New findings highlight how education costs are weighing on families, as fintech firms expand ‘pay later’ options into schools across the UAE
Education costs continue to burden UAE households, with 88% of parents reporting financial strain when school fees are due, according to a survey by a financial services app.
The study by Tabby, based on responses from 2,814 parents, found that half struggle to pay fees upfront in a single instalment. Nine in ten said flexible payment options would help their children take part in more activities by allowing costs to be broken into monthly instalments.
Tabby has announced a deeper push into the education sector through a partnership with school fee platform Zenda. The aim is to make tuition and other education-related costs more manageable through structured instalment plans.
Families can spread payments for tuition, transport, extracurricular activities, and other school expenses over up to 12 months. The companies highlight that there are no hidden fees.
The survey also showed a strong appetite for such solutions, with 97 per cent of parents indicating they would likely use a school-offered flexible payment option.
Tabby says it is already working with more than 100 educational institutions across the UAE, including schools such as Amity School Dubai, Sharjah University, other varsities, nurseries, and professional training centres.
As schools seek to improve fee collection systems, the partnership aims to integrate payment flexibility into existing infrastructure. This reduces delays and gives institutions more predictable cash flow.
For parents, the goal is to move away from large upfront payments toward structured plans that fit monthly budgets.
Explaining the approach, Zarik Nabi, Chief Commercial Officer at Tabby, said families are already juggling education expenses and making compromises to keep up.
“Families across the UAE are already doing the work of managing education costs carefully, moving money around, planning ahead and making trade-offs,” said Zarik Nabi, Chief Commercial Officer at Tabby.
“We’re giving schools the infrastructure to make that easier for parents, and giving parents a way to stay in control without the pressure of paying everything at once.”
From the school side, it’s said, the partnership is designed to simplify fee collection and administrative processes, while offering parents more transparent and flexible options.
Haseeb Ahmed, Co-Founder of Zenda, said the platform is focused on streamlining the “last-mile” of education payments for institutions.
“Schools partner with Zenda to take the friction out of their last-mile transaction handling — fee collection, automated schedules, reconciliation, trips and more — on a single platform parents trust,” said Haseeb Ahmed, Co-Founder of Zenda. “Adding Tabby gives families more choice and flexibility”
© Khaleej Times
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