Tamara

In Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030 is driving a profound wave of digital transformation. A population with 73% of the people within the prime consumption age band of 15–64, and an internet penetration of 99% have laid the foundation for a young, dynamic, and rapidly expanding e-commerce market. By 2025, the market is projected to exceed USD 16.5 billion, with annual online spending per capita reaching USD 1,370. In a market defined by digitalisation, payment is not the endpoint of a transaction, but acts as a catalyst for the consumer journey.

Among the payment methods that are gaining traction, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is rapidly winning over young consumers. Data shows that one-third of Saudis have registered for BNPL services, and more than half have used them for purchases. Within this space, Tamara has quickly emerged as one of the two leading players in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) since its launch in late 2020. Its differentiation lies in going beyond a simple instalment tool to build a comprehensive ecosystem that integrates payments, product discovery, and customer loyalty.

Tamara's value stems from its deep alignment with the Saudi consumer market. With over 14 million users, which is equivalent to one in every three GCC adults, it offers merchants direct access to a broad and youthful customer base. Its Pay in Full feature ensures transactions can still be completed even when consumers lack sufficient credit limits, helping cross-border merchants increase payment success rates by around 10% while significantly shortening refund cycles. More importantly, Tamara goes beyond payments to actively drive merchant growth. Through built-in shopping catalogues, marketing solutions, and cashback programmes, it helps merchants acquire customers, boost repeat purchases, and strengthen loyalty, delivering sustained momentum for both revenue growth and cost optimisation.

Therefore, integrating Tamara is a key step towards tapping into Saudi Arabia's fast-growing digital commerce ecosystem. It is not just a payment option, but also a strategic partner that empowers end-to-end merchant growth.

Properties

The following table lists the product properties supported by Tamara:

User experience

Note: The following payment flows on different terminals are for reference only. For supported merchants' terminal types, consult Antom Technical Support.

The following screenshots show the journey of paying with Tamara:

1. The buyer selects Tamara to pay.

2. The buyer is redirected to Tamara's mobile browser payment page and logs in with the phone number.

3. The buyer enters the OTP PIN to continue payment.

4. The buyer enters the 6-digit authentication code, which is sent to the mobile number registered to Tamara, to complete the payment.

5. The buyer is redirected to the merchant's result page.

FAQ

What are the most immediate benefits of integrating the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) scheme for merchants?

BNPL delivers measurable gains in both revenue and cost efficiency. Merchants typically see higher average order values, an uplift of around 15% in online conversion rates, and up to 50% increase in repeat purchases within the same year. At the same time, it helps streamline operations by reducing cash-on-delivery orders by 35–50%, lowering refund-related costs by 10–20%, and decreasing customer acquisition costs.

Why should merchants integrate Tamara?

The core value of Tamara lies in unlocking incremental sales and increasing basket size. While debit cards remain widely used in Saudi Arabia, they are constrained by available account balances. Tamara's credit offering unlocks consumers' purchasing power, encouraging higher-value and more frequent transactions, particularly among young shoppers. This is especially important in high-demand categories such as fashion, beauty, and consumer electronics. Beyond payments, Tamara also functions as a shopping platform with its own traffic and marketing capabilities, offering merchants additional exposure and tools to build customer loyalty—an ecosystem advantage traditional payment methods cannot provide.

Why is Tamara so popular?

Tamara's success is rooted in a precise understanding of the Saudi market. The country is young and advancing rapidly in digitalisation, yet credit card penetration rate remains relatively low. Tamara's flexible BNPL model directly addresses the needs of consumers (73% of whom are aged 15–64) by helping them manage cash flow while accessing higher-value products. By integrating payments with product discovery and rewards programmes, Tamara has positioned itself not merely as a payment tool, but as an integral part of everyday consumer behaviour.

How does Tamara's Pay in Full feature improve payment success rates by around 10% for cross-border merchants?

In addition to instalment options, Tamara offers a Pay in Full feature that allows transactions to proceed even when a consumer's credit limit is insufficient. Designed for cross-border scenarios, this feature mitigates common issues associated with international card payments, such as authorisation failures or credit constraints. By providing a seamless fallback option, it prevents transaction drop-offs at checkout, ultimately increasing overall payment success rates by approximately 10%.

Tamara is described as a "shopping platform". What does this mean for merchants' day-to-day operations?

This means Tamara goes beyond payments to offer a full consumer ecosystem, including shopping catalogues, marketing solutions, and loyalty programmes. For brands seeking deeper localisation, integrating Tamara can help them tap into additional product exposure, leverage targeted marketing channels, and use incentives such as cashback rewards to boost repeat purchases. This provides them with a compelling "payments + marketing" value proposition in the Saudi market. For more information, please contact our Antom payment experts.

What is Tamara's prospect in light of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and e-commerce growth?

Vision 2030 continues to drive economic diversification and financial inclusion, creating a supportive environment for BNPL adoption. By 2029, Saudi Arabia's e-commerce market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 10%, with BNPL accounting for an increasing share of transactions. With its first-mover advantage, large user base, and platform-driven ecosystem, Tamara is well positioned to capitalise on these trends and further strengthen its role in Saudi Arabia's evolving payments landscape.

Integrate Tamara via Antom today to capitalise on the rapidly growing e-commerce development in Saudi Arabia.