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 place pressure on households across the UAE, with 88 per cent of parents reporting financial strain when school fees are due, according to a survey conducted by financial services app Tabby.
The study, based on responses from 2,814 parents, found that half of families struggle to pay school fees upfront in a single instalment. Nine in ten parents said flexible payment options would help their children participate in more activities by allowing costs to be divided into monthly instalments.
Flexible School Payment Plans Gain Traction
Tabby has announced a deeper move into the education sector through a partnership with Zenda, a school fee payment platform. The partnership aims to make tuition fees and other education-related costs more manageable through structured instalment plans.
Families will be able to spread payments for tuition, transport, extracurricular activities and other school expenses over up to 12 months. The companies said the plans come with no hidden fees. The survey also highlighted strong demand for such services, with 97 per cent of parents saying they would likely use a flexible payment option offered by their child’s school.
Tabby says it is already working with more than 100 educational institutions across the UAE, including Amity School Dubai, University of Sharjah, nurseries, universities and professional training centres.
Making School Payments More Manageable
As schools continue looking for ways to improve fee collection systems, the partnership aims to integrate payment flexibility into existing infrastructure. This is expected to reduce delays and provide institutions with more predictable cash flow. For parents, the goal is to move away from large upfront payments towards structured plans that align with monthly household budgets.
Explaining the approach, Zarik Nabi, Chief Commercial Officer at Tabby, said families are already juggling education expenses and making compromises to keep up. Zarik Nabi, Chief Commercial Officer at Tabby said,
“Families across the UAE are already doing the work of managing education costs carefully, moving money around, planning ahead and making trade-offs. 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.”
Schools Look to Reduce Payment Friction
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. Adding Tabby gives families more choice and flexibility.”
From the school side, the partnership is designed to simplify fee collection and administrative processes while offering parents more transparent and flexible options.
To know more about Tabby and Zenda, please visit
Further Reading
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