10 Best Happay Alternatives In The UAE In 2026

Expense management
March 31, 2026
14 min read
Christelle Hadchity

When people search for Happay alternatives, it's usually not because Happay can't manage travel expenses or handle receipt capture.

It's because their team is based in the UAE, and they need a spend management platform that's built around the region's accounting standards, local integrations, and day-to-day business spending beyond just travel.

I've seen this pattern enough to know what's behind the search:

Happay works well for enterprises managing travel-heavy workflows, but UAE-based SMEs often need something that covers corporate cards, real-time expense control, and automated accounting without relying on a travel-first platform.

That's why in this article, I'll break down the 10 best Happay alternatives in 2026, covering what each one does well, what it costs, and which one fits depending on how your finance team operates.

TL;DR

  • Pemo is the best Happay alternative in 2026 for UAE-based teams that want corporate cards, real-time expense tracking, and accounting automation on a single platform with pricing that starts at AED 0/month.
  • Tipalti and Rydoo are strong picks if travel expense management and global reimbursements are your primary needs, with both offering dedicated features for cross-border payments and per diem tracking.
  • Pluto and Alaan are worth considering if you're a UAE business looking for local spend management with smart corporate cards, AI-powered analytics, and cashback rewards built into the platform.

Factors to consider when evaluating Happay alternatives

Before jumping into the list, I want to walk through the factors I used to evaluate each platform on this list:

#1: UAE-specific accounting integrations and compliance

If you're running a business in the UAE, your spend management tool needs to connect with the accounting software your team already uses.

If I were you, I’d look for direct integrations with platforms like QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho Books, Wafeq, and Tally. VAT-compliant record-keeping is also a factor, especially as corporate tax requirements in the region become more rigorous.

#2: Corporate card controls and issuance flexibility

Not every team needs a travel-first expense tool. Many UAE businesses need virtual and physical corporate cards that they can issue to employees in minutes, with spending limits set per transaction, per day, or per month.

Check whether the platform lets you control spending by merchant category, location, or vendor, and whether you can freeze cards instantly when something looks off.

#3: Transparent pricing that scales with your team

Happay doesn't publicly disclose its pricing, which makes it harder to evaluate upfront costs before committing.

When evaluating alternatives, look for platforms that publish clear pricing tiers so you can estimate your total cost before talking to a sales team. Free plans are a bonus because they let you test workflows with your team before paying anything.

#4: Real-time expense visibility and automated reporting

Waiting until the month-end to find out how much your team spent is a problem that most modern platforms should solve.

Look for tools that show transactions the moment they happen, automatically match receipts, and generate expense reports without your finance team chasing down 20 employees for missing paperwork.

What are the best Happay alternatives in 2026?

The best alternatives to Happay in 2026 are Pemo, Tipalti, and Rydoo.

Here's my shortlist of the 10 best Happay alternatives on the market:

Solution Best For Pricing
Pemo Corporate cards and AI-powered accounting automation for UAE SMEs Free plan available; paid from AED 29/month per cardholder
Tipalti Global expense and reimbursement automation Starts from $99/month.
Rydoo Travel expense management with per diems and multi-country compliance From $9/user/month
Spendesk Employee reimbursements and invoice management Custom pricing
Pluto Account payables and automated expense accounting Free plan available; paid from $99/month
Alaan AI-powered spending analytics with cashback Free plan available; paid from AED 499/month
BILL Unified financial operations for AP, AR, and spend From $49/user/month
Qashio Petty cash reduction with smart corporate cards Free plan available; paid from $125/month
Mamo Flexible corporate cards with global usability Free plan available; paid from AED 99/month
Xpence Automated bookkeeping and spend categorization Pricing not disclosed

#1: Pemo

Pemo is the best Happay alternative in 2026 for UAE businesses that want corporate cards, real-time expense tracking, and accounting automation on one platform without paying for travel management features they don't need.

Full disclosure: Pemo is our platform, but I'll give you an honest breakdown of why it stands out and where it fits.

With Pemo, you get smart virtual and physical corporate cards for your team in the UAE, with no setup fees and full visibility into every dirham your company spends.

Our cards connect with the region's leading spend management platform to help you control employee expenses, automate your accounting, and close books faster.

Let's go over the capabilities that make Pemo the best option for teams looking to move away from Happay: 👇

Issue Virtual Corporate Cards In Seconds

Happay's card offering is built around prepaid and fleet cards designed for specific use cases like meals and travel.

Pemo takes a different approach by letting you issue unlimited virtual corporate cards to any team member in seconds, each with its own set of spending rules.

Here's what our customers rely on most:

  • Live transaction tracking: Every purchase shows up on your dashboard and mobile app the moment it happens, so you're never guessing where money went.
  • Flexible spending controls: Assign cards to each employee with custom limits per transaction, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly, and restrict by merchant category, vendor, or location.
  • Enterprise-grade security: Freeze or unfreeze any card with a single click from your desktop or mobile app if something looks off.
  • Cashback on business spending: Earn cashback on online advertising spend with partners like Google Ads, and up to 2% cashback on FX transactions.

➡️ You can create unlimited virtual cards in seconds with Pemo, free of charge.

Expense Management That Runs on Autopilot

With Happay, expense tracking is tied closely to its travel booking system. Pemo doesn't require a travel workflow to capture expenses.

Every card transaction is logged automatically the second it happens.

Your employees receive a push notification to snap and upload their receipt, and our AI matches it to the right transaction without manual effort.

Here's how this saves time for your finance team:

  • Automatic receipt matching: Employees tap a notification, take a photo, and the system handles the rest. If they forget, the system sends reminders and flags the missing receipt for finance.
  • Multi-level approval workflows: Route marketing spend to the CMO, anything above AED 5,000 to the CFO, and travel expenses to the office manager. Configure it once, and it runs without you.
  • Self-generating expense reports: Reports build themselves from transaction data. No more month-end chasing across departments.
  • Out-of-pocket expense submissions: For the occasional personal card purchase, employees submit through the app with the same receipt flow and approval routing.

AI-Powered Accounting Automation (Pemo Copilot)

One of the biggest gaps when moving away from a travel-first platform like Happay is accounting.

Pemo Copilot fills that gap with AI that auto-categorizes every expense to your chart of accounts, assigns the correct vendor, and tags VAT treatment based on patterns it learns from your historical data.

Here's why accounting teams appreciate this:

  • Direct integrations with regional software: Sync transaction data automatically with QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho Books, Wafeq, and Tally. No CSV exports, no manual journal entries.
  • Automatic categorization: Expenses are sorted into the right accounts without anyone touching them, and the AI gets more accurate over time.
  • Faster monthly close: Pemo users report closing books up to 5x faster because reconciliation happens in real-time rather than as a month-end project.
  • VAT-compliant records that are ready for corporate tax filing without manual tagging.

Automate Invoice Payments and Approvals

Your vendor bills get captured using AI-powered OCR. You photograph the invoice, and our system reads it. 

Each invoice routes through your approval workflow with a full audit trail. Once approved, pay directly from your Pemo account.

You can automate payments, approval flows, and transfers, saving hours of manual work every month.

Your approvers only receive what they need to review and stay in control of upcoming payments.

Every plan includes invoice management at no extra cost.

How does Pemo compare to Happay?

Happay is a solid platform for enterprises that manage high-volume corporate travel across multiple countries, with strong features for trip booking, per diem tracking, and GST management.

Pemo takes a different approach:

Instead of building around travel workflows, Pemo gives UAE businesses a complete spend management system that covers corporate cards, expense tracking, invoice payments, and accounting automation in a single platform.

Happay helps you manage travel-related expenses and reimbursements at scale.

Pemo helps you control all business spending, from SaaS subscriptions and supplier payments to ad spend and office supplies, with real-time visibility and AI-powered accounting.

Pemo's Pricing

Pemo has a free plan for up to 2 card users that gives you access to unlimited virtual cards, a mobile app, expense reports, card spending limits, and Excel exports.

To access Pemo's advanced features, you'd need to be on one of our 2 paid plans:

  • Essential: AED 29/month per cardholder, which adds cashback on online advertising spend, integration with popular accounting platforms like QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho Books, Wafeq, and Tally, spend analytics, and more.
  • Business+: Custom pricing starting from 20 card users, which adds higher cashback rates on card spending, custom onboarding and training, and a dedicated customer success manager.

Want to learn more? Feel free to book a demo with our team or sign up for free to see why 10,000+ companies in the MENA region have chosen Pemo.

Pemo's Pros and Cons

✅ Real-time expense tracking on every card transaction from desktop and mobile.

✅ Integrations with all major accounting platforms, including regional tools like Wafeq and Tally.

✅ Automate invoice payments and multi-level approval workflows.

✅ Cashback on online advertising spend and up to 2% cashback on FX transactions.

✅ A free plan for up to 2 card users with unlimited virtual cards.

❌ Wallet top-ups require bank transfers and aren't available on weekends, according to some user feedback.

#2: Tipalti

Best for: Organizations that need automated expense management with global reimbursement capabilities across dozens of countries.

Similar to: Happay.

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Tipalti offers an expense and reimbursement management platform that covers the full lifecycle from expense submission to payment processing, with particular strength in cross-border payments.

The platform stands out for its ability to handle reimbursements across 196 countries in over 120 currencies using more than 50 payment methods.

Features

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  • Global reimbursement processing: Pay employees and contractors in 196 countries using 120 currencies and over 50 payment methods, from bank transfers to PayPal.
  • Corporate card reconciliation: The platform supports expense tracking across multiple card providers, including Mastercard, Visa, AmEx, and Tipalti's own card.
  • Automated accounting sync: Speed up your monthly close with direct integrations into ERP and accounting systems like NetSuite, Sage Intacct, and QuickBooks.

Pricing

Tipalti offers three pricing tiers:

  • Select: $99/month, which includes a supplier portal, AI-powered invoice scanning, flexible approval rules, and ERP integrations.
  • Advanced: $199/month, which adds procurement features, multi-entity and multi-currency support, and 2 and 3-way PO matching.
  • Elevate: Custom pricing, which adds a full procurement solution, budget management, and Slack integrations.

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Pros and Cons

✅ Handles global reimbursements at a scale most competitors can't match.

✅ Strong multi-currency and cross-border payment support.

✅ Good integrations with major ERP and accounting systems.

❌ Some G2 reviews mention technical and payment processing hiccups, which is why some customers have been looking for Tipalti alternatives.

❌ The platform is built for larger organizations, which may feel heavy for smaller UAE teams.

#3: Rydoo

Best for: Teams that need dedicated travel expense management with per diem calculations, multi-country compliance, and fast receipt scanning.

Similar to: Happay, Spendesk.

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Rydoo is an expense management platform focused on travel-related costs, offering automatic per diem calculations, real-time reporting, and a mobile-first experience for employees on the go.

It's a natural comparison to Happay because both focus heavily on travel workflows, but Rydoo publishes its pricing and keeps the interface lighter.

Features

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  • Smart Audit: AI-powered monitoring that analyzes employees' expenses and flags non-compliant or suspicious claims automatically.
  • Receipt scanning with high accuracy: Employees can snap a photo of any receipt, and the system auto-fills expense details in seconds with over 95% accuracy.
  • Multi-country tax and legal compliance: Rydoo adjusts to local regulations and tax rules across different countries, which matters for teams with international travel.

Pricing

Rydoo has four pricing tiers:

  • Essentials: $9/user/month (billed annually), includes a mobile app with receipt scanner, unlimited expenses, basic integrations, and local legal and tax compliance.
  • Pro: $11/user/month (billed annually), adds per diems, online accounting integrations, customizable policies and rules, and multi-country compliance.
  • Business: Custom pricing, adds SFTP access, API access, custom bank transactions feed, and priority support.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing, adds advanced approval workflows, SAML SSO, insights management dashboard, and extended sandbox access.

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Pros and Cons

✅ Intuitive mobile interface that makes submitting expenses quick and painless.

✅ Strong per diem and travel policy automation across multiple countries.

✅ Transparent, per-user pricing starting at $9/month.

❌ Some users find the admin configuration more complex, especially when setting up multiple approvers, which is why some customers have been looking for Rydoo alternatives.

❌ Limited integrations with some third-party products, and syncing issues can sometimes cause delays.

#4: Spendesk

Best for: Teams that want to handle employee reimbursements and invoice management in one tool with OCR-powered receipt capture.

Similar to: Qashio.

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Spendesk is a spend management platform that combines spending approvals, employee reimbursement, and invoice tracking for businesses in the UAE.

Its OCR technology captures details from receipts automatically, and the mobile app makes reimbursement requests fast for employees who pay out of pocket.

Features

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  • Real-time expense monitoring: Your finance team can spot errors, flag missing receipts, and stay on top of compliance as expenses come in, not after.
  • Mobile reimbursement requests: Employees snap a photo of their receipt from the app, submit it, and the system routes it through your approval chain.
  • Duplicate detection: Spendesk can identify duplicate invoices and other errors before they make it through your payment process.

Pricing

Spendesk offers 2 paid tiers with custom pricing on both, so you'd need to contact their sales team for a quote.

Pros and Cons

✅ End-to-end invoice management with accounting integrations included in the base plan.

✅ Detects duplicate invoices and other errors before they become costly mistakes.

✅ Real-time budget controls for managing spend across departments.

❌ Pricing is not transparent, requiring a sales conversation before you know the cost.

❌ Some G2 reviewers report occasional glitchiness with virtual cards.

#5: Pluto

Best for: UAE-based teams that need corporate cards with automatic reconciliation and accounts payable management in one platform.

Similar to: Pemo, Alaan.

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Pluto is a UAE-based spend management platform that brings together corporate cards, automated reconciliation, and accounts payable features for enterprises looking to simplify their financial processes.

The platform syncs in real-time with major accounting tools like Xero, Zoho, QuickBooks, and Microsoft Dynamics.

Features

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  • Custom approval workflows: Set up spending approval chains that match your organizational hierarchy, so the right people sign off on the right expenses.
  • Real-time automatic reconciliation: Transactions sync with your accounting software as they happen, cutting out manual data entry entirely.
  • Budget-controlled corporate cards: Issue unlimited cards to employees with strict spending limits that automatically decline anything over budget.

Pricing

Pluto has a free plan for up to 5 corporate card users, which includes 10 virtual cards per user and 1 physical card per user.

The platform has 2 paid plans:

  • Growth: $99/month, which includes 30 users ($9/month per additional user).
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing, which includes unlimited users.

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Pros and Cons

✅ Generous free plan for up to 5 users with a solid set of features out of the box.

✅ Workflow builder that lets you create custom approval chains for different teams and spending categories.

✅ Automatic reconciliation that plugs directly into your accounting software.

❌ Spending limits can only be set to daily, monthly, or annual intervals, which is why some teams have been looking for Pluto alternatives.

#6: Alaan

Best for: UAE businesses looking for AI-powered spending analytics and automatic receipt matching with cashback rewards.

Similar to: Pemo, Pluto.

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Alaan is a UAE-based spend management platform that pairs virtual corporate cards with an AI analytics engine to give finance leaders a clear picture of where company money goes.

The platform's standout feature is its up to 2% cashback on eligible international transactions, along with customizable approval workflows.

Features

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  • AI-driven spending analytics: Get detailed insights into your corporate spending patterns, helping finance teams spot trends and control costs.
  • One-click receipt matching: Employees upload a receipt, and Alaan's system matches it to the right transaction automatically.
  • Card-level spending controls: Set budgets per card, department, or project and control where each card can be used.

Pricing

Alaan offers a free tier for up to 3 users with real-time expense tracking and access to Google Pay and Apple Pay.

The platform has 2 paid plans:

  • Premium: AED 499/month for up to 50 users, which adds up to 2% cashback on all transactions, unlimited cards per user, and real-time spending reports.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited users, which adds custom HR integrations, native ERP connections, and custom policies.

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Pros and Cons

✅ Up to 2% cashback on eligible international transactions.

✅ AI-powered analytics dashboard for deeper spending visibility.

✅ Customizable approval flows that adapt to your organization's structure.

❌ Paid plans start from AED 499/month, which is significantly higher than most Alaan alternatives on this list.

❌ Users report limited customization options for the platform's reports.

#7: BILL

Best for: Businesses that want a single platform for accounts payable, accounts receivable, spend management, and corporate cards.

Similar to: Xpence, Happay.

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BILL is a financial operations platform that covers AP, AR, spend management, and expense tracking under one login.

The platform is useful for teams that want to consolidate several financial tools into one, and its Divvy Card powered by Visa gives you credit lines from $1,000 to $5M.

Features

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  • Unified financial operations: Manage your accounts payable, receivable, spending, and expenses from a single dashboard with automatic sync across all modules.
  • Credit lines with the BILL Divvy Card: Access credit lines between $1,000 and $5M, along with budgeting tools and real-time spend tracking.
  • Accounting software integrations: Connect with your existing tech stack for automatic two-way data sync on the Team plan and above.

Pricing

BILL has four pricing tiers:

  • Essentials: $49/user/month, includes basic AP and AR functionality with live chat and phone support.
  • Team: $65/user/month, adds automatic two-way sync with accounting software and custom user roles.
  • Corporate: $89/user/month, adds combined AP and AR management and custom approval policies.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing, adds premium support, multi-location accounting, and additional integrations.

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Pros and Cons

✅ All-in-one financial platform that covers AP, AR, and spend management together.

✅ Easy integration with popular accounting software.

✅ Access to credit lines through the BILL Divvy Card.

❌ Some G2 reviewers mention technical glitches and occasional payment processing issues.

❌ Higher fees for international vendor payments compared to some alternatives.

#8: Qashio

Best for: UAE businesses that want to reduce petty cash usage and give employees smart corporate cards with real-time spending controls.

Similar to: Alaan.

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Qashio is a spend management platform built for organizations in the UAE that want to move away from petty cash and give their teams smart corporate cards with built-in spending rules.

The platform integrates with a range of ERPs, including Dynamics365, Oracle NetSuite, SAP, Xero, and Zoho, to help automate financial operations.

Features

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  • Petty cash reduction: Cut cash-based spending by eliminating manual cash processes, with the platform claiming a reduction of more than 30% for its users.
  • ERP integrations: Connects with Dynamics365, Oracle NetSuite, SAP, Xero, Zoho, and others to automate your finance workflows.
  • Smart corporate cards: Issue cards with advanced spending controls and real-time visibility across your team.

Pricing

Qashio offers a free plan that includes up to 3 users, 6 cards, and instant creation of Visa cards.

From there, the platform has 4 paid tiers:

  • Plus: $125/month (billed annually), which adds AI-powered WhatsApp and email receipt submission.
  • Premium: $250/month (billed annually), which adds recurring weekly, monthly, and annual spending limits.
  • Business+: $500/month (billed annually), which adds auto-receipt collection and matching.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing.

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Pros and Cons

✅ ERP integration and multi-level approval workflows available even on the entry-level plan.

✅ AI-powered receipt tracking through WhatsApp and email.

✅ Advanced accounting segmentation and multi-hierarchy department mapping.

❌ Setup can be more complex than expected for some teams.

#9: Mamo

Best for: Businesses looking for flexible corporate cards with global usability and cashback rewards at a low monthly cost.

Similar to: Pemo, Alaan.

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Mamo is a UAE-based payments platform that offers unlimited virtual and physical corporate cards, with up to 2% cashback on non-AED transactions and real-time expense management.

The platform stands out for its transparent pricing and the ability to issue unlimited cards across all plans.

Features

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  • Unlimited virtual and physical cards: Issue as many cards as your team needs with no cap, making it easy to manage budgets across departments and projects.
  • Global usability with cashback: Use cards anywhere, online or offline, and earn up to 2% cashback on international transactions.
  • PCI-DSS certified security: Real-time transaction monitoring, instant card freezing, and activity updates keep your company's spending protected.

Pricing

Mamo has three pricing tiers:

  • Growth: Free monthly, 2.9% plus AED 1 per transaction. Includes support for Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, corporate cards (physical and virtual), payment APIs, and e-commerce integrations.
  • Premium: AED 99/month, 2.7% plus AED 0.8 per transaction. Adds lower transaction fees, free ATM withdrawals in the UAE, and branded payment links.
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing for businesses processing over AED 500,000/month. Includes a dedicated customer success manager.

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Pros and Cons

✅ Enterprise-grade security with PCI-DSS certification.

✅ Global usability with up to 2% cashback on international transactions.

✅ Transparent pricing with a free tier to get started.

❌ Transaction fees of 2.9% plus AED 1 on the free plan can add up for higher-volume businesses.

❌ The platform is relatively newer, so some features may still be evolving, which is why some teams have been looking for Mamo alternatives.

#10: Xpence

Best for: UAE businesses that want automatic bookkeeping with real-time transaction categorization and data-driven spending insights.

Similar to: Pluto, Pemo.

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Xpence is a UAE-based spend management platform that automatically categorizes every business transaction in real-time and lets you track employee spending from a single dashboard.

Its data analytics capabilities give finance teams visibility into spending habits across departments and card users.

Features

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  • Automatic transaction categorization: Every purchase gets categorized in real-time, saving your finance team from manual sorting.
  • Centralized spend monitoring: Track all business expenses from one dashboard, giving you a clear view of where money goes across your organization.
  • Spending analytics: Data-driven insights into employee spending patterns help you identify trends and areas where costs can be reduced.

Pricing

Xpence does not publicly disclose its pricing, so you'd need to contact their team to get a demo and a quote.

Pros and Cons

✅ Real-time spending tracking and approval workflows.

✅ Automatic categorization of every transaction saves hours of manual bookkeeping.

✅ Detailed spending analytics to monitor and manage employee expenses.

❌ You need to reach out or create an account before knowing the cost, which is why some teams have been looking for Xpence alternatives.

Sign up for Pemo's free plan today

Happay does a solid job for enterprises managing high-volume travel bookings and expense workflows across large organizations.

Most Happay alternatives still follow the same playbook: expense tracking, receipt capture, and some version of an approval workflow.

Pemo is different.

Instead of bolting expense management onto a travel booking engine, Pemo gives UAE businesses a complete spend management system from day one:

Corporate cards, automated accounting, invoice payments, and real-time controls, all on a platform built specifically for the MENA region.

If you're looking for a spend management platform that offers:

  • Automated approval flows for invoices and expenses.
  • Integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho Books, Wafeq, and Tally.
  • Real-time spending controls with per-transaction, daily, and monthly limits.
  • Cashback on ad spend and FX transactions through 300 partner discounts.

Then you can sign up for Pemo's free plan or book a demo to see why 10,000+ businesses in the MENA region have chosen us.

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