What it is
Tabby is a buy now, pay later provider, not a payment method in the ordinary sense. A customer picks Tabby at checkout, Tabby assesses them and pays you in full, and the customer then repays Tabby over a few instalments. Tabby is headquartered in Riyadh, serves Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, and holds licences from the Saudi Central Bank, having graduated from its regulatory sandbox and received a buy now, pay later licence before adding consumer and SME finance licences. For merchants, that means Tabby is a financing partner sitting at checkout, with its own approval logic, its own industry policy and its own settlement behaviour.
- Tabby is a buy now, pay later provider rather than a standard payment method.
- Tabby pays the merchant in full and collects instalments from the customer afterwards.
- It is headquartered in Riyadh and serves Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait.
- It holds Saudi Central Bank licences, including buy now pay later and finance licences.
Where it is used
Tabby operates in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, with Saudi Arabia as its largest market. It settles to merchants in local currency, Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams among them. The customer base is Gulf consumers who prefer to split payments, and in Saudi Arabia especially, instalment behaviour is a mainstream habit rather than a credit fallback. That makes the fit strongly category dependent. Fashion, electronics, beauty, home goods, travel and education convert well. Everyday low-value purchases and business procurement convert far less, because splitting a small payment simply is not worth the effort for the customer.
- Tabby operates in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, with Saudi Arabia its largest market.
- It settles to merchants in local currency, including Saudi riyals and UAE dirhams.
- Instalment behaviour is a mainstream habit for Gulf consumers rather than a fallback.
- Fit is category dependent, with fashion, electronics, travel and education converting best.
Which businesses it suits
Tabby suits merchants selling medium to high ticket consumer goods where instalments lift conversion and average order value. Fashion, electronics, home and furniture, beauty, optics, travel bookings, education and elective healthcare all fit. It suits you less if your business has high return rates, because returns on financed orders are administratively heavier and your fee exposure is real. It is also a weaker fit for low basket values where instalments add friction, for digital goods delivered instantly, and for categories outside Tabby's own industry policy, which it enforces at onboarding.
- Tabby suits medium to high ticket consumer categories where instalments lift conversion.
- Fashion, electronics, home, beauty, travel, education and elective healthcare fit well.
- High return rates make financed orders administratively expensive.
- Low basket values and instantly delivered digital goods fit less well.
How merchants usually connect
Merchants open a Tabby merchant account directly, or connect through a platform or PSP integration where one already exists. Onboarding requires a business licence, identification for the legal representative and bank account details, and Tabby applies its own industry policy during review. Integration is typically through APIs or a plugin for your e-commerce platform, with Tabby rendered as an option at checkout alongside cards and wallets. Because approval is decided by Tabby in real time, your checkout has to handle both approved and declined outcomes cleanly, and your order system has to treat a Tabby order as paid in full.
- Merchants open a Tabby merchant account directly or through a platform or PSP integration.
- Onboarding needs a business licence, identification and bank details, plus an industry policy review.
- Integration runs through APIs or an e-commerce plugin, with Tabby shown as a checkout option.
- Your order system must treat a Tabby order as paid in full once approved.
Cross-border merchant notes
The Gulf is a licensed market, and buy now, pay later sits inside that framework. Tabby holds its Saudi permissions from the Saudi Central Bank, and operating in the UAE and Kuwait brings their own regulatory expectations, so a foreign merchant should not assume one structure covers all three. Practically, collection happens in local currency and settlement follows the market you sell in, so repatriation has to be planned under local rules. Local scheme rules matter too: in Saudi Arabia, mada debit acceptance and instalment behaviour are closely linked, so check how Tabby and your card setup coexist.
- Buy now, pay later in the Gulf is a licensed activity, not an unregulated add-on.
- Tabby holds its Saudi permissions from the Saudi Central Bank, with separate expectations elsewhere.
- Collection is in local currency, so plan repatriation under each market's rules.
- Check how Tabby coexists with mada debit acceptance in Saudi Arabia.
Fees, settlement and refunds
Public pricing is only a first filter. Actual pricing changes with country, industry, volume, settlement currency, integration method and contract terms. Confirm against the provider's official pricing page or a written quote before you go live. The structural point is that buy now, pay later costs more per transaction than ordinary card acceptance, so the test is whether the conversion and basket lift pays for it. Tabby settles merchants in full rather than instalment by instalment, on a schedule set in your agreement. Refunds reverse through Tabby, and returns need tight order matching.
- Treat published rates as a filter only, and confirm real pricing on the official page or in a quote.
- Buy now, pay later costs more per transaction than ordinary card acceptance.
- Tabby settles merchants in full rather than instalment by instalment.
- Refunds reverse through Tabby, so returns need tight order matching.
Alternatives and complements
Tamara is the main competitor in Saudi Arabia and is worth quoting alongside Tabby, since merchant terms and customer reach differ. For merchants selling in Europe or North America as well, Klarna or a regional equivalent covers those markets instead. Bank instalment programmes, where the issuer converts a card purchase into instalments, are a useful complement because they need no separate checkout integration. Cards and local wallets remain the base layer, since buy now, pay later is an addition to a working checkout rather than a replacement for one. Build that base first, then layer instalments on top.
- Quote Tamara alongside Tabby for Saudi Arabia, since reach and terms differ.
- Use Klarna or a regional equivalent for European and North American markets.
- Add bank instalment programmes, which need no separate checkout integration.
- Keep cards and wallets as the base layer, since BNPL is an addition rather than a replacement.
Questions to ask before you integrate
Ask for the merchant fee by market and by plan length, since longer plans cost more. Ask when settlement happens and whether it is in full or staged. Ask how refunds and partial returns are handled, and how the customer's instalment plan is adjusted. Ask which industries are excluded and whether your category needs extra approval. Ask about minimum and maximum basket values, because these define where the option appears. Ask what decline rates look like in your category. Finally, ask how disputes between you and the customer are resolved once Tabby has paid you.
- What is the merchant fee by market and by plan length?
- When does settlement happen, and is it paid in full or staged?
- How are refunds, partial returns and the customer's instalment plan handled?
- What minimum and maximum basket values apply, and is your category approved?
- How are disputes resolved once Tabby has already paid you?
Questions merchants ask
Is Tabby a payment method?
It is a buy now, pay later provider rather than an ordinary payment method. A customer chooses Tabby at checkout, Tabby assesses them and pays you in full, and the customer repays Tabby in instalments. Tabby is headquartered in Riyadh and holds licences from the Saudi Central Bank.
Which countries does Tabby operate in?
Tabby serves Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, with Saudi Arabia as its largest market. Its Saudi activity sits under Saudi Central Bank licences, and the other markets carry their own regulatory expectations, so confirm availability and terms for each country separately.
When does a merchant get paid by Tabby?
Tabby pays the merchant in full rather than passing through each instalment, on a schedule set in your merchant agreement. That is one of the reasons merchants accept the higher per-transaction cost. Confirm the exact settlement timing and currency for each market in writing before launch.
How much does Tabby cost a merchant?
Published rates are a first filter, not a final price. What you pay moves with country, industry, volume, settlement currency, integration method and contract terms. Buy now, pay later generally costs more than card acceptance, so test it against the conversion and basket lift it delivers.
How do refunds work with Tabby?
Refunds reverse through Tabby rather than through a card scheme. A full refund cancels the customer's plan, while a partial refund usually adjusts the remaining instalments, so your order system has to match refunds precisely to Tabby transactions. Confirm the mechanics before you go live.
Which merchants should not use Tabby?
Businesses with high return rates, very low basket values, instantly delivered digital goods, or categories outside Tabby's industry policy tend to get poor value. The fee is higher than card acceptance, so the option only pays for itself where instalments visibly lift conversion or order size.