Self-hosted open-source payment processor supporting 50+ coins including Monero
Privacy 9.2
Safety 7.3
Payment Gateways Since 2019 Reviewed 22 Oct 2026
NOWPayments review
Hosted crypto payment gateway linked to ChangeNOW, with fees from 1%
- Accepts Monero
- 5+ years operating
- May ask for ID
- Screens deposits
- Email required
ID on risk flag KYC 3 Documentation reviewed
Privacy
1.7/ 10
Poor
Safety
4.4/ 10
Caution
Based on terms and documentation. No test transactions published yet. See the arithmetic
NOWPayments review in short
NOWPayments is a payment gateway operating since 2019. Its terms put it at KYC level 3 of 4: ID on risk flag. NoKYC Score grades it 1.7/10 for privacy (poor) and 4.4/10 for safety (caution). In its favour: accepts Monero and 5+ years operating. To watch: it may ask for ID, screens deposits and requires an email address. No incidents are on record.
- Category
- Payment Gateways
- KYC level
- 3 of 4: ID on risk flag
- Grades
- Privacy 1.7/10, Safety 4.4/10
- Sign-up
- Email required
- Custody
- mixed
- Fees
- From 1% with loyalty discounts, excluding network fees
- Incidents on record
- 0
- Last reviewed
- 22 Oct 2026
Cite this review
NoKYC Score, "NOWPayments review", reviewed 22 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/nowpayments
Also available as plain text.
What NOWPayments is
NOWPayments is a hosted cryptocurrency payment gateway for merchants offering an API, invoices, subscriptions, plug-ins, mass payouts described as powered by ChangeNOW, custody and fiat off-ramp payouts. The site advertises support for more than 350 cryptocurrencies and a starting fee of 1% with loyalty discounts, excluding network fees. Unlike self-hosted processors it is a service operated by a company: merchants register an account, payments pass through its infrastructure, and conversions rely on a swap provider that applies AML screening. Merchants should therefore expect that verification can be requested, particularly for fiat features.
What NOWPayments offers, and what to watch
2 of 13 privacy and safety features, 4 warnings in its terms.
"Not stated" means its own pages do not say.
Identity
- ID never required No
- No account needed No
- No email needed No
- No phone number Not stated
Payment
- Accepts Monero Yes Monero hides sender, receiver and amount, so the payment cannot be traced to you.
- Accepts Lightning Not stated
Access
- Tor onion address Not stated
- Works without JavaScript Not stated
Trust
- Never holds your funds Not stated
- Open source No
- Independent audit Not stated
- Company named Not stated
- 5+ years operating Yes Has operated continuously for five years or more.
Warnings
- May ask for ID Yes The terms reserve the right to demand identity documents, often after a risk flag.
- Screens deposits Yes Deposits are scored by blockchain analytics; a flag can freeze them.
- Holds your funds Not in terms
- Email required Yes An email address is required to use the service.
- Phone number required Not in terms
- Closed source Yes The code is not public, so its behaviour cannot be checked.
- Nobody accountable Not in terms
Does NOWPayments require KYC?
- 0 Never
- 1 Not mentioned
- 2 Rare
- 3 On risk flag
- 4 Mandatory
KYC level 3: ID on risk flag. The terms allow funds to be held and identity demanded after an automated risk flag.
Hosted service with merchant accounts; conversions run through a swap provider that applies AML checks, and verification can be requested.
How the grades add up
Both grades start at 50 points and move by fixed, published amounts. Nothing is adjusted by hand. The total is divided by ten.
Privacy
1.7- Starting points 50
- KYC level 3: ID on risk flag -14
- Accepts Monero +4
- Third-party liquidity -3
- AML screening -7
- May request ID -7
- Requires email -4
- Closed source -2
- Total, clamped to 0–100 17
Safety
4.4- Starting points 50
- Third-party liquidity -6
- AML screening -3
- May request ID -4
- Closed source -3
- 5+ years operating +10
- Total, clamped to 0–100 44
Test ledger
Real transactions run by our editors. A badge without a ledger is an assertion; this is the proof.
No test transactions published yet
The grades above rest on NOWPayments’s terms and documentation. Tests will appear here with the date, route, amount band and result as they are run.
Incidents on record
No incidents are on record for NOWPayments. If you have a documented case, report it.
User reviews
Reviews never change a grade. Reviews with a transaction reference are marked.
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NOWPayments: common questions
Does NOWPayments require KYC?
NOWPayments is rated KYC level 3 of 4 on this site: ID on risk flag. Hosted service with merchant accounts; conversions run through a swap provider that applies AML checks, and verification can be requested.
Is NOWPayments safe to use?
NOWPayments has a Safety grade of 4.4 out of 10 and a Privacy grade of 1.7 out of 10. No incidents are on record. Evidence level: documentation reviewed.
Is NOWPayments legit?
NOWPayments is a working payment gateway that has operated since 2019. Being real is not the same as being safe: its Safety grade here is 4.4 out of 10, built from custody, liquidity, track record and incidents.
Is NOWPayments a scam?
NoKYC Score does not label services as scams; it records documented incidents with their sources and outcomes. No incidents are on record for NOWPayments. Its terms also allow it to hold a flagged deposit and ask for identity documents.
Do I need an account or email to use NOWPayments?
Email required.
What fees does NOWPayments charge?
From 1% with loyalty discounts, excluding network fees. Fees were recorded from NOWPayments's own pages and can change; check before you send.
Does NOWPayments have a Tor onion address?
No official onion address was found on NOWPayments's own pages.
Which cryptocurrencies does NOWPayments support?
NOWPayments supports BTC, ETH, XMR, USDT, LTC, TRX.
Is NOWPayments custodial?
NOWPayments uses a mixed custody model. Read the listing for details.
Can I use NOWPayments over Tor?
NOWPayments does not publish an official onion address.
Listing history
- Listing added. Facts and KYC level set from the service's own terms and documentation.