Payment Processor Nuvei Must Implement Robust Merchant Screening Practices and Pay $4.85 Million to Settle FTC Charges that the Firm Facilitated Merchant Fraud
Global payment processor Nuvei will pay $4.85 million to settle the Federal Trade Commission’s charges that the firm opened and maintained payment processing accounts for merchants that it knew or should have known were engaged in deception, including tech support scams that took millions of dollars from consumers.
In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Canada-based Nuvei Corporation and its subsidiaries, Nuvei International Group Limited, Nuvei Limited, SafeCharge Digital Limited and Nuvei Technologies Inc., processed payments for scammers, including tech support scams targeting U.S. consumers. Specifically, Nuvei processed more than $30 million in consumer payments for Reimage, an offshore tech support scam, from 2017 to 2023, according to the FTC’s complaint.
“Today’s action underscores the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that our payments system operates free of fraud,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Our enforcement work reinforces the transparency and trust in the payments system that consumers and businesses depend on. Consumers deserve a payment system that is competitive, transparent and fortified against fraud—and we will take action anytime those standards are threatened.”
The complaint also alleges that, through its merchant acquiring bank registered in Cyprus, Nuvei furnished Reimage and other overseas deceptive tech support schemes with payment processing accounts that enabled the schemes to take credit card payments from cardholders in the United States and elsewhere.
The FTC took action against the operators of Reimage in 2024 and last year also sued a Europe-based payment processor, Paddle, which allegedly used its “merchant of record” platform to facilitate Reimage’s deceptive tech support scheme.
The FTC alleges that, in addition to providing credit card processing accounts for Reimage and other tech support schemes, Nuvei’s U.S.-based subsidiary, Nuvei Technologies Inc., also opened and maintained merchant accounts for merchants allegedly selling business opportunities with false or baseless earnings claims such as DK Automation, merchants impersonating government tax authorities such as American Tax Service and merchants that other payment processors or acquiring banks previously terminated for excessive chargebacks or fraud. The FTC brought enforcement actions against DK Automation and its founder in November 2022 and against American Tax Service and its owners in October 2025.
The complaint charges Nuvei and its operators with unfair practices in connection with payment processing in violation of the FTC Act and assisting and facilitating deceptive telemarketers in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
Under the proposed order with the FTC, Nuvei will pay $4.85 million, which will be used to provide consumer redress. The defendants are also prohibited from engaging in unfair or deceptive payment processing practices like those alleged in the complaint. Specifically, the proposed order:
- Bans Nuvei from providing payment services to any person selling tech support products or services by telemarketing or by pop-up messages relating to security or performance issues on a computer or other device;
- Prohibits Nuvei from making false or misleading statements to obtain merchant accounts and other payment processing services for itself or others, and engaging in any tactics to avoid fraud or risk monitoring programs established by banks or credit card networks, including load balancing; and
- Requires Nuvei to screen and monitor its existing and prospective clients, including clients in certain merchant categories such as outbound telemarketing, and conduct enhanced screening and investigation of any existing client whose chargeback rates exceed the limits set forth in the order.
The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint and stipulated order was 2-0. The FTC filed the complaint and final order in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson and Commissioner Mark R. Meador issued a joint statement.
NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.
The lead attorneys in this matter are Russell Deitch and Sung W. Kim in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
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