Tap Payments holds a UAE Central Bank licence (granted April 2025) and serves 120,000+ merchants across the GCC with approximately 20 payment methods and recent innovations like Mastercard Click to Pay with Passkey authentication. For businesses operating across multiple Gulf countries, Tap offers integrated multi-country acquiring from a single API.
Mamo launched with a different mission: to replace the multiple financial tools that UAE SMEs typically manage separately. Mamo is DFSA-regulated and combines payment collection, corporate cards with cashback, expense management, and global payouts into one integrated platform, built specifically for UAE-based businesses.
This comparison covers the key metrics for UAE merchants: transaction fees, settlement speed, payment method coverage, corporate card offerings, GCC reach, regulatory standing, and the capabilities that differentiate the two platforms.
Tap Payments does not publicly list its pricing on its website. Industry sources and merchant feedback indicate rates around 2.75% + AED 1.00 per transaction, though the exact rate structure is negotiated per account. This lack of transparency is a common merchant complaint with Tap.
Tap's approach: contact sales for pricing. Setup fees may apply depending on monthly processing volume and integration complexity.
Mamo publishes transparent, per-transaction pricing with no setup costs. The Growth plan has no monthly fee; the Premium plan is AED 99/month.
Mamo Premium plan: 2.7% + AED 0.80 per UAE domestic card transaction; 3.2% + AED 0.80 for international cards; all fees subject to 5% UAE VAT.
Mamo Growth plan (free): 2.9% + AED 1.00 per UAE domestic card transaction; 3.4% + AED 1.00 for international cards.
Fee Comparison, Mamo Premium vs Tap Payments (Estimated)
| Transaction Type | Mamo Premium | Tap Payments (Estimated) |
|---|---|---|
| UAE domestic card | 2.7% + AED 0.80 | ~2.75% + AED 1.00 |
| International card | 3.2% + AED 0.80 | ~3.75% + AED 1.00 |
| Dispute fee | Contact Mamo | Contact Tap |
| Monthly platform fee | AED 99/month | Possible (negotiated) |
| Setup/integration fee | None | Possible (negotiated) |
Real-World Fee Impact
For a business processing AED 100,000/month in local card transactions at an average transaction size of AED 500 (200 transactions):
Mamo Premium: (AED 100,000 × 2.7%) + (200 × AED 0.80) = AED 2,700 + AED 160 = AED 2,860/month
Tap Payments (estimated): (AED 100,000 × 2.75%) + (200 × AED 1.00) = AED 2,750 + AED 200 = AED 2,950/month
Mamo saves approximately AED 90/month at this volume. At AED 500,000/month, Mamo's Premium savings increase to AED 450+/month.
Tap Payments supports approximately 20 payment methods across GCC markets:
Feature Comparison, Payment Methods
| Method | Mamo | Tap Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Visa | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mastercard | ✓ | ✓ |
| Amex | ✓ | ✓ |
| Jaywan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tabby BNPL | ✓ (built-in) | ✓ |
| mada | ✓ | ✓ |
| Apple Pay | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Pay | ✓ | ✓ |
| Samsung Pay | ✓ | ✓ |
| Click to Pay (Passkey) | ✗ | ✓ (Nov 2024) |
| Bank transfers | ✗ | ✓ (regional) |
Both gateways support the core UAE payment stack (Visa, Mastercard, Jaywan, Tabby). Tap's differentiators: Click to Pay with Passkey (latest authentication), bank transfer options in GCC markets. Mamo's differentiators: corporate cards, expense management, and same-day settlement.
Tap Payments' standard settlement is T+5 business days, after which settlement switches to weekly cycles (every Monday, typically). For a Monday transaction, funds typically arrive by the following Friday; a Tuesday transaction arrives the following Monday.
Tap does not publish a faster settlement option or same-day settlement feature on its public information.
Yes. Mamo offers flexible settlement from 0 to 5 business days. Same-day settlement is available for an additional +0.5% (Premium plan) or +0.75% (Growth plan) on top of transaction fees. From your Mamo dashboard, you can select individual payments to settle early, choose your destination UAE bank account, and funds move the same day.
For retail, tourism, hospitality, or any business where daily cash flow timing is operationally critical, this is a material advantage. Unlike Stripe's 1.5% Instant Payouts surcharge, Mamo's same-day settlement costs only +0.5% (Premium) or +0.75% (Growth) on top of transaction fees, significantly lower.
See exactly what you'll pay on Mamo, with same-day settlement from +0.5%.
No. Tap Payments is a payment collection gateway and does not offer corporate expense cards, spend controls, or expense management tools for UAE businesses. Its focus is payment accepting and acquiring, not financial operations beyond that.
Mamo offers unlimited free virtual and physical corporate cards for your entire team, no issuance fees, no monthly card fees.
Visa Mamo Card benefits:
Concrete cashback example: a business spending AED 50,000/month on non-AED transactions earns AED 1,000/month at the standard 2% rate, AED 12,000/year back to Mamo balance. During the 8% promotional period, that is AED 4,000/month returned.
Mamo is UAE-focused. It is DFSA-regulated and operates within the UAE regulatory framework. While Mamo supports global payouts (0.5% fee) and accepts international cards, its platform is optimized for UAE-based SMEs. If you operate purely within the UAE, this is no limitation.
Tap Payments is explicitly built for multi-country GCC operations. Licensed by UAE Central Bank (April 2025), Tap supports operations across:
For a business operating payment acceptance across multiple GCC countries, Tap's integrated multi-country platform means one API, one dashboard, one settlement across the region.
When Does Tap's GCC Advantage Matter?
When Does Mamo's UAE Focus Not Matter?
Tap Payments provides merchant support through its platform, with typical enterprise-level documentation and ticketing. Dedicated account managers are available for enterprise customers (AED 500k+/month volumes).
From day one, Mamo assigns an account manager to your account. Support is available in both Arabic and English. Account verification typically completes in 2-3 business days. The assigned account manager supports onboarding, integration troubleshooting, and ongoing operational questions.
For growing UAE SMEs, this local, person-to-person support is often as valuable as the product itself.
Mamo Limited is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent regulator of the DIFC financial free zone. Mamo is also a registered payments facilitator with both Visa and Mastercard, holds PCI-DSS certification, and undergoes quarterly security audits.
Tap Payments received UAE Central Bank licensing in April 2025. This is a significant regulatory milestone and demonstrates the Central Bank's confidence in Tap's operations.
Both are credible UAE-regulated entities:
For most UAE businesses, both regulatory frameworks are recognized and respected.
Tap is a strong fit if you:
Mamo is stronger if you:
Yes. Tap Payments is licensed by the UAE Central Bank (April 2025) for online payment accepting. This is a significant regulatory credential and demonstrates CBUAE confidence in Tap's compliance and operations.
Yes. Tap supports both Jaywan (UAE national card scheme) and Tabby (BNPL) for UAE merchants. Tap also introduced Mastercard Click to Pay with Passkey authentication in November 2024, the latest in card authentication standards.
Yes. Mamo offers unlimited free virtual and physical corporate cards for your entire team. Cards include up to 2% unlimited cashback on non-AED spend (ongoing), up to 0.5% on AED (unlimited) spend, and a limited-time 8% cashback offer on non-AED for the first 3 months or up to AED 7,500.
Yes. Some merchants run Mamo for domestic UAE payments and cards, and Tap for multi-country GCC acquiring. However, this adds operational complexity (two dashboards, two settlement cycles, reconciliation overhead). Most merchants consolidate onto a single platform after testing.
Mamo is UAE-focused. If you operate across multiple GCC countries, Tap Payments is the stronger choice. Mamo supports global payouts (0.5% fee) but not integrated multi-country payment accepting from one dashboard.
Choose Tap Payments if you sell across several GCC countries and need local methods like KNET and Benefit through one integration.
Choose Mamo if your business is UAE-focused. You get published rates, same-day settlement from +0.5%, and free corporate cards with up to 2% cashback, all on one DFSA-regulated platform.
Get published pricing, same-day settlement and free corporate cards on one DFSA-regulated platform.
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