Dive Brief:

• Canadian payments processor Nuvei will acquire Payoneer Global for $2.75 billion to build a bigger cross-border commerce business, according to a Monday press release from the companies.
• Nuvei’s purchase of New York-based Payoneer will allow the combined business to better serve corporate clients, with “a more complete platform to accept payments, send funds, issue cards, manage treasury and FX needs, and access embedded financial services – at scale,” Nuvei Chairman and CEO Phil Fayer said in the release.
• The merger is also expected to aid the combined business in supporting new payments strategies in agentic commerce and stablecoin payments, the release said.

Dive Insight:

With Payoneer, Nuvei’s infrastructure will be bolstered to support some of the biggest digital marketplaces doing business around the world, including the retailers Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Etsy.

“As commerce becomes more complex across local and cross-border markets, businesses need infrastructure that can support the full transaction lifecycle,” the companies said in the release. The combination addresses that need by merging “Nuvei's payment acceptance capabilities with Payoneer's cross-border payouts, multi-currency accounts and banking network, along with same-day and real-time settlement in more than 150 markets.”

Payoneer will also benefit the combined operation with its regulatory credentials around the world. The company has licenses to work in online payment services in China and is also authorized in India as a cross-border payment aggregator, according to the press release.

Payoneer will enhance Nuvei’s ability to process payments for small and mid-sized businesses, especially e-commerce sellers and freelancers, across emerging markets within Southeast Asia and Latin America, according to Benchmark senior research analyst Mark Palmer. Palmer, who follows fintech and digital assets for the StoneX company, also said Nuvei would gain connectivity with leading online marketplaces, including Amazon.com, Fiverr, and eBay, which would make the processor more attractive to small and mid-sized businesses.

Montreal-based Nuvei processes payments in more than 200 markets, acquires transactions locally in 52 markets, and supports 150 currencies and 720 alternative payment methods, according to the company’s website.

The two companies also have synergy in the movement and conversion of stablecoins to spendable currency. Payoneer allows users to send, receive, hold, and convert stablecoins to fiat currencies through its platform. Nuvei offers on- and off-ramps for converting digital assets and stablecoins into fiat currencies.

The transaction is expected to close by the middle of next year, the release said.