How to Accept KNET Payments Online: Gateways, Fees & Setup

To accept KNET online, you need a Kuwaiti business, a Kuwaiti bank account and a payment gateway licensed by the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK).

The gateway does the hard part. It connects KNET to your store, and KNET payouts arrive in your bank in dinars, usually the next business day.

Why bother? KNET is the card most Kuwaitis carry, so adding it is the single biggest upgrade you can make to a Kuwaiti checkout.

Below, you'll see who can get KNET, which gateways offer it, what it costs and how to set it up on Shopify, Salla, Zid or WooCommerce. For the full picture of how Kuwaitis pay, see our guide to payment methods in Kuwait.

What is KNET and how does it work online?

KNET is Kuwait's national debit network, run by the Shared Electronic Banking Services Company since 1992. Every KNET card is a local debit card from a member bank.

Online, KNET works as a redirect. The shopper picks KNET at checkout, lands on KNET's secure payment page, pays and returns to your thank-you page.

That page changed on 5 June 2026. Shoppers used to choose their bank from a list first. Now they type their card number straight in, which is quicker and gives fewer drop-offs.

If your checkout screenshots or help pages still mention picking a bank, update them.

Who can accept KNET payments?

Any business with a Kuwaiti commercial licence and a Kuwaiti bank account can. You don't apply to KNET itself.

Instead, you go through one of two doors:

• A CBK-licensed payment gateway. MyFatoorah, Tap, UPayments and Hesabe are the best-known. They onboard you in days and give you plugins for your store.
• Your own Kuwaiti bank. KNET member banks can set you up as a merchant directly. Global platforms like Mastercard Gateway reach KNET this way.

Either way, the money settles only to a local bank account. CBK rules require it.

What will the gateway ask for? Expect your commercial licence, the owner's Civil ID, a bank letter with your IBAN and a store with clear prices, a refund policy and contact details.

No Kuwaiti company? Jump to notes for foreign companies below.

Which payment gateways offer KNET?

Every major Kuwaiti gateway offers KNET, along with Visa, Mastercard and Apple Pay. The differences are price, platform plugins and how fast they approve you.

What a KNET payment really costs

Published tariffs look similar until you add the fixed fee. On a typical KD 15 order, it decides almost everything.

At MyFatoorah's list price, that order costs you about 3.2%. At Hesabe's ceiling, it's closer to 6%.

UPayments offers two KNET options: the rate in the chart, or a flat 250 fils per payment. The percentage option is cheaper on orders up to KD 30, and the flat fee wins above that.

Either way, UPayments is cheapest per payment, but it charges KD 250 upfront.

At 200 KNET orders a month, you'd save KD 60 against MyFatoorah's list price. On the flat fee, the saving is KD 45. So the setup fee pays for itself in four to six months.

On Shopify, add the platform's own fee: 2% on Basic, or KD 0.300 on this order.

Tap and Checkout.com quote per merchant, so ask for KNET and credit cards priced on separate lines.

How to set up KNET, step by step

Most sellers go live in one to three weeks. The wait is approval, not the technical work.

1

Prepare your documents

Kuwaiti commercial licence, the owner's Civil ID, a bank letter with your IBAN, and a live store with KWD prices, a refund policy and contact details.

2

Apply to two gateways

Apply online and ask for KNET by name in your first message. Request a written rate card with KNET, Apple Pay and credit cards on separate lines.

3

Pass verification

The gateway checks your licence, bank account and website. Missing or unclear documents are the main cause of delays.

4

Connect your store

Install the gateway's plugin or app and paste in your API keys. Start in the sandbox, which UPayments and most others offer free.

5

Switch on KNET and Apple Pay

Enable both in the gateway dashboard. For Apple Pay, verify your domain through the gateway.

6

Run a live test

Pay with a real KNET card on a phone, check you land on your thank-you page, then refund it.

KNET on Shopify, Salla, Zid and WooCommerce

Each platform reaches KNET through a gateway, never on its own. Pick the gateway that fits your platform first.

Shopify is the most common choice for Kuwaiti brands. Our guide to Shopify in Kuwait covers the rest of the store setup.

Three-decimal prices and refunds

KNET charges in Kuwaiti dinars, and the dinar has three decimals. A price of KD 4.950 is sent to most gateways as 4950 fils.

Test this early. A plugin built for two-decimal currencies can round KD 4.950 to KD 4.95, or charge ten times too much. Our guide to pricing in three-decimal currencies covers rounding and partial refunds.

Refunds work differently from credit cards too:

• Refunds go back through the gateway. Checkout.com supports full and partial KNET refunds to the original card.
• There are no chargebacks. KNET has no dispute process like Visa's, so a clear refund policy matters even more.
• There's no recurring billing. For subscriptions, take the first payment by KNET and renewals by credit card, or send a payment link each cycle.

Put the refund time your gateway gives you on your returns page, so shoppers know when to expect their money.

Common KNET problems and how to fix them

Most KNET issues show up in the first week, and nearly all of them are quick fixes. Here are the ones to watch:

• The shopper pays but the order shows as failed. The redirect back to your store broke, often on mobile. Check your return URL, and make sure your store listens for the gateway's webhook, not just the redirect.
• Orders stuck on "pending". A KNET payment can sit as pending until the gateway confirms it. Let the webhook update the order instead of cancelling it.
• The amount is wrong. Your plugin is sending two decimals instead of three. Fix the currency setting before you go live.
• Big orders get declined. Each bank sets its own daily KNET limit. Offer a credit card or a split payment for large baskets.
• KNET is missing at checkout. It's usually a separate approval. Ask your gateway to switch it on for your merchant account.

Keep a second gateway approved, too. If one has an outage on a busy weekend, you can switch over in minutes.

KNET go-live checklist

Notes for foreign companies

KNET is built for Kuwaiti merchants, so a company without a Kuwaiti licence has fewer routes. Marketplaces and regional gateways are the usual bridges, and our Kuwait payments guide covers them by entity country.

Two KNET-specific routes are worth adding:

• Partner with a Kuwaiti company. A distributor or agent sells in its own name and takes KNET for you, often through payment links at first.
• Open a Kuwaiti entity. Once your Kuwaiti sales justify it, it unlocks every local gateway, including the cheapest KNET tariffs. See ecommerce rules in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.

Ready to compare providers? Browse our directory of payment gateway providers, or let us match you.