Paymob Review

Paymob is a payment provider for businesses in Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa Menessy started it in 2015 as students at the American University in Cairo. It signs merchants directly through local companies in each country and handles online card payments, payment links, subscriptions, instalments, mobile wallets and, in Egypt, card terminals. When it announced a $35 million pre-Series C round in September 2026, co-led by Mubadala and the EBRD, it said it serves more than 390,000 merchants across those four countries and that the Gulf now brings in close to half its revenue. Its UAE company is on the Central Bank of the UAE's register as a Category III retail payment services licensee, and it announced a full payment service provider licence from the Central Bank of Oman in January 2024. As of September 2026 its pricing pages list per-transaction rates in local currency: 2.75% + EGP 3 in Egypt, 2.9% + AED 1 in the UAE, and in Saudi Arabia 1% + SAR 1 on mada, 2.7% + SAR 1 on Visa and Mastercard and 3.5% + SAR 1 on international cards. Other Saudi pages show different card rates. Payouts are weekly in Egypt and the UAE and twice a week in Saudi Arabia. Read the country terms before you sign: the UAE terms tie you in for 24 months and add a monthly charge if you process less than AED 10,000. The UAE and Saudi terms both let Paymob withhold settlements and keep disputed amounts for 120 days or longer.

Estimated annual cost at three realistic processing volumes, using Paymob’s published online rate plus monthly fees. Real costs vary with average transaction size, chargeback rate, and any negotiated terms.

What Paymob is

Paymob is a payment provider that grew out of Egypt and now earns close to half its revenue in the Gulf. Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa Menessy launched it in 2015 while studying at the American University in Cairo. TechCrunch reported that, and Paymob's own About page says it was 'Established in 2015'. Press coverage calls it Egypt-based, though Paymob's own pages name no head office, and the EBRD lists the company it invested in as Paymob International BV. It signs merchants in the Gulf through separate local companies: Paymob Technologies L.L.C in Dubai and Paymob Information Technology L.L.C in Riyadh.

It is independent and venture-backed. On 21 September 2026 it announced a $35 million pre-Series C round co-led by Mubadala Investment Company and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with British International Investment, Global Ventures and DPI Ventures. That took its disclosed funding past $125 million. At the time it said it serves more than 390,000 merchants across Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, and has signed about 20,000 merchants in its three Gulf markets since January 2025. Over the previous 18 months, it said, revenue had tripled and Gulf revenue had grown sevenfold. TechCrunch reported in September 2024 that Paymob had become profitable in Egypt that year but not in its other markets. We found no newer profitability figure.

Where it operates and how it is regulated

Paymob signs merchants in Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, and each has its own terms and pricing. Its regulatory standing differs by country, so check the entity you would contract with.

• UAE: Paymob Technologies L.L.C is on the Central Bank of the UAE's register of retail payment services providers (August 2026 edition) with a Category III licence. Paymob announced the licence in January 2025. Press coverage says it covers merchant acquiring, payment aggregation and domestic fund transfers.
• Oman: the Central Bank of Oman's 2022 payment systems report lists an in-principle payment service provider licence for Paymob International BV. Paymob announced the full licence in January 2024, calling itself the first international fintech to be fully licensed in Oman. We found no public Oman pricing page.
• Saudi Arabia: Paymob is not on the Saudi Central Bank's list of licensed payment and e-money institutions (checked September 2026). Paymob announced in May 2023 that Saudi Payments had certified it as a payment technical services provider (PTSP), a technical certification rather than a payment licence. A Saudi business should ask Paymob which licensed institution acquires its transactions.
• Egypt: Paymob's home market. Press reports, repeating Paymob's announcements, say it was the first to receive the Central Bank of Egypt's payment facilitator licence, in 2018. We could not confirm that on a Central Bank of Egypt source.
• Pakistan: the State Bank of Pakistan gave Accept Technologies Private Limited (PayMob) in-principle approval as a payment service provider on 5 November 2024. That approval lets a company build its systems before applying for pilot operations. Paymob's September 2026 announcement did not name Pakistan, paymob.pk would not load, and the developer portal still has a Pakistan section. Confirm availability before relying on it.

Pricing, country by country

Paymob publishes a standard rate for each country, which gives you a starting point before you talk to sales. But check which country's page you are reading and confirm the rate in your contract. As of September 2026:

• Egypt (paymob.com): 2.75% + EGP 3 per online transaction. Terminals cost 2.5% excluding VAT up to EGP 25,000 a month, falling to 2.25%, 2% and 1.75% above EGP 25,000, 40,000 and 65,000. The page says there are no monthly or subscription fees. It shows no international-card rate.
• UAE (paymob.ae): 2.9% + AED 1 per transaction, with 'no monthly or subscription fees' on the pricing page. However, the UAE terms allow an AED 110 monthly charge below AED 10,000 of monthly volume. The page shows no international-card rate.
• Saudi Arabia (paymob.sa): the pricing page's rate table and FAQ list 1% + SAR 1 on mada and 2.7% + SAR 1 on Visa and Mastercard for local cards, and 3.5% + SAR 1 for international cards. The online-payment product page instead quotes 1% on mada and 2.75% + SAR 1.5 on Visa and Mastercard. The pricing page's server-rendered HTML, shown before its scripts load, also still says 2.9% + SAR 1 and daily settlement.

The UAE and Saudi terms say fees exclude VAT and that Paymob can revise them. Both require 30 days' written notice before fees rise or new fees are added (UAE Special Terms 17.12, Saudi 15.11). Paymob publishes no chargeback fee. Merchants who contact sales about large volumes get custom pricing. Two UAE Trustpilot reviewers in 2026 said they were charged more than the rate they had agreed, so check your statements against your Merchant Application Form.

Payouts and holds

Online payments are paid out weekly in Egypt and the UAE, and twice a week (Sundays and Wednesdays) in Saudi Arabia, according to the pricing pages. Egyptian terminal sales settle daily. Your settlement frequency is fixed in your Merchant Application Form. Paymob publishes no paid option for faster payouts.

The UAE and Saudi terms give Paymob wide room to hold money. It may 'withhold settlement in part or in full' for activity it reasonably considers non-conforming, suspicious or irregular. It can deduct chargebacks, card-scheme fines and any overpayments from your settlements. After termination it can keep disputed amounts for 120 days, extendable while it investigates, and must tell you if the hold runs past 120 days. There is no standing rolling reserve in the published terms. The most recent UAE Trustpilot review, from 2 September 2026, complains of funds held for more than a month.

Contract terms

The UAE contract is the stricter one. It commits you exclusively to Paymob for 24 months and charges AED 750 a day for each terminal not returned at the end. It also lets Paymob impose AED 110 a month, and eventually terminate, if you process less than AED 10,000 a month; that clause (Special Terms 4.5) is not limited to terminal users. The Saudi contract has no minimum period, and either side can leave on 30 days' notice. Both let Paymob end the agreement on 30 days' notice or immediately for material breach, suspected fraud or insolvency. Both are governed by local law, with disputes heard by the Dubai or Riyadh courts. We could not read Paymob's Egyptian terms: the terms link on paymob.com redirected in a loop when we tried it.

Reputation

Paymob does not have a Trustpilot profile for paymob.com. The UAE profile (www.paymob.ae) is unclaimed and scores 2.5 from 20 reviews, 18 of them in the last 12 months, with 75% one-star and 25% five-star (September 2026). The negative reviews describe funds held for weeks, rates above those agreed in writing, applications rejected with little explanation, and slow support. The positive ones praise individual relationship managers and a smooth onboarding. A separate paymob.pk profile scores 2 from 11 reviews. These are small samples for a company claiming 390,000 merchants. We did not check the BBB because Paymob does not operate in North America. We found no lawsuits or regulatory enforcement actions naming Paymob.

Who it suits

Paymob makes most sense for a small or mid-sized business registered in Egypt, the UAE or Saudi Arabia that sells mostly to local customers. It needs local payment methods and wants a published rate to start from. Egyptian retailers also get volume-tiered terminal pricing with daily settlement. It suits UAE businesses less well if they are small, seasonal or unsure they will stay two years, because of the minimum-volume charge and the 24-month exclusive term. In any country, get your rate and settlement schedule in writing in the Merchant Application Form, and read the withholding clauses before you sign.