If you're selling — or thinking about selling — products online in Libya, Iraq, or Lebanon, there's one thing you need to understand before anything else: your customers are not going to pay upfront.
They're going to pay at the door. In cash. After the product is in their hands.
That's Cash on Delivery (COD) — and it's not a workaround or a compromise in MENA e-commerce. It's the standard. Understanding how it works, and how to make it work for you, is the difference between a profitable operation and a frustrating money pit.
What Is Cash on Delivery?
Cash on Delivery (COD) is a payment method where the customer pays for their order at the moment of delivery — not before. The process works like this:
That's the full COD loop. Simple in theory — but each step has variables that can make or break your margins.
Why COD Dominates in Libya, Iraq & Lebanon
In most Western markets, the default is card payment or digital wallets. In MENA — and especially in Libya, Iraq, and Lebanon — COD is the default. Here's why:
1. Low credit card penetration
A large portion of the population in these markets does not have a credit or debit card linked to an international payment gateway. This isn't changing quickly. COD removes the payment barrier entirely — if you have cash, you can shop.
2. Limited trust in online payments
Even customers who do have cards are often reluctant to enter card details online. Fraud concerns, unfamiliarity with online checkout flows, and past negative experiences all contribute. COD eliminates the risk for the customer — they pay only when the product is in front of them.
3. Inspect before you pay
COD customers can verify the product before handing over money. This is especially important in markets where product quality expectations aren't always met by online sellers. It builds customer confidence and drives higher conversion rates on your ads.
4. No banking infrastructure required
Libya and Iraq have complex banking environments. COD bypasses those complexities entirely — no bank account, no payment gateway, no PCI compliance. The transaction is cash-to-courier, then courier-to-seller.
"In Libya, we've seen sellers double their conversion rate simply by switching from prepaid to COD. The barrier to ordering drops to almost zero." — MDM Express Operations Team
The Real Risks of COD (and How to Manage Them)
COD has clear advantages for the customer — but it shifts risk onto the seller. Here's what you're actually managing:
Fake orders
Some customers place orders with no intention of paying. They're browsing, testing, or simply clicking without thinking. Without a confirmation call before dispatch, you'll ship products that never get paid for — and pay return shipping costs on top. This is why order confirmation is non-negotiable in COD e-commerce.
Door refusals
Even confirmed orders can be refused at the door. The customer changed their mind, isn't available, or simply doesn't answer. Industry average refusal rates in Libya and Iraq range from 15–25%. Strong confirmation scripts and follow-up calls reduce this significantly.
Cash flow delays
You're shipping inventory and not getting paid until the cash is collected and remitted — which can take days or weeks depending on your delivery partner. Fast remittance cycles (weekly or better) are essential for maintaining healthy cash flow, especially as you scale.
MDM Express handles all of this for you.
Order confirmation, delivery, cash collection, and weekly payouts — one platform.
Why Your Confirmation Rate Is the Most Important Number in Your Business
Most COD sellers obsess over ad spend and conversion rates. The number they should be watching is their order confirmation rate — the percentage of placed orders that are successfully verified before dispatch.
Here's why it matters more than you think:
- A 70% confirmation rate means 30% of your shipped orders are going out to customers who may refuse or not be available.
- Every unconfirmed order that ships costs you packaging, courier fees, and return handling.
- The market average is 60–70%. MDM Express achieves 75% through trained local call center teams using precision confirmation scripts.
The gap between 70% and 75% isn't just a statistic — it's the difference between a business that bleeds money on returns and one that runs clean margins.
Getting Started with COD E-Commerce
If you're starting from scratch, here's the minimum you need to run a COD operation:
- Product source — where you're getting inventory (China, Dubai, or local suppliers)
- Warehouse / storage — somewhere to hold stock before dispatch
- Order confirmation — a call center or system to verify every order before shipping
- Delivery partner — a courier with local coverage in your target market
- Cash remittance — a process for collecting and receiving your cash
Each of these is a separate operation. Most sellers start by managing them independently — separate sourcing agent, separate warehouse, separate courier. As volume grows, the coordination cost of managing five vendors becomes a real drag on growth.
That's the problem MDM Express was built to solve — all five components in one connected system, running in Libya, Iraq, and Lebanon.
Summary
Cash on Delivery is not a limitation of the MENA market — it's the foundation of it. The sellers who win aren't fighting COD, they're mastering it: tight confirmation rates, fast delivery, clean cash collection, and a remittance system that keeps cash flowing back.
If you're building or scaling a COD operation in Libya, Iraq, or Lebanon, the operational infrastructure matters as much as your products and ads. Learn how MDM Express handles the full operation →
Country-specific guides: Selling in Libya via COD — Starting a COD store in Iraq — COD in Lebanon despite the banking crisis