# NOWPayments review: KYC policy, privacy and safety grades

> 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.

Source: NoKYC Score, "NOWPayments review", reviewed 22 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/nowpayments

## Key facts
- **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
- **Official website:** https://nowpayments.io

## What it 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 the terms say about ID
Hosted service with merchant accounts; conversions run through a swap provider that applies AML checks, and verification can be requested.

## Features and warnings
- **Identity:** ID never required: no; No account needed: no; No email needed: no; No phone number: not stated
- **Payment:** Accepts Monero: yes; 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
- **Warnings:** May ask for ID: yes; Screens deposits: yes; Holds your funds: not in terms; Email required: yes; Phone number required: not in terms; Closed source: yes; Nobody accountable: not in terms

## 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.

## Sources
- https://nowpayments.io

How grades are calculated: https://nokycscore.com/methodology