Nuvei was initially launched as Pivotal Payments in 2003 and later rebranded itself to Nuvei in 2018. It has a headquarters in Plano, Texas and an office in Montreal, Quebec. Over the years, the company has acquired several businesses and merged with many, growing into a relatively large organization. Nuvei now processes around $34 billion in a year for a client base of around 50,000 merchants. In this Nuvei review, you will find all you need to know about the provider.
In the payment industry, larger providers usually have a series of grievances and bad reviews online from clients and employees, and Nuvei is no different. Before rebranding, Pivotal Payments was known for excessive customer complaints about outrageous prices, unethical sales team and sub-par customer support. Therefore, the bad reputation was a significant reason for the rebranding of the provider. However, the provider continues on the same path of harmful business practices that led to a bad reputation for the brand in the first place.
Services Offered by Nuvei
Each provider has a different set of offerings that may or may not suit your business. Nuvei has a comprehensive set of offerings that cover most of the essentials that companies need to thrive. To make sure they offer all you need for your business, it is best to review their services.
Merchant Accounts
Several providers in the industry depend on third party processors to conduct their payment processing, and Nuvei is no different. Nuvei depends on Global Payments for its payment processing needs. However, Nuvei retains customer service mostly at their end. If you want to know more about the merchant account, reading a review of Global Payments will benefit you.
Support for eCommerce
Nuvei offers a payment gateway that provides all the standard features in the eCommerce landscape today. Features such as recurring billing, a database, integration of shopping cards and fraud prevention are readily available to merchants. Merchants can integrate the gateway into their websites through software development kits available on the internet. Another aid for eCommerce businesses is their Virtual terminal. Nuvei’s Virtual terminal allows merchants to take orders through the phone or mail order.
ACH and eCheck Processing
While eChecks and ACH payments are not as popular as they used to be, some customers still choose this over a card or other cashless methods. Nuvei’s Payment gateway integrates with the eCheck service, and merchants can treat these transactions like an online transaction.
Real-Time Reports
Nuvei, too offers the standard real-time cloud-based reporting like many of its competitors. Their merchant dashboard has all the necessary reporting features that businesses need, such as immediately accessible merchant account statements.
Merchant Cash Advances
Like most merchant account providers, Nuvei provides its clients with quick working capital for any business need. This can even be used to pay off employees or expand the business’s operations. Merchants can receive amounts up to $500,000, and they are repaid through a percentage of future transactions till the loan is repaid. These loans are different from bank loans. They are approved quicker and usually have a much higher interest rate.
Products Offered by Nuvei
A Nuvei review would be incomplete without information about their hardware. Nuvei offers market-competitive hardware options to its merchants; unless a business has very specific needs, the hardware should meet most of them. Here are the offerings of the provider;
In-Store Sales Equipment
Nuvei does not have any equipment that they make. Their website advertises sales terminals from Ingenico, Verifone and FlexPoint. The models advertised on their website support all card-based payment methods, including EMV and NFC-based mobile wallet applications.
The company advertises both wired and wireless terminals; however, wireless terminals are not recommended based on the extra expenses of the wireless plan and higher costs. There is detailed information about the specifications of the models, but there is no information about the pricing. Their ISO’s will offer you outright payment or leasing options. It is best to avoid leasing as it never works out in favor of merchants.
Mobile Payment Options
Other than in-store POS systems, Nuvei offers mobile card readers that merchants can use with their smartphone or tablet to take payments on the go. Nuvei offers the Nomad WP2 and the Walker C2X. both the models allow you to connect via Bluetooth and support even NFC and EMV payments. These mobile payment solutions work with the GlobalOnePay Mobile application, readily available for iOS and Android devices.
Drawbacks of Nuvei
Drawbacks are essential to judge whether the provider has changed its practices and bring this Nuvei review to completion. Nuvei has a separate profile with the BBB than Pivotal Payments. And the provider has 38 registered complaints in the last three years, with 10 of them in the previous year alone. The most common complaints in customer reviews are;
Deceptive Sales Practices
It is disappointing for merchants to realize that they have been lied to, especially after they find themselves bound by a three-year-long contract. The independent sales agents often mislead merchants by hiding part of the contract, lying about the terms or keeping the exact fees undisclosed. Therefore, it is good to read reviews about the provider before signing a contract.
Surprise Fees
While it is possible that the agent may not describe every intricate fee that the provider will charge, significant fees should be appropriately disclosed. Merchants often complain that they were not told about the PCI compliance or non-compliance fees and other additional fees that they will be charged on optional services. But unfortunately, the agents of Nuvei have a reputation for hiding essential fees. Merchants have even complained about undisclosed early termination fees at times.
Hardware Problems
Nuvei has an excessive number of complaints regarding the compatibility or glitches of the hardware. This can be highly frustrating as merchants have to pay the account fees each month and cannot avail the provider’s services. This is a common problem amongst several merchants, and many of them have elevated this complaint with BBB as well.
Final Thoughts on Nuvei
Nuvei had a golden chance to change its reputation when it rebranded from Pivotal Payments. While some brands cash in on such an opportunity, Nuvei has missed it. The information in this Nuvei review shows that the provider still carries out the same practices that destroyed the reputation of Pivotal Payments. Many processors are changing the way they process payments in response to the feedback from merchants, but Nuvei is not one of them.
