wallet infrastructure needs to support traceability, not just convenience – or risk being excluded from regulated payment flows.
Credit access in the UAE is shifting from bank-led applications and toward embedded offers that are triggered mid-transaction, not days later.
Today, users can split payments across 3-12 months directly at checkout. Whether it’s for school fees, car repairs, or rent, the offer appears in real time with no forms, redirects, or need to visit a bank.
Platforms like Tabby and Tamara began by offering split payments for retail purchases. Now, the same model is being used across essential services – school fees, rent, and healthcare, and more. Repayment options are triggered at checkout when they’re most relevant.
What’s making this possible:
If your offer doesn’t appear at the point of decision, it won’t get used. And if your credit rails can’t embed into vertical apps – the platforms where those decisions happen – you’ll be left out of the transaction entirely.
For small businesses, short-term credit no longer comes through branch visits or PDF applications. It’s offered inside the dashboards they already rely on.
Whether it’s an invoicing platform or a PoS system, financing is starting to appear based on live transaction data. A consistent sales pattern or strong invoice flow can unlock a credit line, often with approval in under 48 hours.
This is possible because:
For lenders, the market is now moving too fast to wait for formal applications. Capital goes where signals are clear, and platforms that can read those signals have the upper hand.
SaaS platforms in the UAE serving sectors like logistics, healthcare, or education are no longer handing off payments to third-party processors. They’re embedding financial tools directly into their own interface – turning cash flow into a native feature, not an external step.
You can see this in how platforms now offer:
For users, it reduces switching and speeds up operations. For platforms, it unlocks retention and margin. For banks and PSPs, it raises the bar: infrastructure needs to be modular and embeddable, otherwise it risks being replaced.
Every shift above exposes a gap in traditional payment systems. Teams building or managing payment systems in the UAE need infrastructure that holds under load, under scrutiny, and under pressure to deliver faster and smarter. That means rethinking not just features, but fundamentals: clearing logic, credit scoring, and compliance visibility.
Ripae helps teams close those gaps – with payment infrastructure built for what the market actually expects. Reach out to align your infrastructure with what 2025 demands.
