Nuvei to pay $4.85 million in FTC merchant-screening case

Nuvei agreed to pay $4.85 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the payment processor opened and maintained accounts for merchants it knew or should have known were engaged in deceptive conduct.

The FTC announced the settlement Sept. 4, 2026, saying Nuvei processed payments for merchants involved in tech support scams and other allegedly deceptive businesses. According to the agency's complaint, Nuvei processed more than $30 million in consumer payments for Reimage, an offshore tech support operation, from 2017 to 2023.

The FTC previously took action against Reimage's operators. In the Nuvei complaint, the agency alleged the processor furnished Reimage and other overseas tech support schemes with payment processing accounts that enabled them to accept credit card payments from consumers in the United States and elsewhere.

"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.

The settlement also covers allegations involving Nuvei Technologies Inc., Nuvei's U.S.-based subsidiary. The FTC alleged the subsidiary opened and maintained merchant accounts for businesses making false or unsupported earnings claims, merchants impersonating government tax authorities, and merchants previously terminated by other payment processors or acquiring banks for excessive chargebacks or fraud.

Processors face upstream scrutiny

The case is significant for the acquiring industry because the FTC is not only pursuing the merchants accused of misconduct. It is also placing responsibility on the processor that gave those merchants access to payment acceptance.

The FTC charged Nuvei and related entities with unfair payment processing practices under the FTC Act and with assisting and facilitating deceptive telemarketers in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

In a joint statement, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner Mark Meador said payment processors play a gatekeeping role because most merchants cannot access debit and credit card networks without a processor or acquiring relationship. They noted that card networks require banks and approved processors to underwrite merchants before boarding them and to monitor existing merchants for deceptive or illicit conduct.

The statement also said processors are not strictly liable for every bad merchant that slips through. Instead, the commissioners emphasized knowledge, saying the FTC must show a processor knew, should have known or consciously avoided knowing that merchant transactions involved unlawful conduct.

That distinction matters for legitimate ISOs and processors and acquiring banks. The commission is not saying fraud by a merchant automatically creates processor liability. It is saying processors cannot ignore red flags, weak underwriting or signs that merchants are using payment access to harm consumers.

Monitoring requirements tighten

Under the proposed order, Nuvei is prohibited from providing payment services to tech support providers that sell through telemarketing or pop-up messages involving computer or device security or performance issues. The order also bars Nuvei from processing for merchants on Mastercard's high-risk merchant list.

The order prohibits false or misleading statements used to obtain merchant accounts or payment processing services. It also prohibits tactics designed to avoid fraud or risk monitoring programs established by banks or card networks, including load balancing.

Nuvei also must screen and monitor existing and prospective clients, including clients in certain merchant categories such as outbound telemarketing. The company must conduct enhanced screening and investigation when an existing client's chargeback rates exceed thresholds set in the order.

Industry observers noted the case is a reminder that merchant underwriting does not end at boarding. Fraud monitoring, chargeback review and attention to merchant red flags are continuing obligations tied to access to the payments system.

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