Practical ideas for better property management.

Rent collection works best when the payment path is simple: the tenant taps a link, pays with a familiar local method, and the payment lands in your agency's merchant account with a clean audit trail. In the GCC, that path should run through a payment gateway licensed in the country where the rent is collected.

Start with the licence, not the checkout button

A licensed gateway is authorised within the national payments framework. Maktabi's payments page describes payments as moving through a regulated, government-supervised channel rather than an informal transfer. That gives you three operational benefits: tenants pay with methods they already trust, finance gets a verifiable transaction trail, and your team spends less time matching screenshots to rent cycles.

The GCC licence map

Maktabi lists support for six GCC markets and names the central monetary authority for each. The table reflects the authorities and methods listed on its payments page.

Market	Central monetary authority	Methods listed
Saudi Arabia	Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)	MADA, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay, STC Pay
UAE	Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)	Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Kuwait	Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK)	KNET, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Bahrain	Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB)	Benefit, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Qatar	Qatar Central Bank (QCB)	Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Oman	Central Bank of Oman (CBO)	OmanNet, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Apple Pay, Google Pay

Available methods depend on your country and your gateway account configuration. Maktabi says it automatically offers only methods approved for your country.

Your account receives the money

The key question is not which button the tenant presses. It is whose account receives the money. Maktabi states that it is not a payment company: it does not hold funds, take a platform cut, or add a layer between your agency and your money. You register directly with a licensed gateway, own the merchant account, and connect it using API keys. You negotiate transaction fees directly with your gateway. Maktabi says it does not add a percentage or take a cut of rent collection. Test mode lets you run a payment before you go live.

From payment link to paid rent cycle

Maktabi's payments page describes the loop in five steps:

1. Connect your licensed gateway and choose test or live mode.
2. Generate a payment link for a tenant, landlord, or external recipient.
3. The tenant pays through a hosted checkout using an approved local method.
4. The gateway sends a webhook, Maktabi verifies the transaction, marks the rent cycle as paid, and stops pending reminders.
5. A ZATCA-compliant invoice is generated and synced to Zoho Books.

The tenant does not need to install an app or register.

Where WhatsApp and AI reduce manual work

Maktabi's collection page describes four automated WhatsApp reminders per rent cycle: before due, on the due date, overdue, and a landlord transfer notice. When a tenant replies, AI classifies the intent. If the tenant sends a bank transfer receipt, AI reads the amount, date, and reference and matches it to the open rent cycle. If the tenant pays online, the gateway webhook confirms the payment. Either way, your team handles exceptions instead of routine chasing.

Keep the invoice in the same loop

For Saudi agencies, invoicing is part of collection, not a back-office afterthought. Maktabi's e-invoicing page says every confirmed rent payment triggers a ZATCA Phase 2 e-invoice with a VAT breakdown, QR code, Arabic customer name, and automatic Zoho Books sync. The page describes tax modes for VAT-registered, non-VAT, zero-rated, and exempt agencies. Confirm your own tax treatment with your adviser. Operationally, the benefit is simple: invoice creation follows payment confirmation instead of waiting in a manual queue.

Choose a gateway with these checks

• Licence and jurisdiction: confirm the provider is authorised for the services and market you need.
• Settlement: know which account receives funds, in which currency, and on what timetable.
• Fees: compare gateway pricing, not just the headline rate; ask about refunds, disputes, and chargebacks.
• Method coverage: check that the local methods your tenants use are enabled for your merchant account.
• Integration: confirm hosted checkout, payment links, webhooks, and unique transaction references.
• Reconciliation: ask how settlements and fees appear in reports.
• Support and exit: check test mode, dispute support, and contract terms.

Confirm what is live for your agency

Exact availability matters. Maktabi's payments page says the payment layer is designed to support multiple licensed gateways as it expands to more GCC providers. Its published plan details list online payment links and payment gateway integration under the Business plan. Before you tell tenants a method is live, confirm the gateway, country coverage, plan entitlement, and contract terms for your agency.

Launch checklist

1. Map each rent cycle to a payment reference.
2. Test the full path: link, checkout, webhook, rent-cycle update, invoice, and accounting sync.
3. Set reminder timing around the payment link.
4. Train collections staff on failed payments, duplicates, and part payments.
5. Reconcile daily during the first month.
6. Review settlement reports against open rent cycles weekly.

Bottom line

Licensed gateways give GCC property teams a cleaner path from due date to paid rent: local payment methods, direct settlement to your merchant account, automatic confirmation, and compliant invoicing. Maktabi's model is to connect your own gateway and automate the work around it—WhatsApp reminders, AI reconciliation, ZATCA invoices, and landlord updates. Start with your market's licensing requirements, test end to end, and confirm the exact gateway and plan available to you.