Sales
Buy Now, Pay Later on WhatsApp: Selling with Tabby and Tamara Payment Links in the Gulf
In the UAE and Saudi Arabia many shoppers expect to split a purchase into instalments. Here is how a Tabby or Tamara link works inside a WhatsApp conversation, what can make a checkout fail, and how to connect both in MonoChat.
MonoChat Team Updated: 6 min read
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A shopper in Dubai or Riyadh is looking at a AED 1,800 sofa or a SAR 2,500 phone in a WhatsApp chat. Sending a card payment link works, but many Gulf shoppers expect another choice: split the price into instalments. If the chat cannot offer it, some of them leave to find a shop that can.
Two providers cover most of this in the Gulf, Tabby and Tamara. Both are buy now, pay later (BNPL) services, and both can be sent as a checkout link inside the conversation. This guide explains how that works in practice, what to check before you offer it, and how to connect both in MonoChat.
What Tabby and Tamara offer
| Tabby | Tamara | |
|---|---|---|
| What the shopper gets | Pay in instalments; Tabby’s site also lists pay next month | Pay over time; Tamara’s Saudi page says “up to 24 months” |
| Countries (provider’s own pages) | UAE and Saudi Arabia | UAE and Saudi Arabia; the country picker also lists Kuwait and Bahrain |
| Currencies MonoChat accepts | AED, SAR | SAR, AED, BHD, KWD, OMR |
| Merchant’s side | Paid by the provider; the shopper pays the provider over time | Paid by the provider; the shopper pays the provider over time |
Tabby’s business page describes “pay in 4” as splitting a purchase into four interest-free payments, longer plans of up to 12 payments, and payment links for selling on social media or WhatsApp. Plans, limits and fees are set by the providers and change, so read your own merchant agreement before you promise a customer a plan in the chat.
Why the chat is a good place for BNPL
BNPL works best at the moment a customer hesitates over the price, and in WhatsApp that moment is visible: “It is a bit more than I planned.” A reply that offers instalments, with a link that opens the provider’s own checkout, answers the doubt without a discount.
- Higher-ticket items: furniture, electronics, jewellery, dental and beauty packages, courses, car services.
- Orders agreed in chat: the price is settled in the conversation, so the link carries the same total the customer saw.
- Customers who are not on your website: they came from an Instagram DM, a click-to-WhatsApp ad or a QR code, and have no cart.
Keep the rest of your payment options in the chat too: a normal card link, bank transfer, cash on delivery. See how to accept payments on WhatsApp for the full set and the rules around card data.
How a BNPL link works in the conversation
- The order is agreed. The customer and your agent, or your AI agent, settle the items and the total.
- MonoChat creates a checkout. It sends the provider the amount, currency, the customer’s name, phone number, email, address and the order lines. The customer’s phone number is required by both providers.
- The provider answers. With Tamara you get a checkout link. With Tabby you get a checkout link unless Tabby rejects the order, for example because the amount is outside what it accepts or the customer does not qualify.
- The customer opens the link, signs in or registers with the provider and picks a plan. The provider’s checkout handles the identity and credit decision, not your business and not WhatsApp.
- The provider notifies MonoChat. The order is marked paid, and a workflow can send the confirmation message and update the order.
Your business never sees the customer’s card or instalment details, the same as any hosted checkout.
What can go wrong, and what to say
| What happens | Why | What your agent can say |
|---|---|---|
| No checkout is created | The currency is not supported: Tabby takes AED and SAR, Tamara takes SAR, AED, BHD, KWD and OMR | Offer a card link, or quote the order in a supported currency |
| No checkout is created | The customer has no phone number on the conversation | Ask for the mobile number, then try again |
| Tabby is “not available” for this order | The provider’s own decision for the customer or order | Offer another payment method; do not argue the decision |
| The amount is too low or too high for Tabby | The provider’s limits for the plan | Split the order, or use another method |
| A customer asks for a refund | MonoChat’s connections do not issue refunds | Refund from the provider’s merchant dashboard |
The point of the messages is the same each time: a clear alternative in the same chat, so the sale is not lost.
Connecting Tabby and Tamara in MonoChat
MonoChat added both in its 26 October 2026 release, together with eight other Gulf and regional payment systems. Connect them under Settings › Payment › Payment Systems.
- Tabby: your secret key, your merchant code and the region, UAE or Saudi Arabia.
- Tamara: your API token, your notification token and the country of your account.
- Your own account: you connect your own provider account and keys, and the money is settled under your agreement with the provider. MonoChat does not hold it.
- Checks on the payment: the provider’s notification is verified before an order is marked paid. For Tabby, MonoChat also checks the order reference, currency and amount against the payment it fetches from Tabby.
- Both next to your card provider. You can keep several payment systems in one workspace, for example one per currency, and mark one as the default.
From there it works like every other payment link in MonoChat: the link is created from the conversation, by an agent or by a workflow, and paid or failed events can start the next step, such as a confirmation message or a reminder for an unpaid order. The payment integrations page lists what the payment side covers, and MonoChat in the UAE shows the local setup. Quote the customer’s total in the currency of the order; MonoChat’s own plans are billed in USD.
Before you switch it on
- Open the provider’s merchant account. You need your own Tabby or Tamara merchant account and its keys before you can connect it. MonoChat cannot open it for you.
- Test with a small order. Use the provider’s test mode if it offers one, and check the whole path: link, checkout, paid notification, confirmation message.
- Write the offer carefully. Say that the instalments are the provider’s service and its terms apply. Do not promise approval.
- Put the total in the message. The customer should see the same amount and currency in the chat and on the provider’s page.
- Tell your team. Agents should know the three reasons a checkout fails and the refund route.
If you sell in the UAE, our guide to the WhatsApp Business API in the UAE covers the channel side, and abandoned cart and order update messages cover what to send before and after the payment. You can start on the free Basic plan at app.monochat.ai and compare plans on the pricing page.
Sources
- Tabby documentation, overview (docs.tabby.ai) (opened 27 Oct 2026)
- Tabby for business (tabby.ai) (opened 27 Oct 2026)
- Tamara documentation index (docs.tamara.co) (opened 27 Oct 2026)
- Tamara Saudi Arabia (tamara.co) (opened 27 Oct 2026)
- MonoChat changelog, v3.8.36, 26 Oct 2026 (opened 27 Oct 2026)
Put this into practice with MonoChat