// Payments & e-commerce
Payment gateways in Egypt: Paymob, Fawry and how to choose
//3 min read
Short answer
An Egyptian online store usually combines a card and wallet gateway (such as Paymob), a cash-payment network (such as Fawry) and cash on delivery. The right mix depends on how your customers actually pay, not on which provider is best known.
The ways Egyptian customers pay online
Most stores end up supporting several of these, because different customers trust different methods:
- //Cards — Visa, Mastercard or local cards such as Meeza, accepted through a payment gateway
- //Mobile wallets — for example Vodafone Cash, paid from the customer's phone
- //Cash through a payment network — the customer gets a reference code and pays cash at an outlet or in an app, for example through Fawry
- //Bank transfer or InstaPay — the customer sends money directly; confirmation is manual unless it is integrated
- //Cash on delivery — not a gateway at all: the courier collects the money at the door
What Paymob and Fawry are
Paymob is an Egyptian payment provider that lets merchants accept cards and wallets online. Fawry is an Egyptian electronic-payments network, best known for letting customers pay cash with a reference number, and it also supports other methods.
Both offer more than the one feature they are best known for, and their products and terms change, so treat this as orientation and confirm current offerings on each provider's own site.
Gateway or payment network: the practical difference
With a card or wallet gateway the customer pays at checkout and your store learns the result immediately, so the order can be confirmed on the spot.
With a cash-payment network the customer pays later using a code. Until the payment arrives the order is only pending, so your store needs a rule for how long it holds the stock and when it cancels the order if nobody pays.
How to choose
Compare providers on the things that change your daily operations, not only on the headline fee:
- //Your customers' habits — ask what they already use before deciding what to integrate
- //Settlement time — how many days pass between a customer paying and the money reaching your account
- //Fees — the percentage per transaction, any fixed fee, and whether wallets or instalments cost extra; get it in writing
- //Onboarding — providers usually ask for business registration and tax documents; requirements differ and approval can take time, so ask early
- //Integration — a ready plugin for your platform, or an API, plus a test mode so you can try payments before going live
- //Refunds and disputes — how a full or partial refund is processed and how long it takes
Questions to ask before you sign
These turn a sales conversation into comparable answers:
- //What is the total cost per order for each payment method I want to offer?
- //When exactly do I receive my money, and is there a minimum payout?
- //What documents do you need, and how long does approval usually take?
- //How are refunds and chargebacks handled, and who pays for them?
- //Is there a test environment, and what support do you give during integration?
Cash on delivery still matters
Many Egyptian shoppers still prefer to pay when the order arrives. That is convenient for them but it carries the risk of refused deliveries, which we cover in our guide to reducing cash-on-delivery returns. Orders paid in advance online do not have that risk, which is one reason to offer online payment alongside cash on delivery rather than instead of it.
Where Dekwin fits
Dekwin's online store treats cash on delivery as a first-class option and includes return-risk scoring. If you want a specific gateway connected, mention it when you request a quote so it is included in the scope.