Close-up of a smartphone making a contactless tap on a teal card terminal on a wooden shop counter, warm shop lights behind, for a guide to WooCommerce payment gateways in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

هذا المقال متوفر باللغة العربية — اقرأ بالعربية

If you sell online in Egypt or Saudi Arabia, the payment page is where most of your hard work either pays off or quietly disappears. A customer who reaches checkout and doesn’t see a payment method they trust will close the tab. That’s why choosing the right WooCommerce payment gateways in Egypt and Saudi Arabia isn’t a technical detail you leave for the end. It’s one of the first decisions you should get right.

In this guide we’ll walk through the main payment options for WooCommerce stores in Egypt and Saudi Arabia: Paymob, Fawry and cash on delivery for the Egyptian market, then mada, Tabby and Tamara for the Saudi market. We’ll also cover tax and e-invoicing, because a store that collects money without thinking about VAT and invoices is building a problem for later.

Why payments in MENA are different

Stores in Europe or the US can often start with one card gateway and be done. Here the picture is more varied, and a few realities shape every decision:

  • Cash still matters. A large share of shoppers in Egypt prefer to pay when the order arrives, especially for a first purchase from a store they don’t know.
  • Local networks and wallets. Mobile wallets and pay-at-outlet reference numbers are familiar habits in Egypt, and in Saudi Arabia customers expect to see mada at checkout.
  • Buy now, pay later is mainstream. Splitting a payment into instalments is now a normal expectation for many Saudi shoppers, especially on higher priced items.
  • Tax rules are tightening. Both countries have moved to electronic invoicing, and that affects how your store records and reports sales.

WooCommerce payment gateways in Egypt

Paymob

Paymob is one of the best known payment companies in the region, and it publishes an official plugin called Paymob for WooCommerce in the WordPress.org plugin directory. Paymob’s dashboards cover Egypt, the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia, so the same company can serve you if you expand later.

Setup follows a clear path:

  1. Install the plugin from Plugins, then Add New, and search for “Paymob for WooCommerce”.
  2. Open Paymob Settings and either connect your Paymob account directly or choose manual setup and paste your API keys.
  3. Remember that test keys and live keys are different. Test everything in test mode before switching.
  4. Go to WooCommerce, then Settings, then Payments, and make sure Paymob is enabled.

Through one integration you can offer the payment methods activated on your Paymob account, such as cards and wallets. Exactly which methods you get depends on your agreement with Paymob, so confirm that with them during onboarding.

Fawry

Fawry is a household name in Egypt, and plenty of customers would rather pay through a reference number at a nearby outlet than enter card details online. FawryPay provides a WooCommerce plugin through its developer documentation, and it gives you two ways to set it up:

  • One main plugin that shows a single checkout button, and the customer picks the payment option inside Fawry’s screen.
  • Separate plugins per method, for example one for pay with reference number, one for cards and one for mobile wallets, so each appears as its own option at checkout.

Fawry’s documentation stresses two practical points. Don’t rename or edit the plugin zip file before uploading it, and make sure WooCommerce is installed properly first. You’ll also need to set the callback URL correctly so payment confirmations reach your store and orders update on their own.

Cash on delivery

Cash on delivery is built into WooCommerce, so you don’t need any extra plugin to offer it. You’ll find it under WooCommerce, then Settings, then Payments. Still, a few habits make it work much better:

  • Limit it to the shipping zones your courier actually covers.
  • Consider a minimum order value, or a small fee, if returns of refused orders are hurting your margins.
  • Confirm larger orders by phone or WhatsApp before shipping.
  • Show an online payment option right next to it, and remind customers it’s faster.

Payment options for WooCommerce stores in Saudi Arabia

mada and cards

mada is the Saudi national payment network, and Saudi debit cards run on it. For many customers, not seeing mada at checkout is reason enough to leave. You don’t install mada as a separate plugin. You get it through a payment gateway licensed to operate in Saudi Arabia, the same way you get Visa, Mastercard and Apple Pay. When you talk to any gateway, ask clearly whether mada and Apple Pay are included in your account and how settlement works.

Tabby

Tabby offers splitting payments into instalments, and it publishes an official plugin called Tabby Checkout in the WordPress.org directory. According to the plugin page, Tabby operates in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt.

Setup in brief:

  1. Register as a merchant with Tabby and get your public and secret API keys.
  2. Install the plugin, then go to WooCommerce, then Settings, then Tabby API, and enter the keys.
  3. Enable Tabby under WooCommerce, then Settings, then Payments.

One detail catches a lot of stores out. Tabby requires the store currency to match the customer’s country, so Saudi Riyal for Saudi customers, for example. If you sell in more than one country, you’ll need a currency switcher, and you’ll need to enable Tabby for each supported currency.

Tamara

Tamara is the other big buy now, pay later name in the Gulf, and it offers an official WooCommerce plugin called Tamara Checkout. According to Tamara, customers can split a purchase into two, three or four payments or pay in full, while the store receives the full amount upfront and Tamara carries the fraud and credit risk.

Many Saudi stores offer Tabby and Tamara side by side, because each has its own customer base. Before you add both, check how they show up on the checkout page so it doesn’t get crowded, especially on mobile. Your theme decides a lot of how that page looks, so if you’re still picking one, see our roundup of WooCommerce themes that work well for Arabic stores.

A quick comparison

Option Main market Type How it’s added to WooCommerce
Paymob Egypt, with dashboards for the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia Gateway for cards and wallets Official plugin on WordPress.org
FawryPay Egypt Reference number, cards and wallets Plugin from Fawry’s developer docs
Cash on delivery Egypt and the region Pay on receipt Built into WooCommerce
mada Saudi Arabia National debit network Through a gateway licensed in Saudi Arabia
Tabby Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt Instalments Official Tabby Checkout plugin
Tamara The Gulf Instalments Official Tamara Checkout plugin

Tax and e-invoicing: the part people skip

Egypt

The standard VAT rate in Egypt is 14%. The Egyptian Tax Authority runs a national system for electronic invoices between businesses, and it extended the system to business to consumer sales through electronic receipts. Each receipt is sent in an approved format, digitally signed, and validated by the authority, and the printed receipt carries a QR code. Whether your store is required to issue electronic receipts right now depends on your registration and on which phase you fall into, so check with your accountant and with the authority’s official guidance.

Saudi Arabia

The standard VAT rate in Saudi Arabia is 15%. The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) introduced electronic invoicing in two phases:

  • Phase one, the generation phase, started on 4 December 2021. Handwritten invoices and invoices made in spreadsheets or text editors were no longer accepted, and a compliant e-invoicing solution became mandatory.
  • Phase two, the integration phase, started on 1 January 2023 and rolls out in waves. Your invoicing system has to connect to ZATCA’s Fatoora platform.

The waves keep moving down to smaller businesses. Wave 24 covered taxpayers whose VAT-subject revenue exceeded 375,000 riyals, with a deadline of 30 June 2026. On 24 July 2026 ZATCA announced wave 25, which covers revenue above 187,500 riyals in any year from 2022 to 2025, with integration due by 1 February 2027. ZATCA notifies targeted taxpayers directly at least six months before their date.

For a WooCommerce store, this means your invoicing has to come from a solution that meets ZATCA’s requirements. That might be an accounting system connected to your store, or a plugin from a provider that clearly states it complies. Don’t rely on a free plugin that simply prints a PDF with a QR code.

Setting up tax in WooCommerce

  • Enable taxes from WooCommerce, then Settings, then General, then add the right rate for each country under the Tax tab.
  • Decide whether your prices are entered including tax or excluding it, and stay consistent across all products.
  • Show prices including VAT on the storefront, since that’s what customers in both countries expect.
  • Make sure the store’s legal name, address and tax number appear on the invoice.

A checklist before going live

  1. Every gateway is tested in test mode, including failed payments and cancellations.
  2. Webhooks or callback URLs are set, and orders change status on their own after payment.
  3. The store currency matches the target market.
  4. The checkout page is clear in Arabic and works well on mobile.
  5. Refund policy and shipping terms are visible before payment.
  6. Tax rates are set correctly, and invoices meet local requirements.
  7. All payment plugins are on their latest versions, and you have a plan for regular updates.

Payment plugins in particular need ongoing care, since they handle money and customer data. If you’d rather not carry updates and backups yourself, our SiteCare service handles that for you.

Common mistakes we see

  • Offering only cash on delivery in a market where many customers would happily pay online if they saw a method they trust.
  • Forgetting the callback URL, which leaves paid orders stuck on “pending payment”.
  • Mixing currencies in a store that sells to several countries without a currency switcher, which breaks instalment providers.
  • Leaving tax for later, and then finding out the store’s invoices don’t meet requirements.
  • Stacking too many payment options on the checkout page until the customer can’t tell which one to pick.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Paymob and Fawry together?

Yes. Each one shows up as its own payment method in WooCommerce. Just make sure the checkout page stays tidy and clear.

Do I need a company to accept online payments?

Most gateways ask for business documents during onboarding. The exact requirements vary by gateway and country, so ask the provider before you start.

Does Tabby or Tamara pay me in instalments too?

According to both companies, the store receives the amount upfront while the customer pays in instalments. Check the settlement terms in your contract.

Does WooCommerce issue ZATCA-compliant invoices on its own?

No. WooCommerce on its own doesn’t meet phase two requirements. You need a compliant solution connected to the Fatoora platform.

A final word

The best checkout in this region is one that gives customers the method they already trust, stays simple, and is backed by solid tax setup. Start with the options your market needs most, test them properly, then add more as you grow.

If you’re building a new store or want to sort out payments and invoicing in an existing one, take a look at our WordPress Development service, or book a free consultation and we’ll go through your store together. And if you’d like to learn to build stores yourself, our Web Dev Courses are a good place to start.

And if you want to see where WordPress itself is heading, read our guide to AI in WordPress 7.0.

References