Nuvei Secures Israeli License, Promising Lower Prices for Online Shoppers

By Вести-Калькалист

Translated & summarized from Vesty by baba

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Russian · 6 newsrooms covering

Canadian fintech Nuvei has received an Israeli acquiring license, enabling it to process local payments for foreign merchants like Shein and Temu. This move is expected to reduce transaction costs for sellers and potentially lead to lower prices for Israeli consumers. Nuvei's president, Yuval Ziv, highlighted that Israelis will gain more payment options for international online purchases. The company, which already has a significant presence in Israel, aims to expand its local operations and serve Israeli tech exporters.

The story in 6 lines · by baba

Nuvei obtained an Israeli acquiring license to process local payments for foreign merchants.
The license is expected to lower costs for online sellers and potentially reduce prices for Israeli consumers.
Israeli shoppers will gain more payment options for international online purchases, including using local credit cards.
Nuvei aims to serve major retailers like Shein and Temu, as well as Israeli high-tech exporters.
The company has a substantial existing presence in Israel through previous acquisitions.
Nuvei is in the process of acquiring Payoneer for $2.75 billion, which will significantly expand its operations.

Nuvei Secures Israeli License, Promising Lower Prices for Online Shoppers — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

Nuvei, a Canadian fintech company serving clients like Shein and Temu, has obtained an acquiring license from the Israel Securities Authority. This license allows Nuvei to process payments locally, including in Israeli shekels, which is expected to reduce transaction costs for foreign merchants selling to Israeli consumers. While the payment process will remain seamless for shoppers, it will introduce more payment options. Nuvei's President, Yuval Ziv, stated that Israelis will be able to use local credit cards, not typically designed for international transactions, on foreign websites. Currently, purchases made by Israelis on sites like Shein are treated as international transactions, incurring higher costs for the merchants. The shift to local acquiring is anticipated to lower these expenses and potentially reduce the rate of transactions flagged as fraudulent, thereby boosting seller revenue. Nuvei anticipates that these savings will be passed on to consumers, potentially leading to lower prices. The company pursued the Israeli license following requests from its major retail clients seeking to expand their operations in the country. The application process began approximately 18 months ago, during the ongoing conflict. Ziv explained that despite Israel's smaller market size, its high online purchasing activity and frequent travel make it an attractive market for foreign companies that previously faced difficulties processing Israeli payments. Nuvei also plans to offer its services to Israeli high-tech companies, many of which export their products and require international payment processing. The acquired license is specifically for acquiring services, and Nuvei will not issue cards or compete with local credit card companies. It will connect to the Shva (Automatic Banking Services) payment system, which manages the national payment infrastructure. Nuvei already has a significant presence in Israel, having acquired SafeCharge for $890 million in 2019 and Simplex, a crypto payment solutions provider, for $250 million in 2021. The company currently employs 350 people at its Tel Aviv center, part of its global workforce of about 2,600. This Israeli workforce is expected to grow substantially following the completion of its $2.75 billion acquisition of Payoneer, a company comparable to Nuvei in revenue and staff size. The combined entity aims for an annual revenue of approximately $3 billion and a workforce of nearly 5,000.