Taking cards online in the Gulf usually means a payment gateway account, a set of keys, and a webhook that tells your system the payment went through. Get the webhook wrong and a customer can pay while the order still shows unpaid. Stripe is one of the gateways many UAE businesses already hold an account with, and Wink You connects to it directly.
Where Stripe works in Wink You
- Card payments at your online store checkout.
- Card payments on the QR Digital Menu, when QR self ordering is on for your restaurant.
- Full and partial refunds from Payments, sent back to the customer's card through Stripe.
The Stripe card lists the currencies you can pick for it: USD, EUR, GBP, AED and SAR. The money goes straight into your own Stripe account and is paid out on Stripe's schedule. Wink You does not hold it. The Stripe you connect here is your own account, separate from your Wink You subscription.
How to connect Stripe
- In Business Admin, open Payment Methods and click Connect on Stripe.
- Pick the Currency, for example AED for a UAE business, and the Mode: Test while you try it, Live for real payments.
- Paste the secret key from your Stripe dashboard into Secret Key (sk_...). Not the publishable key: a key starting with pk_ is refused.
- Switch it On and click Save. Wink You creates the webhook in your Stripe account for you, with every event it needs, and stores its signing secret.
- Click Check webhook to confirm the webhook is there and sends every event in the list.
For Stripe the key decides the mode: an sk_test_ key always runs as test and an sk_live_ key as live, whatever the Mode box says. Test cards only work with a test key. A restricted key is accepted. You may be asked to confirm it is you with your password, passkey or two factor code before the key is saved, and by default only the business owner can open Payment Methods.
The Stripe webhook check
If someone edits the webhook in Stripe later and drops an event, payments can stop showing in Wink You. The Stripe panel lists the four events it needs: checkout.session.completed, checkout.session.async_payment_succeeded, payment_intent.succeeded and payment_intent.payment_failed. Check webhook marks each one sent or missing and tells you what to fix. To repair it, make sure Stripe is switched On and click Save again, and Wink You creates a fresh webhook. Without a working webhook a paid order is still confirmed by a background check, but it can take a few minutes.
Refunds through Stripe
Open Payments, find the payment, choose Refund and keep Original Method to send it back to the card. Lower the Refund Amount for a partial refund, then click Confirm Refund. A card refund can take a few days to reach the customer. If Stripe never answers about a refund, the payment shows a warning so you check the Stripe dashboard instead of refunding twice. Online store returns use the same path when you mark a return Refunded.
What is not included
- A different Stripe account per branch from the app. One account per provider serves the whole business.
- Card machine payments at the till. Those go through your card machine provider.
Test before you go live
Start with Mode set to Test and an sk_test_ key from Stripe. Place a few orders on your own store or QR menu with Stripe test cards and check that each one shows as paid in Orders. When everything looks right, paste your sk_live_ key and save. Remember that a customer cannot pay a real order while you are in test mode, and that changing the mode deletes nothing: saved keys stay until you replace them.
Stripe alongside other ways to pay
Stripe sits under Card and wallet payments on the Payment Methods page, and Tabby and Tamara sit under Buy now, pay later. You can switch on as many as you like, and the bar at the top shows how many are connected and switched on. Cash on delivery for the online store is a separate switch in your store settings, not on this page.
Who can change it, and from where
By default only the business owner can open Payment Methods, through the Payment gateways and payout accounts permission, so a branch manager does not see it. The Check webhook button is shown only to the business owner, and only after a secret key is saved. The same webhook list and button are also in the Wink You Business app on iPhone and Android, under Payment methods, Stripe, so you can check it from your phone. Your secret key is never shown or sent back by the check.
Frequently asked questions
How do I connect Stripe to my online store in the UAE?
Open Payment Methods, click Connect on Stripe, choose AED and Live, paste your sk_live_ secret key, switch it On and save. Then click Check webhook.
Why don't shoppers see card payment at checkout?
Stripe must show Active, with the key saved and switched On, and its currency must match your store's main currency. Reload the store after saving.
Can I use Stripe with another gateway?
Yes. Every provider you switch On is offered to customers if it supports the branch currency, for example Stripe plus Tabby.
Get started
Online payments are part of winkyou.com/products/payments and power checkout on winkyou.com/products/online-store. The setup video at winkyou.com/support/settings-and-account/how-to-set-payment-methods uses Stripe as its example, and winkyou.com/support/orders/how-to-refund-an-order shows refunds.