specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: PayTabs
providerId: paytabs
created: '2026-07-17'
modified: '2026-07-17'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Payments
- Payment Gateway
- MENA
- FinOps
- Cost Management
description: >-
  FinOps view of PayTabs spend. Unlike metered API providers, PayTabs cost is
  driven by payment-acceptance economics: a per-transaction merchant discount
  rate (percentage, sometimes plus a fixed fee) that varies by region, card
  scheme and negotiated volume, optional setup/annual fees, plus operational
  costs from refunds, chargebacks and currency conversion. Settlement currency
  and rate depend on the region host and acquiring setup.
notes: >-
  Pricing is regional and quote-based; there is no single global rate card.
  Model cost against actual per-region MDR and transaction mix during
  reconciliation.
sources:
- https://paytabs.com/en/
- https://ai.paytabs.com/en/payment-gateway-apis/
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: PayTabs
serviceCategory: Payment Processing
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Transaction-Based
  billingFrequency: Per-settlement / Monthly
  billingCurrency: Regional (SAR, AED, EGP, USD, etc.)
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
  - Purchase
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: PayTabs PT2
  ServiceCategory: Payment Processing
  ProviderName: PayTabs
  PublisherName: PayTabs
  InvoiceIssuerName: PayTabs
  BillingCurrency: Regional
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Transaction-Based
meters:
- name: transaction_fee
  description: Merchant discount rate charged per successful transaction (percentage; region/scheme/volume dependent).
  unit: transactions
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - profile
  - region
  - method
- name: fixed_transaction_fee
  description: Optional fixed per-transaction fee added to the MDR in some markets.
  unit: transactions
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - profile
  - region
- name: refunds
  description: Refunded transactions; may not recover the original processing fee.
  unit: transactions
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - profile
  - region
- name: chargebacks
  description: Disputed transactions incurring chargeback handling costs.
  unit: transactions
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - profile
  - region
- name: setup_fee
  description: One-time onboarding/setup fee where applicable.
  unit: account
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - region
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Pull transaction, refund and chargeback reports per profile/region from the PayTabs dashboard.
- name: Allocation
  description: Tag transactions with cart_id and udf fields to map spend to internal orders/cost centers.
- name: Optimization
  description: Negotiate MDR against volume; reduce chargebacks with 3DS2; use the correct region host to avoid FX and failed-auth costs.
- name: Accountability
  description: Review effective take-rate (fees / gross volume) per region monthly against forecast.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com