Nuvei Expands Visa Direct Program for Cross-Border Payouts

Nuvei has integrated Visa Direct for Account into its global payments platform.

The integration lets merchants send funds directly to consumers’ and workers’ bank accounts in eligible countries, Nuvei said in a news release Thursday (Nov. 6).

“Consumers everywhere expect instant access to their money, whether it is a payout, refund, or remittance,” said Phil Fayer, chair and CEO of Nuvei. “By expanding our Visa Direct offering, we’re empowering merchants to meet those expectations with faster, more convenient, and more reliable payouts that enhance everyday financial experiences.”

The release noted that this functionality expands Nuvei’s portfolio of faster payout solutions, with the company among the first global acquirers to enable Visa Direct for Account alongside Visa Direct for Card.

“Meaningful progress in payouts comes from ecosystem collaboration,” said Vira Platonova, Global Head of Visa Direct.“Expanding our integration with Nuvei’s platform means we are able to help more businesses reach payees with capabilities built for scale, compliance, and operational simplicity.”

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence showed that consumers are not simply embracing instant payouts, but are also sticking with them long after their initial experience.

“The real story is not just the speed of instant payments, but their permanence,” PYMNTS wrote last month, citing data from the report “Beyond Speed: The Case for Instant Payout Adoption and Stickiness,” an Ingo Payments collaboration.

That research showed that once consumers receive money instantly, they hardly ever look back. The so-called “stickiness ratio” for instant payouts (the number of consumers who make instant their most-used payout method) now stands at 57%, compared to 39% in 2020.

“In other words, nearly 6 in 10 recipients who try instant once make it their default,” PYMNTS wrote. “That stickiness is not accidental. It’s being engineered by a convergence of technology and behavioral economics, like corporate senders offering virtual card accounts, digital wallets and incentives that reward recipients for keeping money in-network.”

Meanwhile, PYMNTS spoke last month with Ed Dean, vice president of product at Nuvei, on the obstacles facing merchants when it comes to real-time settlements. He emphasized that the challenge is universally-felt.

“The pain of access to funds is pain for any merchant, large or small,” he said. Bigger companies need quick rapid access to invest and manage operations across multiple geographies. “Small merchants … are really looking for more localized impact of getting to their funds to pay invoices [and] payroll,” he added.