NOWPayments Review 2026: Crypto Payment Gateway Fees, API, KYC & Restricted Countries

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.