Payment gateway in Pakistan: options, papers and fees

The short answer

A card payment gateway in Pakistan is a contract with a licensed company, and it asks for paperwork: your CNIC, an NTN, a bank account letter, and a website it can review. It is worth doing once you have steady orders and buyers asking to pay by card. Until then, a small store can run on two things that need no gateway: cash on delivery for regular orders, and a Raast, bank or wallet transfer for advances on custom orders.

Stripe and PayPal are not open to Pakistani businesses, and Shopify’s own payments service does not cover Pakistan. Details and sources below, all checked in October 2026.

Four ways to get paid

1. Cash on delivery. The buyer pays the courier, and the courier sends the money to you. No gateway, no card, no wallet needed from the buyer. Your costs are the courier’s charges and the parcels that come back unpaid. Our guide to reducing COD returns covers the second part, and the COD payment cycle covers when each courier pays you and what it takes off first.
2. Raast or bank transfer. Raast is Pakistan’s national instant payment system, run by a State Bank subsidiary: money moves between banks, microfinance banks and wallets in real time, and a phone number can work as the Raast ID. For a seller, it is the cleanest way to take an advance. Give the buyer your Raast ID or account number, wait for the money to land, then start the order.
3. JazzCash or Easypaisa merchant account. A JazzCash Business account opens in its app with a valid CNIC, a live photo and biometric check; JazzCash says more documents may be needed depending on the business. Once approved you get a Raast QR that any bank app or wallet in Pakistan can pay, credited to your JazzCash Business account in real time. Easypaisa has its own merchant account inside the Easypaisa app. Our Urdu guide to the JazzCash business account and Easypaisa merchant account walks through both, with limits and charges.
4. A card payment gateway. This is the checkout box where a buyer types a debit or credit card number, or picks a wallet, on your website. You sign a merchant agreement with a payment company, it checks your business and your site, and it pays out to your bank account after taking its fee. JazzCash runs a payment gateway for websites and Easypaisa lists an online payment gateway; both take merchant enquiries on those pages.

The first three need nothing set up on your website. The fourth does, and it is the only one that lets a stranger pay on your site without messaging you.

Stripe, PayPal and Shopify Payments

These come up in international guides, and none of them works for a business based in Pakistan as of October 2026:

• Stripe. Its Global availability page lists the countries where a business can sign up. India, Malaysia, Thailand and the UAE are on it. Pakistan is not.
• PayPal. Its worldwide country list covers Asia from Armenia to Vietnam, including India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, but not Pakistan.
• Shopify Payments. Shopify’s supported countries page has no Pakistan, and says that if your country is not listed you need a third-party payment provider. So a Shopify store in Pakistan still needs one of the local gateways below, with its own sign-up and its own fee.

Be careful with workarounds that put an account in a relative’s name abroad or use a foreign company you do not run. The account holder is the one the provider deals with when there is a chargeback, a freeze or a tax question, and it will not be you.

Who is licensed to run a gateway

In Pakistan, non-bank payment companies need State Bank approval. The State Bank publishes two lists, both last updated September 2, 2026:

• Payment System Operators and Payment Service Providers. In commercial operations with an e-commerce payment gateway: NIFT, Premier Payfast and Safepay. Paymob (Accept Technologies) has in-principle approval for an e-commerce payment gateway and POS acquiring.
• Electronic Money Institutions. Wallet companies such as NayaPay, SadaPay and Keenu. Of the ones in commercial operations, the list marks Keenu for payment gateway and acquiring services.

JazzCash and Easypaisa are run by microfinance banks rather than listed as PSPs. Banks also sign merchants for card payments directly, so ask the business banking desk at your own bank too. Before you sign with anyone, find their name on the State Bank lists or confirm they are a bank.

What a card gateway asks for

Every gateway sets its own list, but all of them check their merchants under State Bank rules, so the lists look alike. Safepay publishes its list in full, which makes it a good guide to what to prepare. For a sole proprietor, registered or not, its documents page asks for:

• Your CNIC, front and back.
• A bank account maintenance certificate for an account in your name or your business’s name, no more than three months old.
• Your NTN certificate from FBR. If you do not have one, our Urdu guide on how to get an NTN takes you through it.

A private limited company adds its SECP certificate of incorporation, the incorporation form, and the CNICs of all directors and shareholders, with an NTN and bank account in the company’s name. You do not need a company to get a gateway. If you are thinking of forming one anyway, read how to register a company with SECP first.

The papers are half of it. Safepay’s onboarding criteria also include a check of your order history and fulfilment, your business model, and the content of your website. In practice, have these live before you apply:

• A working store with real products, prices in rupees and photos.
• A return and exchange policy, delivery times and charges, and a privacy policy. The store policy generator drafts them, and our guide to a return and exchange policy covers what to promise.
• A contact page with a phone number, email and city.

What it costs

Few gateways publish their rates. Safepay does: its fee breakdown lists 2.9% + Rs 30 per domestic card payment and 3.2% + Rs 30 per international one, exclusive of tax, with no yearly fee, as of October 2026. Its limits page caps one payment at Rs 200,000 and withdrawals to your bank at Rs 1,000,000 a day.

On a Rs 3,000 order, 2.9% + Rs 30 comes to Rs 117 before tax. Put that next to what a COD order costs you in courier charges and returned parcels, using the COD profit calculator, before you decide a gateway saves money.

JazzCash says fees on Raast QR payments are shown inside the app and that limits follow State Bank rules. For JazzCash’s and Easypaisa’s website gateways, PayFast, Paymob, NIFT and bank gateways, the rate depends on your agreement: ask for it in writing, along with the setup fee, the payout time and the charge on a refund or chargeback.

Which one, and when

A path that works for a small store:

1. Start on cash on delivery. A buyer who has never ordered from you risks nothing by paying the rider, and that is often what gets the first order. COD needs no gateway paperwork, so you can take orders on day one.
2. Take advances by transfer. For stitched-to-measure clothes, custom names and bulk orders, ask for an advance by Raast, bank transfer or wallet. Send an invoice from the invoice generator with the amount and your account details, and only start when the money shows in your account, not when a screenshot arrives.
3. Open a JazzCash or Easypaisa merchant account so advances land in a business account with its own history, not your personal one.
4. Add a card gateway when buyers ask for it. If you get regular orders from overseas Pakistanis or buyers who want to pay by card, that is the time to collect the NTN and bank letter and apply.

If you are still choosing where to sell, our guide to the Shopify alternative in Pakistan compares the options on payments and fees.

Building on WordPress? Our guide to WooCommerce in Pakistan covers its built-in cash on delivery and how a gateway plugin adds cards, and Shopify vs WooCommerce in Pakistan compares the fee each one leaves you with on a card or wallet payment.

Questions sellers ask

Which is the best payment gateway in Pakistan?

There is no single best one. For card payments on a website, pick a gateway licensed by the State Bank of Pakistan, compare its fee per order and how fast it pays out, and check that it works with your store. For a small store just starting, cash on delivery plus a Raast or wallet transfer for advances covers most orders without any gateway at all.

Is Stripe available in Pakistan?

Not for Pakistani businesses. Stripe’s own Global availability page lists the countries where a business can open an account, and Pakistan is not on it as of October 2026.

Can I use PayPal in Pakistan?

Not as a Pakistani merchant. PayPal’s worldwide country list does not include Pakistan as of October 2026, so a business based in Pakistan cannot open a PayPal account to take payments.

Do I need an NTN or a registered company for a payment gateway?

For a card gateway, usually yes. Safepay, for example, asks a sole proprietor for a CNIC, a bank account maintenance certificate and an NTN certificate, and a company for its SECP incorporation documents as well. You do not need a company: a sole proprietor can apply. A JazzCash Business account needs only a valid CNIC to start, with more documents depending on the business.

How do I take payment online in Pakistan without a gateway?

Take cash on delivery at checkout, and for advances ask the buyer to send money by Raast, bank transfer or JazzCash or Easypaisa. Raast moves money between bank apps and wallets instantly. Send the buyer an invoice with the amount and your account details, and confirm the money has arrived before you start the order.

Storelala is the Shopify alternative in Pakistan, and buyers pay at checkout by cash on delivery, JazzCash, Easypaisa or card, so there is no payment gateway to apply for and no paperwork before your first order. Your store lives at yourbrand.storelala.com, with no marketplace commission, and you run it from your phone. For custom orders, take the advance by bank or wallet transfer as above. It is free to start, with no card needed. Start your store today.