For consultancies, agencies and professional practices
A service business paid by card through a payment link
The short answer
A UAE service business collects invoice payments by card through a payment link under a merchant agreement with an acquirer licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). The client opens the link and pays, and the acquirer settles to the business bank account with a reference per invoice. We prepare the application from your corporate file and set up each link so the invoice total, the VAT treatment and the settlement agree.
A consultancy that bills after the work, a clinic that bills after the visit and a practice that bills by the hour share one problem. The invoice goes out, the client is abroad or busy, and a bank transfer takes days or arrives short of the banks' charges. A payment link lets the client pay by card, and the acquirer, the CBUAE-licensed provider that contracts with you to process the payment and pay the funds to you, sends the settlement with its schedule and its record.
The link carries an amount and a description, so it has to match the invoice and the books: the VAT treatment of the service, the currency and the client's name. The acquirer also reviews what the business sells before it enables payment links. That is why this starts from the corporate file and not from a sign-up form.
At a glance
- Indicative cost
- The acquirer's rate per payment is in its merchant agreement; the Velarozone service fee for the application and the set-up is itemised in your engagement letter.
- Timing
- The application in days once the licence and the settlement account exist; the first link the day the acquirer enables the channel.
- What's included
- The merchant application with links as the channel
- Links set up to match the invoice, currency and VAT line
- The first settlements checked against the invoices
This is for you if
- You invoice named clients after the work or the visit: consultancy, design, legal-adjacent services, training, coaching or healthcare.
- Your clients are in the UAE and abroad and you want them to pay by card without a transfer.
- You have no storefront and no need for a website checkout.
- You want the payment record to reconcile with the invoice and the VAT return.
This may not be the right route if
- You sell physical goods to many customers. A checkout or a terminal fits better.
- You want to take card payments personally rather than through a licensed company.
- You expect the acquirer to enable links without reviewing what the business sells.
At a glance
- Indicative cost
- The acquirer's rate per payment is in its merchant agreement; the Velarozone service fee for the application and the set-up is itemised in your engagement letter.
- Timing
- The application in days once the licence and the settlement account exist; the first link the day the acquirer enables the channel.
- What's included
- The merchant application with links as the channel
- Links set up to match the invoice, currency and VAT line
- The first settlements checked against the invoices
What this service includes
- The merchant application prepared from your corporate file, with payment links as the channel.
- Links set up so the amount, the description, the currency and the VAT line agree with the invoice.
- The settlement account confirmed, or opened first through the bank-readiness work.
- The acquirer's rate, settlement cycle and dispute process explained before you send the first link.
- One point of contact across the acquirer, the bank and the accounts.
What it does not include
- The acquirer's decision, its pricing or its timeline.
- Bookkeeping and VAT returns themselves, which are the accounting service's scope.
- Any promise that a client will pay.
Process
How the work is sequenced
Each stage has its own dependencies (activity approvals, document legalisation, authority processing, and bank review), and we report progress against them rather than against one overall date.
- 01
Readiness
Licence activity, settlement account and the invoice template checked against the acquirer's questions.
- 02
Application
The merchant application lodged with the acquirer, naming payment links as the channel and describing the services you invoice.
- 03
Set-up
Links configured with the descriptions, currencies and references the books need.
Working under your own permit rather than a company? The freelancer page covers that route first.
Prefer to start in writing? Send the details through the contact form.
Start with a structure assessment
In an initial consultation you receive a plain-language decision summary, a document-preparation list, and the next actions for your situation. Current figures are confirmed within your adviser-reviewed route comparison.
Link, transfer or checkout
Three ways a service business gets paid
Which one fits depends on who the client is and where they are.
Payment links compared with bank transfer and a website checkout for an invoicing business.
Client experience
- Payment link
- Opens the link on any device and pays by card, with no account
- Bank transfer
- Logs in to their bank, enters details, waits
- Website checkout
- Buys from a page; needs a site and an integration
Clients abroad
- Payment link
- Cards the acquirer accepts, in the currencies it supports
- Bank transfer
- International transfer with the banks' charges on both sides
- Website checkout
- Any card, but needs the site to carry terms and prices
Reconciliation
- Payment link
- Acquirer settlement with a reference per link
- Bank transfer
- Manual matching of transfers to invoices
- Website checkout
- Automatic, if the store and the books are connected
Cost
- Payment link
- The acquirer's rate per payment
- Bank transfer
- The banks' transfer charges, often on both sides
- Website checkout
- The acquirer's rate plus gateway charges
Fits best
- Payment link
- Invoices to named clients, here and abroad
- Bank transfer
- Large, infrequent payments between businesses that know each other
- Website checkout
- Many customers buying the same things
| Payment link | Bank transfer | Website checkout | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client experience | Opens the link on any device and pays by card, with no account | Logs in to their bank, enters details, waits | Buys from a page; needs a site and an integration |
| Clients abroad | Cards the acquirer accepts, in the currencies it supports | International transfer with the banks' charges on both sides | Any card, but needs the site to carry terms and prices |
| Reconciliation | Acquirer settlement with a reference per link | Manual matching of transfers to invoices | Automatic, if the store and the books are connected |
| Cost | The acquirer's rate per payment | The banks' transfer charges, often on both sides | The acquirer's rate plus gateway charges |
| Fits best | Invoices to named clients, here and abroad | Large, infrequent payments between businesses that know each other | Many customers buying the same things |
The service
Card payments: POS machines, payment links and online checkout
The channels, the indicative rates and the comparison with Stripe, Ziina and Checkout.com are on the service page.
See the card-payments service
Every route is planned against how the business will actually operate in the UAE.
After the licence
What you may also need
The four services most founders in this situation ask about next, each on its own page.
Visas & PRO services
Residence visas for owners, staff and family, plus the MOHRE labour files, medicals and Emirates ID renewals that keep a licence and its people in good standing. A sponsored visa lasts 1, 2 or 3 years; approval stays with the authority.
→UAE bank account setup
A bank-ready file built around your ownership, activity and expected transactions, matched to the bank whose risk appetite suits your profile. The bank alone decides approval and timing.
→Accounting & tax
Monthly bookkeeping, VAT and corporate-tax filings and year-end accounts, with statutory audit signed by a registered auditor.
→Legal services
Contracts, corporate documents, disputes and regulatory matters, advised by lawyers licensed to practise in the UAE and named in the engagement letter.
→
Questions
Frequently asked
- Do my clients need an app or an account to pay?
- No. The client opens the link in a browser and pays by card, with no app and no account. The page shows the amount and the description you set, so write the description as the invoice reads. Their own bank may ask for a one-time code to approve the payment.
- Can I send a link for an amount in another currency?
- Where the acquirer supports it, yes. The merchant agreement sets the currencies you can price in, the currency the money settles in and the conversion rate. If you price in dirhams, any conversion happens on the client's card and your settlement matches the invoice.
- Is VAT charged on the link?
- The link carries the invoice total, so the VAT must be right on the invoice before the link is created. The card payment does not decide the VAT treatment. Whether your service is standard-rated, zero-rated as an export or out of scope depends on the facts and the Federal Tax Authority's rules, which the accounting service applies.
- What if a client disputes a payment?
- The acquirer runs the dispute under the merchant agreement and asks you for evidence: the engagement letter, the invoice and proof that the work was delivered. A written scope and a signed engagement are the best protection.
- Can I take a deposit by link and the balance later?
- Yes. Send one link for the deposit and a second for the balance. Each is its own payment with its own reference, and the books show both against the same invoice.
Sources
- Central Bank of the UAE, the UAE banking and payments regulator
- CBUAE guidance on customer due diligence, source of funds and wealth
- Federal Tax Authority: VAT legislation and guides
Regulations, fees, and eligibility can change. Every regulatory statement is re-checked before publication and dated above.
Legal notes and scope
Velarozone provides setup and operational-readiness coordination. This page is general information, not legal, tax, immigration, or banking advice.
General information drawn from the CBUAE Rulebook, including the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation (C 15/2021), and Cabinet Resolution No. (134) of 2025 as published, not legal or tax advice. Rules and guidance change, so confirm the current text and each institution's own requirements before you submit.
Payment links are provided by a licensed acquirer under its own merchant agreement, on its own review and pricing. Velarozone prepares and coordinates and never guarantees an outcome, a rate or a date.