# Buy now, pay later in the Gulf and what it means for COD

> Buy now, pay later (BNPL) lets a shopper split an online payment into instalments while the provider pays the store. On Shopify you add it as a payment method, through the provider's app if it has one. It gives shoppers who use COD to delay paying a prepaid option.

URL: https://khaleejicod.com/guides/bnpl-gulf-cod/  
Updated: 2026-10-26  
Publisher: Trifid Media LLC

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) lets a shopper pay for an online order in instalments. The BNPL provider
pays your store and collects the instalments from the shopper. On Shopify, BNPL is a payment method
you add in **Settings > Payments**, through the provider's app if it has one. That matters for COD:
a shopper who picks cash on delivery to put off paying, or to spread the cost, gets a way to do
that online. The order arrives prepaid, so there's no cash left to collect at the door.

## What is buy now, pay later?

A BNPL provider splits the price of an order into smaller payments over a few weeks or months. The
provider decides which shoppers it approves and for how much. The store gets paid by the provider,
not by the shopper, on the provider's schedule.

Providers describe their own products in their own terms. Tabby's business page offers to let
shoppers "split into 4 interest-free payments" while the store gets "paid upfront", with longer
plans of up to 12 payments. Tamara says it settles your account in full "regardless of whether the
customer has paid". Fees, order limits and countries differ by provider, so this guide doesn't
list them. Ask each provider.

## Which BNPL providers have Shopify apps for Gulf stores?

These are providers whose own Shopify App Store listing or website describes a Shopify app, checked
26 October 2026. It isn't a complete list or a recommendation.

| Provider | What its listing or site says |
|---|---|
| Tabby | App "Tabby Pay Later". Describes Tabby as "a Buy Now Pay Later provider in the Middle East"; developer based in Dubai. |
| Tamara | Tamara's Shopify page says to sign up for a Tamara Partner account, then install its app from the Shopify App Store. |
| Cashew | App "Monthly payments with Cashew". Lets customers "split payments into 3 & 6 interest-free monthly installments"; developer based in DIFC, Dubai. |
| MISpay | App "MISpay". "This app adds a BNPL option to your store"; headline mentions KSA; developer based in Riyadh. |

In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) licenses BNPL companies. When it licensed Tamara
Finance in March 2025, SAMA told the public to deal only with authorised financial institutions and
pointed to the list on its website. If you sell in Saudi Arabia, check that your provider is on it.

## How does BNPL show up at a Shopify checkout?

Shopify puts BNPL under **Additional payment methods**, next to things like PayPal, separate from
your main card provider. To add one:

1. Go to **Settings > Payments**.
2. In **Additional payment methods**, select **Add payment methods** and search for the provider.
3. If the provider is an app, select **Install app**, then **Manage**, and connect your account in
   the provider's app.
4. Select **Activate**.

Shopify says that once the app is activated, "the payment method is visible on checkout." It then
sits in the payment list with your cards and COD.

A BNPL app may send the shopper to the provider's own page to finish. Shopify's documentation for
payment apps describes an offsite type that lets merchants "redirect their buyers to an app-hosted
website to complete the payment process." Only partners approved by Shopify can build payment apps
like these. Place a test order on a phone, in Arabic and English, so you see what your shoppers see.

## When can BNPL replace COD?

Shoppers choose COD for different reasons, and BNPL answers some of them:

| Why a shopper picks COD | Does BNPL help? |
|---|---|
| Wants to spread the cost of a big order | Yes, this is what BNPL is for |
| Doesn't want to pay much before the parcel arrives | Partly: the cost is spread out, but the shopper still agrees to pay online before delivery |
| Has no card, or doesn't trust paying online | No, BNPL still needs an online payment |
| Is declined by the provider | No, they need another way to pay |

So BNPL works well as an extra option next to COD, or as the option you rely on when you limit COD
for big carts.

## What changes for you when a BNPL order is refused?

A BNPL order is prepaid, so a refused or returned parcel becomes a return and a refund. You won't
be left with an unpaid COD order. You still pay to ship the parcel out and back. Ask your provider
how refunds and returns work with its app before you rely on it.

## Should you hide COD when BNPL is available?

Not for everyone. BNPL doesn't reach the shoppers in the last two rows of the table above. A
middle path is to keep COD for most orders and hide it only where a refusal costs most,
such as large carts, first orders or customers who refused before. Instalments also matter more
on large carts.

Before you set a cart limit, check the order amount range your BNPL provider accepts in each
currency. If your limit sits above the provider's maximum, a big cart could end up with cards as
the only option. Khaleeji COD only changes the Cash on Delivery method, so Tabby, Tamara and other
methods stay visible when it hides COD. See
[how to hide COD above a cart total](/guides/hide-cod-above-cart-total/).

## What should you ask a BNPL provider before adding it?

- Which countries and currencies does it accept, for your store and for your shoppers?
- What order amounts can it approve?
- What does it charge you per order, and when do you get paid?
- How do refunds, partial refunds and returns work from the Shopify order page?
- Is its payment page available in Arabic?
- In Saudi Arabia, is it licensed by SAMA?

For other ways to move shoppers from cash to card, read
[nudging shoppers from cash to card](/guides/move-shoppers-from-cash-to-card/). For the local cards
and wallets in each country, see
[online payment methods by GCC country](/guides/online-payment-methods-gcc/). To weigh hiding COD
against a COD fee, a deposit or OTP checks, see
[hide COD, COD fee, partial COD or OTP](/guides/hide-cod-vs-fee-vs-partial-vs-otp/).

## Sources

- [Shopify Help Center: Activating additional payment methods](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/additional-payment-methods/activate-payment-methods)
- [Shopify.dev: Payments apps](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/payments)
- [Shopify App Store: Tabby Pay Later](https://apps.shopify.com/tabby-payment-1)
- [Tabby: Tabby for business](https://tabby.ai/en-AE/business)
- [Tamara: Tamara for Shopify](https://tamara.co/en-SA/shopify-extension)
- [Shopify App Store: Monthly payments with Cashew](https://apps.shopify.com/cashew-payments)
- [Shopify App Store: MISpay](https://apps.shopify.com/mispay)
- [Saudi Central Bank: SAMA licenses Tamara Finance to provide consumer finance and BNPL services (3 March 2025)](https://www.sama.gov.sa/en-US/MediaCenter/News/Pages/news-1079.aspx)