Parents in the UAE can now spread tuition and other education costs over monthly instalments
Parents in the UAE might finally be getting a little breathing room when it comes to school fees.
Tabby has officially stepped into the education payments space through a new partnership with Zenda, meaning families can now split school-related costs into monthly instalments instead of facing one giant payment all at once.
And no, we’re not just talking tuition.
The new setup also covers things like transport, uniforms, extracurricular activities, nurseries, universities, and even professional courses, which, if you’ve ever looked at a school invoice, you’ll know can quietly snowball into a very expensive month.
So, for instance, instead of dropping AED 8,000 to AED 15,000 in one go each term, parents can spread payments over up to 12 months.
That suddenly turns one painful lump sum into smaller monthly amounts that feel a lot more manageable.
And judging by the reaction so far, UAE parents are more than ready for it.
According to Tabby’s own survey, 88 per cent of parents feel financial pressure when school fees roll around, while half struggle to pay the full amount upfront.
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Between tuition, clubs, bus fees, uniforms, lunches, school trips, and everything else that appears on the parent portal, education costs in the UAE can feel endless.
What makes this different from traditional instalment plans is that many schools currently only offer payment flexibility through credit cards.
That automatically cuts out a huge number of families who either don’t use credit cards or simply don’t want to rely on them.
Tabby’s model opens things up to debit card users and people looking for a more transparent short-term payment option.
The service is already live at more than 100 institutions across the UAE, including schools, nurseries, and universities, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi expected to see the biggest uptake first.
And in practical terms, this could genuinely change how families plan their budgets during the school year. Instead of school fees dominating an entire month’s finances, parents can spread costs in a way that feels far more realistic alongside rent, groceries, fuel, and everything else competing for attention.
It may also mean more children may get access to extracurricular activities, clubs, and programmes that families previously had to skip because of upfront costs.
For further information, visit tabby.ai
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