Connect availability in the UAE

Our Connect product is a powerful API and set of tools used to route payments between a business, customers, and recipients who need to get paid. It powers payments for business models like marketplaces and software platforms.

There are certain restrictions on Connect for Stripe UAE that you should be aware of:

We currently support the following configurations of Connect for UAE users:

Foreign platform with UAE connected accounts UAE platform with UAE connected accounts
Standard Connect Available only with:
- Direct charges
- Destination charges with the on_behalf_of parameter
Available with all charge types
Express Connect Connected accounts in this case can have the card_payments capability.

This means the following charge types are available:
- Direct charges
- Destination charges with the on_behalf_of parameter

The UAE connected account must be VAT registered.
- Exception for platforms on IC+ pricing whose connected accounts do not need to be VAT registered
Connected accounts in this case can only have the transfers capability; they cannot have the card_payments capability at this time.

This means the following charges types are available:
- Destination charges without the on_behalf_of parameter
- Separate charges and transfers
Custom Connect Connected accounts in this case can have the card_payments capability.

This means the following charge types are available:
- Direct charges
- Destination charges with the on_behalf_of parameter

The UAE connected account must be VAT registered.
- Exception for platforms on IC+ pricing whose connected accounts do not need to be VAT registered
Connected accounts in this case can only have the transfers capability; they cannot have the card_payments capability at this time.

This means the following charges types are available:
- Destination charges without the on_behalf_of parameter
- Separate charges and transfers

We only support the following business types creating a connected account:

Any connect account holders will need to provide a valid trade license issued within the UAE as part of the verification process - as a result, we don't currently support individuals without a license signing up for a connected account.

Helpful resources for Connect in the UAE