It's tempting to assume that adding a card payment gateway automatically makes a seller's page more "professional." In practice, for most sellers reaching customers through Instagram and TikTok across the Arab world, it does the opposite — it adds a step buyers don't trust yet.
The real trade-off
Card payment removes the "will they actually deliver" risk for the seller, but adds a "will this small account actually deliver" risk for the buyer. Cash on delivery flips that: buyers commit instantly because there's no financial risk until the product is in their hands, but a seller needs a way to filter out fake or joke orders.
The strongest setup for most sellers isn't choosing one over the other — it's cash on delivery as the default, with an OTP-verified order form so every COD order is confirmed by a real phone number before it ever reaches your fulfillment queue. That's the exact model Linkaty's product blocks are built around, and it's why COD-first pages consistently see fewer abandoned carts than card-only checkouts in this market.
If you're deciding how to set up your own page, start with cash on delivery. Add card payment later only if your specific audience is actually asking for it, not because it "looks" more professional.