In Saudi Arabia, most online shoppers pay with mada, so a store that only takes international cards loses sales on day one. The good news is that mada does not need a custom integration: gateways such as Moyasar, HyperPay, Tap and PayTabs give you a checkout that already supports it.
This guide walks through the steps in order, so you know what to prepare before you ask Uttra to wire it into your site.
Open an account with a payment gateway licensed in your market, switch on mada, Visa and Mastercard, test in sandbox mode, then go live. You never handle card numbers yourself: the gateway's hosted checkout does.
Choose a gateway that supports mada
Not every international gateway supports mada, and support can differ by country. Before you commit, check that the provider lists mada for your business type and that it settles in SAR.
- Confirm mada, Visa and Mastercard are all supported for merchants in your country.
- Check whether Apple Pay and local wallets are included or need a separate request.
- Read the current fee table and settlement schedule on the provider's own page: these change.
- Look for hosted checkout or payment links, which keep card data off your site.
Prepare your documents
Gateways verify the business before activating live payments. Expect to provide a commercial registration or freelance document, an IBAN for settlements, an ID, and your website address. Your site should already show prices, a refund policy, contact details and terms, because reviewers look for them.
If you are registered for VAT (15% in Saudi Arabia), show your VAT number and make sure prices and invoices follow ZATCA e-invoicing rules. Ask your accountant, since requirements are updated regularly.
Build the checkout and test it
Start in the gateway's sandbox. You receive test keys and test card numbers, so you can run successful and failed payments without moving real money. With Uttra you can describe it in plain words, for example: “Add a checkout page that sends the cart total in SAR to my payment gateway, shows a success page after payment and a clear error if it fails.”
Paste your test keys into the project's secrets, never into the page code. Then check the preview with a successful payment, a declined card, and a cancelled payment.
Go live safely
When approval arrives, swap the test keys for live keys and make one small real payment yourself. Then confirm the order status updates and that you receive the confirmation you expect.
- Publish on your own domain with HTTPS so customers trust the page.
- Set up a webhook so the order is marked paid even if the customer closes the tab.
- Keep a refund process written down before the first sale.