Adding buy now, pay later to your own app (not a store template)

How do you add Tabby and Tamara to your own app?

To add buy now, pay later, such as Tabby and Tamara, to your own app you go through four stages: open a merchant account and get API keys; have your server create a checkout session for each order and send the customer to approve with the provider; receive a webhook confirmation and only then confirm the order; and handle the after-sale steps: capture on shipping, cancellation, and full or partial refunds.

The difference from store platforms is fundamental. On a template store you enable a plugin, paste a key, and the platform does the rest. In your own app, whether it is a custom store, a booking app or a services platform, you decide when an order is confirmed, when money is captured and how refunds work. That is a lot of freedom with real responsibility: one wrong order state can mean shipping a product that was never paid for.

For how the service works for merchants in each market, see Tabby and Tamara for Saudi merchants and Tabby and Tamara in the UAE. Here we focus on implementing it inside your product.

Installments raise the urge to buy, but precise order states are what protect your money.

Directly with the provider or through your gateway?

There are two ways to integrate. The first is to connect directly with each provider through its API. The second is to use a payment gateway that offers buy now, pay later options on its checkout alongside mada and cards. Both are valid; the choice depends on your size and how much control you want.

How does a BNPL payment flow work, step by step?

1. 1
   Show it on the product page

   Display the provider's approved installment message under the price so customers know early that the option exists.

2. 2
   Create the session

   When the customer picks pay later, your server sends the provider the order details: items, amount and currency, shipping, discount, and customer details such as phone number.

3. 3
   Customer approval

   The customer is redirected to the provider's page or popup, signs in and approves a payment plan after the provider assesses eligibility.

4. 4
   Return and confirm

   The customer comes back to your site, but you confirm the order only after the provider's webhook confirms approval.

5. 5
   Capture

   Depending on the provider and your settings, you capture on shipping or it happens automatically. Follow the provider's requirements.

6. 6
   After the sale

   Cancelling before shipping and full or partial refunds after returns are all requests your server sends through the API.

Which order states does your app need?

The costliest mistakes come from vague order states. Give every pay-later order a clear status, and record the provider's transaction id, the authorized amount, the captured amount and the refunded amount. For sound table design, see database design for non-developers.

One important detail: discounts, shipping fees and VAT must be sent to the provider with exactly the same figures that appear on your invoice. Any mismatch, even by a few halalas or fils, can cause a failed capture or a settlement that does not reconcile.

How do you display pay later without breaking the rules?

• Use the official widgets: providers supply ready messages and elements for product, cart and checkout pages, and they are the safest wording.
• Do not promise what the provider decides: eligibility, minimum and maximum amounts and the number of installments are set by the provider, not you.
• Show it where it helps: product page, cart and checkout, especially for higher-priced items such as perfume, electronics and furniture.
• Arabic first: make sure provider messages appear in Arabic on the Arabic interface and lay out correctly right to left.
• Be transparent in your policies: explain on your refund page how refunds work for pay-later orders.

In Saudi Arabia, buy now, pay later providers are licensed by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), and each provider has its own merchant requirements in each market, usually including a registered business. Check current requirements with the provider directly.

Refunds and returns with pay later

When a customer returns something bought with pay later, do not refund them yourself in cash or by bank transfer. Send a refund request to the provider through the API; the provider adjusts the customer's installments or returns what they paid, then deducts the amount from your settlement. A refund outside this path can leave the customer paying installments while also receiving money back, or create a dispute that is hard to untangle.

1. Receive and inspect the returned item according to your policy.
2. Decide the refund amount: the whole order or specific items, with or without shipping as your policy states.
3. Send the refund request from your app's admin dashboard so it reaches the provider through the API.
4. Update the order state and stock, and issue a credit note if your invoicing requires it.
5. Tell the customer on WhatsApp that the refund is done on your side and the provider will update their plan.

For refunds and disputes in the Gulf more broadly, read refunds and chargebacks in the Gulf.

Build it with Fanann: a ready prompt and checklist

The Fanann Agent builds the integration, server logic, order states and admin dashboard, connecting local payment options through the payments page. You own the code completely, so you can review or export it whenever you like.

Pre-launch checklist

• A successful order, a declined-eligibility order and one abandoned mid-approval.
• An order with a discount, a coupon and shipping, with amounts matching the invoice.
• A partial refund of one item, then a refund of the rest.
• A cancellation before shipping, confirming stock is restored.
• Installment messages in Arabic and English on a small phone screen.

If you are thinking of leaving a store platform for your own store, read when a custom store beats Salla.

Frequently asked questions

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