Nuvei Expands Acquiring Capabilities to Home Country of Canada

Canadian FinTech Nuvei says it is now a direct payment acquirer in its home country.

The new capabilities, announced Monday (June 30) ahead of Canada Day on July 1, allow Canadian businesses to process domestic transactions locally through Nuvei, doing away with the need for third-party processors and allowing for higher payment approval rates.

“Becoming a direct acquirer in Canada reflects our strategy to build direct acquiring capabilities in every major market,” Nuvei CEO and Chair Philip Fayer said in a news release.

“There is no better place to showcase this than Canada, where our journey began. By combining local acquiring with our global platform, we help merchants achieve higher approval rates, better conversions, and more predictable interchange costs.”

In addition to helping businesses enjoy higher payment approval ratings, Nuvei said the new acquiring capabilities offers support for major card brands, retail payout options and access to more than 700 alternative payment methods and 150 currencies.

PYMNTS spoke last week with Ed Dean, vice president of product at Nuvei, who said pay by bank is on the cusp of becoming a cornerstone of modern financial operations.

By allowing for quicker money movement, pay by bank gives businesses a clearer, more immediate picture of their financial standing. This increased visibility, along with the confidence that pay by bank provides, helps companies make more informed decisions on their liquidity.

Dean likened the ongoing transformation of payments to the evolution of video game consoles, telling PYMNTS that “if you didn’t upgrade your console, you couldn’t play the newest games.”

Much like the gaming world evolved from the original Nintendo Entertainment System in the 1980s to the Game Boy in the 1990s to the modern day Nintendo Switch, the payment landscape has evolved from ACH to same-day ACH, then to real-time payments, with request for payment (RFP) on the horizon.

PYMNTS also spoke recently with Damien Cramer, SVP of Global Travel at Nuvei, about the increasing number of ways to pay for travel.

At the center of this disruption, the report said, is the rise of alternative payment methods (APMs), which are changing how the travel sector and global travelers handle transactions. With more than 700 APMs around the world, such as digital wallets, real-time bank transfers, QR code payments, loyalty-point transactions.

“As soon as we think we’ve got it covered, more payment options come out,” Cramer told PYMNTS. “That’s the reality of the world that we live in right now.”