Nuvei Review (Formerly Pivotal Payments)

Pros

• Multicurrency support
• Next-day funding available

Cons

• An early termination fee of up to $495
• Extensive use of independent sales agents
• Expensive processing equipment leases
• Limited support materials
• A monthly fee to access advanced reporting

What Is Nuvei?

Nuvei is a merchant services provider that serves businesses in the United States and Canada. The company focuses primarily on eCommerce and international payments and offers an extensive lineup of services for online merchants.

Unfortunately, it’s clear from the logos of the big-name companies on its website that Nuvei primarily caters to very large, established businesses. While you’re free to sign up as a small business owner, feedback from merchants who have done so paints a disturbing picture of the level of service you can expect.

With long-term contracts, “hidden” fees, overpriced equipment leases, and a reputation for poor customer support, Nuvei is emblematic of all that is wrong with the payments industry today.

We don’t recommend it unless you’re running a large, successful business and have the negotiating skills to forge a better deal than the one laid out in Nuvei’s standard merchant account contracts.

Products & Services

Nuvei has a diverse array of product offerings that cover all of the basics a merchant could need. However, they lose some points with us by charging a lot for their equipment and not letting you source it yourself. Here’s what you can expect from Nuvei’s products and services:

• Merchant Accounts: While Nuvei is a large company, it’s not a direct processor. The company uses Global Payments to process its transactions. Customer service for most issues, however, is provided directly through Nuvei.
• International Payments: Nuvei’s payments platform supports nearly 150 currencies and over 570 local payment methods, including cryptocurrencies. Multicurrency pricing and dynamic currency conversion are also supported.
• Credit Card Terminals: The company offers a full line of countertop terminals, including the PAX A80, PAX A920, DESK/3500, and POYNT Smart Terminal models. All advertised devices support EMV and NFC-based payment methods, so you don’t have to worry about your terminal becoming obsolete anytime soon. Both wired and wireless models are available, although we only recommend wireless terminals if you really need them due to the additional expense and the need for a monthly wireless data plan. Pricing for individual terminals is not disclosed. While we strongly encourage you to buy your terminals outright, be aware that your sales agent will likely try to talk you into leasing them instead. Leasing is a terrible option and will cost you far more in the long run than buying your equipment. Don’t let a sales agent convince you that it’s a better deal — it definitely is not.
• eCommerce Support: Nuvei offers a proprietary payment gateway that includes all of the standard features you’d expect, including a customer information database, support for recurring billing, shopping cart integration, and fraud prevention features. The recently released Nuvei Simply Connect SDK allows small business users to access a variety of powerful customization options previously available only to enterprise-level users with a minimal amount of coding. The company also offers a virtual terminal that’s ideal for mail-order or telephone-order businesses.
• Mobile Payments: Nuvei offers a mobile payment system but doesn’t provide much specific information about it on its website. The system uses Nuvei’s GlobalOnePay Mobile app, which is available for iOS and Android devices. Supported card readers include the Nomad WP2 and the Walker C2X, both of which connect via Bluetooth and support EMV and NFC-based payments.
• eCheck & ACH Processing: Nuvei’s echeck service integrates with its payment gateway, making this service a good option for eCommerce businesses. Note that ACH processing appears to be offered as a paid add-on service.
• Online Reporting: Real-time account reporting via a cloud-based solution is a standard offering of almost all providers these days. Nuvei’s Merchant Dashboard provides all the features you’d expect, including access to your merchant account statements.
• Business Coaching: While this might sound like a dubious “consulting” scam, it’s really a data-driven application that integrates with the Nuvei Merchant Dashboard and generates actionable business insights based on your sales data and engagement with social media platforms. While it probably won’t turn your small business into the next Amazon, it will give you relevant information that can help you make informed business decisions.
• Merchant Cash Advance: Like most merchant service providers these days, Nuvei offers loans to businesses that need a quick cash infusion to launch or expand their operations. Amounts up to $500,000 are available and can be repaid through either a fixed payment plan or as a percentage of your processing volume. Be aware that merchant cash advances are usually significantly more expensive than other funding methods (such as small business loans) in the long run. Check out our post on merchant cash advances for more information before you sign up for this kind of program.

Fees & Rates

Like many merchant account providers, Nuvei uses a quote-based system for establishing accounts and doesn’t disclose any specific pricing information on its website. There are both good (or at least understandable) and bad reasons for this practice.

On the one hand, processing rate plans are extremely variable and need to be customized to your business. Your rates will depend on many factors, including your monthly processing volume, your industry, how long you’ve been in business, etc. On the other hand, companies often leave pricing information off their websites because doing so might discourage you from contacting them once you see how much higher their fees are than those of their competitors.

In the case of Nuvei, both of these reasons apply. On the one hand, its pricing structure is too complex to display on its website. You’ll need to fill out a contact form and submit some basic information about your business to get a valid quote. Not including fixed pricing information on its site also gives you the option to negotiate for a better deal than what the company initially offers you. Although small business owners often don’t have the leverage to negotiate a significantly better deal, we encourage you to try anyway. Much like buying a car, it’s never a good idea to blindly accept the first price that you’re offered.

At the same time, we believe that the company has something to hide regarding its undisclosed account fees. Feedback from merchants indicates that Nuvei’s fees are often above the industry average. The company also has the distressing habit of charging extra for a lot of features that most providers include as a standard part of your account, including online reporting. If you want to avoid getting suckered into paying hidden fees, you’ll have to read through your proposed contract carefully before signing up.

While Nuvei doesn’t mention processing rate plans on its website, it appears to offer a combination of plans with tiered pricing and interchange-plus pricing. Unfortunately, you’ll probably be offered the more expensive tiered rate plan unless you’re a high-volume business with an extensive processing history. For this reason — as well as Nuvei’s lack of transparency regarding fees in general — Nuvei earns a poor Fees & Rates score from us.

Read our guide to payment processing rates and fees for more information on processing rates.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

Nuvei rates very poorly in this area due to the company’s lack of transparency, unscrupulous sales agents, and generic website.

Nuvei’s biggest problem is its continued reliance on independent sales agents. There’s a sizable in-house sales team, too, and the company insists that it screens and scrutinizes its ISOs (independent sales organizations) and ends partnerships if they lead to merchants being taken advantage of. While we don’t doubt Nuvei’s sincerity in trying to fix this problem, the fact remains that a disproportionate number of public complaints against the company come from merchants who claim they’ve been lied to by an unscrupulous sales agent.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much the company can do to prevent shady sales agents from promising the world to merchants and then disappearing into the wind with their commission. All you can do is stop them from doing it again. And yes, like other brands that use third-party salespeople, Nuvei does promise lucrative rewards for salespeople and organizations that close the deal, so there’s undoubtedly a commission involved.

Going directly to Nuvei’s website and reaching out that way increases your chances of getting an in-house sales representative who will treat you fairly and remain your point of contact throughout the process. In-house representatives receive more training and are much more closely supervised than independent agents, which makes a huge difference in their performance.

That said, the company’s website offers very little concrete information to help you make a decision on signing up with Nuvei. It’s effectively the digital equivalent of a glossy marketing brochure, although it avoids common sales gimmicks frequently employed by other providers.

Nuvei’s presence on social media includes LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, with frequently updated content. The company also has a very impressive YouTube channel that includes educational videos, tutorials, and customer testimonials. Content is organized into playlists for subjects such as PCI Compliance and Chargeback Management.

Contract Length & Early Termination Fee

Nuvei has a decent score in this category; Nuvei does push customers into signing long-term contracts with an early termination fee, but it is (at least, theoretically) possible to negotiate a month-to-month contract with no such fee.

Nuvei’s standard contract includes a three-year initial term plus an automatic renewal clause extending the contract for one-year periods after that. In Canada, contract extensions are only for six months at a time due to legal restrictions in that country.

Like most contracts of this nature, there’s also an early termination fee (ETF) that applies if you close your account at any time other than the end of the current term. Nuvei’s ETF is a flat $395 if you process less than $25,000 per month or $495 if you process $25,000 or more per month.

If Nuvei isn’t working out for you and you want to switch processors without paying a hefty early termination fee, you’ll want to follow the instructions in your contract to the letter. This includes providing at least 60 days written notice, among other requirements.

Fortunately, Nuvei now allows merchants to sign up for a month-to-month contract with no early termination fee. However, you’ll have to negotiate a waiver to the standard contract with your sales agent to get this provision. Be sure to get a written copy of your waiver for your records.

Customer Service & Technical Support

Overall, Nuvei earns a decent score from us in the area of Customer Service & Technical Support, thanks mostly to its round-the-clock tech support availability.

Nuvei offers telephone-based customer support in the US and Canada between 8 AM and 7 PM (EST) from Monday through Friday. Technical support is available 24/7. You can also contact the company via email at any time. If you’re outside North America, check with Nuvei’s nearest office for local support hours.

While Nuvei doesn’t offer live chat or true around-the-clock support, it has now added a Help Center to its website that includes extensive API documentation and other resources. Several videos on its YouTube channel also help you set up your credit card terminal, but that’s about it.

One unique feature that Nuvei offers is a web page where you can submit a message to the Office of the CEO if you haven’t been able to resolve your problem through normal channels. Given the company’s size, we suspect this is more of a publicity stunt than a genuine means of resolving an issue.

User Reviews

Customer feedback is mixed, and based on the aggregate scores from user review websites, Nuvei earns a decent score in this category.

Nuvei Negative Reviews & Complaints

Nuvei has been accredited by the BBB since 2015 and currently has an A+ rating. In the last three years, 30 complaints have been filed against the company, with 11 of those complaints having been filed within the previous year. Ten customer reviews have also been posted, with reviewers giving an average rating of just 1.8 out of 5 stars.

The company scores a little higher on Trustpilot, earning a “Great” 4.2 out of 5 stars based on 503 reviews. However, most of the five-star reviews are suspect, as many of them either come from Nuvei employees or were way too brief (sometimes as few as two words!) to offer any useful information. The one-star reviews, in contrast, go to great lengths in discussing problems that the reviewer experienced with Nuvei.

Of the complaints we’ve seen, the following issues are the most common:

• Misleading & Unethical Sales Practices: Several complaints allege that merchants were promised month-to-month contracts by Nuvei’s sales agents but later found out that their actual contract included both a three-year commitment and an early termination fee. Don’t let this happen to you! Take the time to read your merchant agreement thoroughly before you sign up, and never rely on the verbal assurances of a sales agent — independent or otherwise.
• “Hidden” Fees: Your sales agent is highly unlikely to take the time to patiently explain every single fee you might be responsible for when you start using your account. However, they should at least explain such things as PCI compliance fees, PCI non-compliance fees, and any fees for optional services that you want to add to your account. Also, these fees should be thoroughly spelled out in your contract, so don’t just skim through this document. Read the whole thing — and take notes.
• Hardware Difficulties: We’ve seen an unusual number of complaints about equipment incompatibility or hardware not working. This can be understandably frustrating, especially when you’re being charged monthly account fees for something you can’t even use. Don’t hesitate to elevate this issue to the BBB if this happens to you and the company fails to fix the problem immediately.
• Difficulty Closing Account: Nuvei has received an unusually high number of complaints from merchants who allege that they closed their accounts, only to have the company continue to bill them month after month until they finally complained. This issue shows up in complaints too many times to be merely a random coincidence and indicates a deliberate pattern of behavior. The company also frequently claims that returned processing was never received, allowing them to charge the merchant for the full value of the machine.

Nuvei Positive Reviews & Testimonials

Nuvei now includes a “Success Stories” page on its website that includes testimonials from a variety of companies. Unfortunately, they all come from payments industry organizations that the company partners with, including Visa, Mastercard, Ali Pay, and others. No businesses selling to the general public are included, and testimonials from small business owners are likewise absent.

Final Verdict

Nuvei offers a sophisticated integrated payments platform with many powerful features that will appeal to eCommerce businesses.

Unfortunately, it’s clear from the array of big-name company logos (all Nuvei customers) splashed across the company’s home page that it caters primarily to very large, established businesses. Smaller businesses are, of course, also accepted — but you won’t find the kind of pricing, contract terms, or customer support you need to have a healthy partnership with your credit card processor.

While you can get important features such as interchange-plus pricing and month-to-month billing with Nuvei, you’ll have to negotiate aggressively to do so. You’ll also have to be cautious in dealing with the company’s numerous independent sales agents. You’ll need to double-check that every promise they make to you is included in your merchant agreement.

Nuvei receives a rather poor rating from us overall. While it’s certainly not the worst company we’ve seen, it doesn’t offer anything special or unique that would help it stand out from the rest of its competitors. If you own a medium-sized or larger business and are comfortable negotiating the terms of your contract, Nuvei might be a decent fit. Small business owners, on the other hand, should probably look elsewhere.

For some of our top recommendations, check out our list of the best credit card payment processing companies. If you’re in Canada, check out our list of the best Canadian merchant account providers for some more competitive options.

Credit Card Processor Review Methodology

We evaluate and test each payment processor that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on certain key characteristics in order to generate our granular ratings for merchant accounts and credit card processors.

For payment processing reviews, we use a 24-point rubric to evaluate the provider. First, we look at pricing structure – interchange plus, subscription-based, tiered, or hybrid – giving the most points to providers that provide fair, transparent pricing and docking those that rely on tiered models. Then we examine rates, the presence and transparency of early termination fees, and any additional fees.

We also look at contract length and fairness and test out sales staff and customer service channels ourselves to ensure that the company uses reputable, above-the-board sales techniques. Finally, we take the company’s online reputation into account, reading customer reviews and comments.

Read more about how we rate payment processors.

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