Payment methods in Iran

Asia

4methods

1bank

Iran is fully excluded from SWIFT and all international card schemes; no Visa, Mastercard, or American Express cards are issued or accepted.

Market takeaways

Iran is fully excluded from SWIFT and all international card schemes; no Visa, Mastercard, or American Express cards are issued or accepted.
The Shetab network connects all Iranian banks and card issuers, enabling interbank transfers, ATM access, and POS transactions across the country.
Shaparak, overseen by the Central Bank of Iran, is the national payment switch that routes and settles all electronic retail payments domestically.
A thriving private-sector gateway ecosystem (IDPay, NextPay, Shepa, ZarinPal) has emerged to serve online merchants with payment link and virtual terminal solutions.
Ongoing sanctions and currency volatility create significant barriers to any cross-border e-commerce activity; international purchases typically require unofficial or grey-market channels.

Population

~88M

Online population

~67M

Banked population

~94%

Payment method breakdown

Market data coming soon.

Card scheme breakdown

Local Schemes100%

Cross-border e-commerce

Market data coming soon.

Featured payment methods in Iran

Popular options based on coverage and prominence in this market.

Shepa

Shepa is a domestic Iranian payment gateway that supports online merchants with both standard card-payment flows and QR-code-based checkout. It connects merchants to the Shaparak/Shetab infrastructure, enabling acceptance of all Shetab-network cards. Shepa also provides tools for international merchants seeking indirect access to Iranian consumers through compliant intermediaries.

IDPay

IDPay is a personal and business payment gateway that allows merchants and freelancers to create unique payment links and virtual card readers without requiring a full merchant account setup. It is widely used by small businesses and individual sellers operating through Iranian e-commerce platforms and social media. IDPay processes transactions over the Shaparak network.

NextPay

NextPay is an online payment gateway focused on secure, streamlined checkout experiences for Iranian e-commerce merchants. It offers payment page customisation, recurring billing tools, and settlement into Iranian bank accounts. NextPay is one of the licensed payment service providers operating under Central Bank of Iran supervision via the Shaparak switch.

Shetab Network

The Shetab network (meaning "speed" in Persian) is Iran's national interbank card network, established by the Central Bank of Iran and operated by the Informatics Services Corporation (ISC). Shetab connects all Iranian banks, enabling cardholders to use their debit and credit cards at any ATM or POS terminal nationwide, regardless of issuing bank. All domestically issued Iranian payment cards operate exclusively on Shetab; there is no Visa or Mastercard connectivity.