For shops, cafés, clinics and venues
A shop, café or clinic taking cards at the counter
The short answer
A shop, café or clinic gets a card terminal through a merchant agreement with an acquirer licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) for merchant acquiring. The acquirer checks the business and its owners, prices it and settles card takings to the company's own bank account. We prepare the application and coordinate the terminal, the account and go-live; the acquirer decides.
A card terminal is not bought; it comes with a merchant agreement with a licensed acquirer. Merchant acquiring is one of the retail payment services that the Central Bank of the UAE licenses under its Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation. CBUAE guidance for licensed institutions says a merchant should be checked for the nature of its business and its expected transaction volumes, so the acquirer will ask for both. The application is therefore a corporate-file exercise before it is a hardware choice: the trade licence and its activity, the owners' identification, the settlement account and, for a clinic or a venue, the approvals the activity itself needs.
The usual snags sit in the file. The activity on the licence does not match what is sold over the counter, the settlement account is not yet open, or an owner's documents do not line up with the register. CBUAE guidance expects enhanced checks for cash-intensive and higher-risk sectors, which can include a visit to the premises, so a mismatched file invites more questions. We put these right before the acquirer sees them.
At a glance
- Indicative cost
- The acquirer's terminal, gateway and transaction charges are in its merchant agreement; the Velarozone service fee for the application and go-live is itemised in your engagement letter.
- Timing
- Readiness and the application follow once the licence and the settlement account exist; the acquirer's review runs on its own clock, and a clinic also waits for its health facility licence to be activated.
- What's included
- The merchant application prepared from your file
- The settlement account and the licence activity checked first
- Coordination through the review to go-live
This is for you if
- You run a retail shop, a café or restaurant, a clinic, a salon, a gym or a venue and take payment in person.
- Your customers expect to tap a card or a phone, and cash-only is costing you sales.
- You want the terminal, the settlement and the reconciliation to arrive together, not from three suppliers.
- Your licence is issued, or is being issued with us, and the bank account is open or in progress.
This may not be the right route if
- You sell only online, so the checkout page is the right starting point.
- You want a rate quoted before the acquirer has reviewed the business; the acquirer sets it, not us.
- The business has no UAE licence and no settlement account and does not intend to have either.
At a glance
- Indicative cost
- The acquirer's terminal, gateway and transaction charges are in its merchant agreement; the Velarozone service fee for the application and go-live is itemised in your engagement letter.
- Timing
- Readiness and the application follow once the licence and the settlement account exist; the acquirer's review runs on its own clock, and a clinic also waits for its health facility licence to be activated.
- What's included
- The merchant application prepared from your file
- The settlement account and the licence activity checked first
- Coordination through the review to go-live
What this service includes
- The merchant application prepared from your corporate file, with the documents in the acquirer's order.
- A readiness check on the licence activity, the settlement account and the premises before the acquirer sees them.
- Coordination of the acquirer's questions through its review to go-live.
- The terminal, the settlement cycle, reserves and the dispute process explained before you sign the merchant agreement.
- One point of contact across the acquirer, the bank and the licence.
What it does not include
- The acquirer's decision, its pricing or its timeline, which are the acquirer's alone.
- Terminal rental, gateway and transaction charges, which are set out in the acquirer's merchant agreement.
- Any premises, health or activity approval the authority requires for the business itself; we say which applies and coordinate it under its own scope.
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, owners' documents and premises checked against what the acquirer will ask.
- 02
Application
The merchant application prepared and lodged with the acquirer.
- 03
Review
The acquirer's due diligence and underwriting; its questions answered with you as they come.
Online store or payment links as well? The same merchant file carries them.
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.
What the acquirer looks at
The counter business through the acquirer's eyes
A café's review leans on category, ticket size and volume. A clinic's leans on the licence activity and the premises, because its health facility licence sits behind both.
What an acquirer reviews on a counter merchant, and what we prepare for each.
Licence and activity
- What the acquirer asks
- Does the licensed activity match what is sold at the counter?
- What we prepare
- The licence, the activity list and, where they diverge, the amendment first
Owners
- What the acquirer asks
- Who owns and controls the company, and are their documents current?
- What we prepare
- Identification and the ownership chain from the register, in the order the acquirer reads them
Settlement account
- What the acquirer asks
- Is there a corporate account in the company's name to settle to?
- What we prepare
- The account, or the bank-readiness work that opens it first
The premises
- What the acquirer asks
- Where is the terminal used, and does the lease match the licence?
- What we prepare
- The tenancy contract and the premises approval where the activity needs one
Category and volume
- What the acquirer asks
- What is sold, at what ticket size, and what monthly volume do you expect?
- What we prepare
- A plain statement of the business, so the category and the pricing are set on facts
Disputes
- What the acquirer asks
- How will refunds and chargebacks be handled, given that the acquirer monitors both?
- What we prepare
- A written refund policy, displayed where the customer pays
| Question | What the acquirer asks | What we prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Licence and activity | Does the licensed activity match what is sold at the counter? | The licence, the activity list and, where they diverge, the amendment first |
| Owners | Who owns and controls the company, and are their documents current? | Identification and the ownership chain from the register, in the order the acquirer reads them |
| Settlement account | Is there a corporate account in the company's name to settle to? | The account, or the bank-readiness work that opens it first |
| The premises | Where is the terminal used, and does the lease match the licence? | The tenancy contract and the premises approval where the activity needs one |
| Category and volume | What is sold, at what ticket size, and what monthly volume do you expect? | A plain statement of the business, so the category and the pricing are set on facts |
| Disputes | How will refunds and chargebacks be handled, given that the acquirer monitors both? | A written refund policy, displayed where the customer pays |
The service
Card payments: POS machines, payment links and online checkout
The service page sets out the channels, the indicative rates and how the arranged acquiring compares with Stripe, Ziina and Checkout.com.
See the card-payments service
Every route is planned against how the business will actually operate in the UAE.
Licence and approvals
The approval a clinic or a venue needs before the terminal
A clinic needs a health facility licence from its health authority on top of the trade licence; in Dubai that is the DHA. The acquirer expects the licensed activity to match.
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
- Can I get a terminal before the bank account is open?
- Acquirers settle card takings to an account in the company's name, so the settlement account is normally a condition of the merchant agreement. Where the account is still in progress we run the two files together, so the terminal is not the last thing waiting.
- What will the rate be?
- The acquirer prices the merchant after its review of the business: category, ticket size, volume and history all move it. The card-payments page carries the indicative rate on the arranged acquiring; nothing is final until the merchant agreement says so.
- Does a clinic need anything a café does not?
- Yes: a health facility licence from the health authority. In Dubai that is the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), which asks for an engineering layout of the premises and issues an approved application as an inactive licence. The licence must be activated before the clinic can operate, and DHA gives an average processing time of 5 working days for a new facility licence. Outside Dubai, the emirate's own health authority applies. The acquirer expects the licensed activity to fit, so we check that before the application is lodged.
- What happens on a chargeback?
- The cardholder's bank raises the dispute through the card scheme; the acquirer notifies the merchant, asks for evidence and applies its dispute process and fees under the merchant agreement. CBUAE guidance expects acquirers to monitor each merchant's chargebacks and refunds, so a high count draws questions. A clear refund policy, displayed where the customer pays, is the best protection and is part of the readiness work.
- Can the same merchant file take payment links and online orders later?
- Usually, on the same merchant agreement, subject to the acquirer's review of the new channel. The application is prepared with that in mind, so adding a link or a checkout later is an amendment rather than a new file.
Sources
- Central Bank of the UAE, the UAE banking and payments regulator
- CBUAE guidance on customer due diligence, source of funds and wealth
- UAE Ministry of Economy & Tourism: establishing companies
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.
Acquiring runs under a Central Bank of the UAE licence, with pricing and underwriting set out in the merchant agreement; an application may be declined or restricted after review. Velarozone prepares and coordinates and never guarantees an outcome, a rate or a date.