Review Type: Payments

Some crypto payment processors try to be everything at once: exchange, wallet, checkout, banking… and end up feeling like a patchwork.

NOWPayments takes a cleaner approach. It’s primarily a payment gateway—built to plug into websites, apps, and stores so customers can pay with crypto while merchants receive funds in a predictable way. The platform positions itself as non-custodial for standard flows (you route settlement to your wallets), but it also offers optional custody-style infrastructure through dedicated APIs when businesses need off-chain operations and account-style balances.

In short: it’s a toolbox—simple checkout for small shops, full API stack for platforms running real volume.

 

Quick platform snapshot

Category	NOWPayments at a glance
Founded	2019 (by the team behind ChangeNOW)
Operator (legal entity)	FD Transfers LLC (incorporated in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
What it is	Non-custodial crypto payment gateway for merchants + APIs and integration tools
Supported assets	350+ cryptocurrencies (plus a list of supported fiat currencies in checkout flows)
Core merchant tools	Payments API, invoices, payment widget/buttons, plugins, POS, donations, payouts
Advanced APIs	Mass Payouts, Custody, Customer Management, Recurring Payments, Fiat Withdrawals
Fees	0.5% (no exchange) / 1% (multi-currency, fixed-rate, “fee paid by user”) + network fees
KYC/AML	Triggered in suspicious/risk cases; may require ID + source of funds + selfie verification
Restricted countries	Explicit restrictions in Terms (including US & territories and multiple sanctioned/blocked jurisdictions)

1) Background: history and who runs it

NOWPayments was founded in 2019 by the team behind ChangeNOW. Operationally, the service is offered by FD Transfers LLC, a company incorporated in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with published corporate details in its official materials.

NOWPayments doesn’t present itself like a consumer brand with a celebrity CEO. The positioning is “merchant infrastructure”—meaning what matters is integrations, fees, settlement options, and risk controls.

2) Licensing and regulation: what to expect

NOWPayments is a payments and processing provider, so it maintains formal compliance documentation and published policies around AML/KYC. In practice, this shows up in two ways:

• Merchants/business users should expect compliance checks to exist at the service level (especially for fiat tooling and higher-risk flows).
• End users paying invoices can be asked for verification in exceptional cases (more on that below).

3) Full list of NOWPayments services and products (complete catalog)

A) Crypto payment gateway (core checkout)

• Accept crypto payments on websites and apps
• Generate payment requests with clear statuses and tracking
• Receive settlement to merchant wallet addresses (standard model)

B) Invoices

• Create invoices for one-time payments
• Use invoices for e-commerce and for “send a bill, get paid in crypto” workflow
• support for fixed-rate style flows (where a rate lock/structure is used)

C) Payment widget / buttons / pay links

• Quick embed tools for simple checkout
• Useful for creators, small stores, and lightweight integrations

D) Plugins and CMS integrations

Ready-made integrations for popular e-commerce stacks (for faster deployment than custom API work)

E) Donations tools

Donation widgets/flows for fundraising and nonprofit-style acceptance

F) Point of Sale (POS)

In-person acceptance tools designed for offline/retail payment flows

G) Auto-conversion and multi-currency acceptance

Let customers pay in one asset while the merchant settles in another (multi-currency logic)

Designed to reduce “we only accept X coin” friction

H) APIs for platforms and advanced merchants

NOWPayments publishes multiple APIs for different operating models:

• Payments API: core payment processing for custom checkout
• Mass Payouts API: send many payouts in one automated flow
• Custody API: manage funds in a custody balance and run off-chain operations
• Customer Management API: create user accounts, manage balances, deposits, transfers, payouts
• Recurring Payments API: subscriptions and automated billing in crypto
• Fiat Withdrawals API: accept crypto and settle to a bank account in fiat (where supported)

I) Fiat flows (where available)

NOWPayments describes two distinct fiat-related options:

• Fiat payments at checkout (customer chooses fiat, is routed through a partner “buy crypto” flow for payment completion)
• Fiat withdrawals / off-ramp (merchant converts crypto and sends fiat to a bank account, including SEPA-focused settlement as described in their materials)

4) Fees and costs (clear and merchant-friendly)

A) Service fees

NOWPayments’ service fee model is fixed by payment type:

• 0.5% for payments without exchange (customer pays in the same asset the merchant receives)
• 1% for multi-currency payments, fixed-rate payments, and “fee paid by user” payments

B) Network fees (gas)

As with any crypto payment flow:

• customers pay network fees when sending funds
• merchants may pay network fees when moving funds out of receiving wallets

C) Fiat rails and partner costs

For fiat-related flows (checkout via fiat provider, or fiat withdrawals to bank):

• additional provider/rail costs may apply depending on the specific method and region
• these costs typically behave more like payments-rail pricing than pure on-chain fees

5) KYC & AML: when verification appears

NOWPayments explains KYC/AML as a risk-triggered process rather than a universal requirement for every user and payment.

What this looks like in practice:

• Transactions can be flagged as suspicious by monitoring algorithms (described in NOWPayments materials as partner-driven detection)
• If flagged, a payment may be put on hold
• The user may be asked to provide:
  • a photo of an ID
  • evidence of source of funds
  • a selfie holding the ID and a note as instructed by support

This is designed to meet AML obligations while keeping normal payments relatively smooth.

6) Restricted countries and prohibited use

NOWPayments’ Terms include explicit country restrictions. The published restricted list includes (among others):

• United States of America, including territories (e.g., Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands)
• Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Sudan, Syria, Russia
• plus additional listed jurisdictions such as Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Bolivia
• and generally any country subject to UN Security Council sanctions (and equivalents)

For merchants, this matters because it affects onboarding, payout options, and the ability to legally use the service.

Who NOWPayments is best for

• E-commerce merchants who want multi-coin checkout with low, predictable processing fees
• Platforms that need APIs for payments + customer balances + automated payouts
• Businesses that want recurring crypto billing
• Merchants who want optional fiat settlement to a bank account (where supported)
• Projects that need donations or simple payment links without building a full checkout stack

FAQ

1. What is NOWPayments?
   A crypto payment gateway for merchants, offering checkout tools, invoices, plugins, POS, and an API suite (including mass payouts and recurring billing).
2. When was NOWPayments founded?
   NOWPayments states it was founded in 2019 by the team behind ChangeNOW.
3. Is NOWPayments custodial?
   It markets standard payment acceptance as non-custodial (settlement to merchant wallets), but it also offers a Custody API for businesses that need custody-balance style operations.
4. What fees does NOWPayments charge?
   0.5% for payments without exchange, and 1% for multi-currency, fixed-rate, and “fee paid by user” payments—plus network fees.
5. How many coins does NOWPayments support?
   NOWPayments states it supports 350+ cryptocurrencies, with additional fiat currencies supported in certain checkout flows.
6. Does NOWPayments offer recurring payments?
   Yes. It publishes a Recurring Payments API for subscriptions and automated billing.
7. Does NOWPayments support mass payouts?
   Yes. It offers a Mass Payouts API to send multiple payouts in a single automated flow.
8. Does NOWPayments support fiat withdrawals to a bank account?
   Yes. NOWPayments promotes a Fiat Withdrawals API and describes fiat settlement flows (including bank/SEPA-focused settlement where available).
9. Does NOWPayments require KYC?
   Not universally for every payment, but KYC/AML can be required in suspicious/risk cases, where transactions may be held until verification is completed.
10. Which countries are restricted?
    NOWPayments’ Terms list multiple restricted jurisdictions including the US (and territories) and several sanctioned/blocked regions (including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Sudan, Syria, Russia), plus other listed jurisdictions and UN-sanctioned countries.

BitPay sits in a very specific lane: it’s the bridge between crypto and ordinary commerce. Not “trade 200 altcoins with leverage,” but “accept a payment, settle it, move on with business,” plus a consumer app that tries to make crypto spending feel less like a science experiment.

That focus is why BitPay keeps showing up in two places at once:

• Merchant side: checkout, invoices, plugins, payouts, settlement.
• User side: pay bills, buy gift cards, spend via card, and pay merchants that support BitPay invoices.

If your goal is utility—turning crypto into payments—BitPay is one of the most established options in the market.

 

Quick platform snapshot

Category	BitPay at a glance
Founded	2011
Founders	Stephen Pair, Tony Gallippi
Current CEO	Stephen Pair
What it is	Crypto payments company: merchant checkout + invoicing + settlements + payouts; consumer app for spending crypto
Core merchant products	Online & in-store crypto acceptance, invoicing/email billing, settlements to bank, donation tools, crypto payouts (BitPay Send), APIs & plugins
Consumer products	Self-custody wallet app + browser extension, bill pay, gift cards, crypto debit card, buy/swap/sell tools (where available)
Merchant fees	Tiered: 2% / 1.5% / 1% + $0.25 per transaction (monthly volume based; higher fees may apply for high-risk industries)
KYC/AML	Required for many BitPay transactions/products (BitPay ID); merchants/donees are onboarded under AML requirements
Licensing/regulation	U.S. licensed money transmitter (state-by-state); licensed for Virtual Currency Business Activity in New York; EU operations via BitPay B.V. supervised by the Dutch Central Bank
Restricted regions	Sanctioned + unsupported country lists published by BitPay (plus US state-level limitations)

1) Background: history, founders, leadership

BitPay was founded in 2011 by Stephen Pair and Tony Gallippi. The company is headquartered in the United States and is led by Stephen Pair (CEO).

Unlike exchanges, BitPay’s public narrative has always been about payments infrastructure: reduce chargeback fraud exposure, expand global payment options, and offer merchants a settlement path that doesn’t require them to become crypto traders.

2) Licensing and regulation (what BitPay is, legally)

BitPay operates as a regulated financial services business rather than a “pure software protocol.”

Key points BitPay publishes:

• In the United States, BitPay states it is a licensed money transmitter (state-by-state) and lists licensing disclosures (including a published NMLS ID).
• BitPay states it is licensed to engage in Virtual Currency Business Activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services.
• For EU-facing services, BitPay states BitPay B.V. is registered with and supervised by the Dutch Central Bank under Dutch AML/CTF frameworks.

Practically, this matters because BitPay is compliance-forward: if you want the convenience of “pay any bill with crypto” or “buy gift cards instantly,” you should expect identity verification to show up more often than it would in a simple self-custody wallet.

3) Full list of BitPay services and products (complete catalog)

A) Merchant crypto acceptance (online payments)

BitPay’s core merchant stack includes:

• Hosted checkout (BitPay invoice flow for customers)
• Payment buttons / pay links for simple implementations
• E-commerce integrations via plugins for platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, and others
• REST APIs and SDKs for custom checkout experiences

Invoice mechanics: BitPay invoices are time-sensitive and typically expire after 15 minutes, with exchange rates locked during the invoice window.

B) In-store payments (POS)

For retail scenarios, BitPay supports in-person acceptance through checkout/POS-style flows designed for QR-based invoice payments.

C) Email billing / invoicing

BitPay supports:

• Email billing and invoice requests (useful for B2B and services businesses)
• Customer pays an invoice in supported crypto within the invoice window

D) Settlements (getting paid)

Merchants can settle proceeds:

• To a bank account in fiat currency
• In cryptocurrency
• Or as a mix of fiat and crypto

BitPay also publishes support for major fiat settlements (including USD/EUR/GBP) and crypto settlement options (including BTC/ETH/USDC), depending on the merchant setup and region.

E) Stablecoin payments

BitPay supports stablecoin-style payments through supported networks/tokens (notably Ethereum and Polygon token ecosystems), allowing customers to pay invoices using token rails where supported.

F) Crypto payouts (BitPay Send)

BitPay Send is positioned as a business product for:

• Mass payouts (payroll, affiliates, contractors, creators)
• Vendor/customer payouts
• Global distributions in supported cryptocurrencies

G) Crypto donations

BitPay offers merchant/donee-style donation tooling for nonprofits and fundraising campaigns (invoice-based donation payments).

H) Exchange rates and pricing tools

BitPay provides exchange-rate tooling used to calculate invoice totals, lock prices during invoice windows, and support settlement conversions.

4) Consumer products: BitPay app ecosystem

A) BitPay Self-Custody Wallet (mobile app)

BitPay offers a self-custody wallet app where the user controls keys. Core features include:

• Store, send, receive crypto across supported networks
• Portfolio-style management
• Built-in flows for spending and payments (BitPay-powered features)

B) Browser extension

BitPay also provides a browser extension designed for payments and commerce-style crypto flows.

C) Pay Bills (bill pay with crypto)

BitPay supports paying a wide range of bills (including credit cards and mortgages) using crypto through its bill pay product, subject to geographic restrictions and verification requirements.

D) Gift cards

BitPay sells gift cards from major brands through its app/extension checkout flows, paid with supported cryptocurrencies.

E) Crypto debit card (BitPay Card)

BitPay offers a crypto debit card product that converts crypto into spendable fiat at the point of use (availability depends on region and eligibility). It’s positioned for everyday spending wherever the card network is accepted.

F) Buy / swap / sell (where available)

BitPay advertises the ability to buy, swap, and sell crypto through the app/website experience, generally via integrated rails and partners. Availability and supported assets depend on location and compliance constraints.

G) Merchant directory

BitPay maintains a directory of merchants where users can spend crypto, plus “pay with BitPay” style invoice flows at participating merchants.

5) Supported cryptocurrencies (what BitPay accepts for invoices)

BitPay states invoice payments support:

• Bitcoin (BTC) on-chain and Lightning
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• XRP
• Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum tokens (including stablecoins)
• Polygon (POL, formerly MATIC) and Polygon tokens (including stablecoins)

BitPay also publicly discusses broader expansion to support “100+ coins and tokens” for payments overall, but invoice payment support follows BitPay’s published invoice-eligible list and token/network coverage.

6) Fees and costs (clear, merchant-first)

A) Merchant processing fees (published tiered pricing)

BitPay’s standard merchant processing fees are tiered by cumulative monthly volume:

• < $500,000/month: 2% + $0.25 per transaction
• $500,000–$999,999/month: 1.5% + $0.25 per transaction
• ≥ $1,000,000/month: 1% + $0.25 per transaction

BitPay notes higher fees may apply for high-risk industries.

B) Network fees

Customers pay normal blockchain network fees (gas/miner fees) when sending payments. Those are separate from BitPay’s processing fees.

C) Invoice timing cost (15-minute window)

Invoices are designed with a 15-minute rate lock and expiration. If a customer misses the window, the invoice must typically be regenerated and paid again at the new rate.

7) KYC and AML (what’s required, and when)

BitPay is explicit that ID verification may be required for transactions that use BitPay’s services.

Key published behavior:

• BitPay states it may require a BitPay ID for “any transactions using our service,” including paying a BitPay invoice, buying gift cards, and using BitPay products.
• Merchants (and donation recipients/donees) are onboarded under AML/CTF requirements, meaning BitPay collects business and beneficial-owner information as required by regulation.

Important distinction:

• A “self-custody wallet” can exist without KYC in general, but BitPay-powered commerce flows frequently involve verification because BitPay is a regulated payments provider.

8) Availability and restricted jurisdictions

BitPay publishes two layers of geographic limits:

Sanctioned countries/territories (published list)

• BitPay lists sanctioned jurisdictions including: Belarus, Congo (Republic of the Congo), Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Zimbabwe.
• Unsupported countries/territories (published list)
• BitPay lists additional unsupported jurisdictions including: Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, China, Croatia, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Palestine (Occupied Palestinian Territory), Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates (merchant restrictions noted), Vietnam.

BitPay also notes:

• The list may change, may be non-exhaustive, and US availability can vary by state.

Who BitPay is best for

• Merchants who want crypto checkout with bank settlement and predictable fees
• Businesses that want email invoicing and mass payouts in crypto (payroll/affiliates/contractors)
• Consumers who want “crypto spending utilities” like bill pay and gift cards
• Anyone who prefers a compliance-forward provider over a pure “anonymous payment link” experience

FAQ

1. What is BitPay, exactly?
   BitPay is a crypto payments company that provides merchant checkout, invoicing, settlement to bank accounts, and business payouts—plus a consumer app for spending crypto.
2. Who founded BitPay?
   BitPay was founded in 2011 by Stephen Pair and Tony Gallippi.
3. Who is BitPay’s CEO?
   Stephen Pair is the CEO.
4. Is BitPay an exchange?
   No. BitPay is primarily a payments provider, not a trading exchange with an order book.
5. What fees does BitPay charge merchants?
   BitPay publishes tiered merchant processing fees: 2% / 1.5% / 1% + $0.25 per transaction, based on monthly volume (with higher fees possible for high-risk industries).
6. Why do BitPay invoices expire?
   BitPay invoices are typically valid for 15 minutes. The exchange rate is locked during that window to reduce volatility risk.
7. Does BitPay require KYC?
   Often, yes. BitPay states it may require a BitPay ID for transactions using its services, including invoice payments, gift cards, and BitPay products. Merchants are onboarded under AML requirements.
8. What cryptocurrencies can pay a BitPay invoice?
   BitPay states invoices support BTC (on-chain & Lightning), BCH, LTC, DOGE, XRP, ETH + Ethereum tokens (including stablecoins), and Polygon + Polygon tokens (including stablecoins).
9. Can merchants settle in fiat?
   Yes. BitPay supports settlement via bank deposit in fiat, settlement in crypto, or a mix of both, depending on merchant configuration and region.
10. Which countries are restricted?
    BitPay publishes lists of sanctioned and unsupported jurisdictions (and also notes US state-specific limitations). If your country is listed, BitPay services may not be available.