Nuvei adds PINless debit and routing to cut costs

July 25, 2025

Nuvei has launched new enhancements to its Authorisation Optimisation Suite, adding support for PINless debit and Least Cost Routing in a bid to help merchants in North America improve transaction success rates and reduce payment processing costs.

The new features, now live in the US, allow eligible debit card transactions to bypass traditional card rails and route through lower-cost local debit networks. Nuvei says this can lift approval rates by up to 3.5 percentage points, enabling merchants to recover revenue that would otherwise be lost to failed transactions.

Phil Fayer, chair and CEO of Nuvei, said, “These enhancements give merchants access to debit networks that can deliver both higher approval rates and lower processing costs. Our smart routing engine gives merchants the flexibility to prioritize maximum approvals or cost efficiency based on their business objectives. It’s about putting optimization in their hands and helping them turn payments into profit.”

The company has been investing heavily in the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to refine its routing logic. These tools assess issuer behaviour, network rules, card metadata and regional preferences in real time to determine the most effective route for each transaction. As debit cards now account for over 53% of online card payments in North America, such optimisation has become essential.

Alongside smarter routing, Nuvei’s intelligent authorisation engine ensures each transaction stands the best possible chance of approval. It incorporates features like smart authorisation messaging tailored to issuer-specific requirements, the use of Visa and Mastercard network tokens, and one-click tokenised payments for returning customers.

In cases where a transaction fails, Nuvei’s Smart Retry system activates. This tool evaluates the reason for failure and automatically retries the payment using an alternate route. It includes capabilities such as account updater for expired cards, bank failover routing and message reconfiguration based on issuer feedback.

To give merchants complete visibility and control, Nuvei’s platform offers a robust Control Layer that combines AI-powered analytics with real-time insights. From approval rate analysis and trend monitoring to real-time risk dashboards, businesses can gain a granular understanding of payment performance and identify areas for optimisation.