There are two types of fees in NOWPayments – service fees that our platform charges and network fees that you pay to the blockchain for processing your transactions. Here, we explain how these fees work and how you can save on them.
Crypto Fees in a Nutshell
Before we delve into NOWPayments’ fees, let’s see how they work in crypto in general.
Network fees
Users pay this type of fee when they transfer coins from one wallet address to another. For example, your customers pay it when they make a purchase at your online store using cryptocurrency. This fee is paid to miners or validators to incentivize them to process transactions and keep the blockchain secure.
Network fee size depends on a particular coin and its blockchain congestion. We’re in the bear market now, the trading activity is relatively low – so are the fees. In December 2022, average network fees were $1-1.5 in Bitcoin and $0.3-0.5 in Ethereum. Network fees in the latter are dubbed as gas fees. Gas is the computing power that Ethereum validators have to use to process a transaction.
Network fees are not affected by transaction value: for instance, recently, Binance has transferred 127,000 Bitcoins in one single transaction and paid only $0.44 as a network fee. The total transaction value exceeded $2 billion.
Network fees vary widely from coin to coin. Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions are probably the most expensive. Many blockchains were later designed to reduce the cost of transactions. In BNB Smart Chain, network fees are between $0.14 and $0.18; they are even lower in TRON blockchain, and you pay less than $0.01 of fees in Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, DigiByte, Ravencoin, Verge, and some other coins.
Service fees
Service fees are the fees that crypto platforms charge for using them. Centralized exchanges take trading fees – for example, Binance charges a small percentage from each crypto trade. Exchange services take exchange fees for making non-custodial swaps on their platforms.
NOWPayments takes 0.5% as a service fee from every transaction and a 0.5% exchange fee in case there’s a need to swap the coins.
Withdrawal fees
Custodial platforms where users store cryptocurrency allow for withdrawing funds to any wallet address. For sending the crypto outside the platform, many services charge withdrawal fees.
NOWPayments Custody doesn’t take withdrawal fees. All you need to pay to withdraw is a network fee.
Fees in NOWPayments
As mentioned above, in NOWPayments, there are service fees for using the platform and network fees paid to the blockchain.
The integration with our payment gateway is completely free – you are charged nothing until your customers start paying you in crypto.
Service fees in NOWPayments
Transparent system of fixed fees. There are only two types of service fees in NOWPayments, and they never fluctuate based on any factors – you can rest assured they remain the same all the time:
- A 0.5% fee for single-currency payments – when your customer pays you a certain cryptocurrency, and you receive this very coin in your wallet or in NOWPayments Custody.
- The same 0.5% fee for multi-currency payments + 0.5% for exchanging the coins, which is 1% in total. For example, your customer wants to buy something in Ethereum, and you only accept Bitcoin – the client pays in ETH, we convert crypto on the go, and you receive BTC.
Generally, service fees are different across the market. Many payment gateways offer non-transparent and unpredictable fees. They aren’t clearly described and are not fixed, and you never know how much you’ll be charged. You only learn this after the payment is completed – and still don’t know how the fee was formed.
Some services take a double network fee (we explain these fees below) and some don’t share any precise information regarding the fees – they say they “start from 0.5%-1%”, which means fees can go to the moon. In NOWPayments, it’s always either 0.5% or 1%.
Network fees in NOWPayments
You can use NOWPayments in two modes.
Non-custodial: funds go from your customers to one-time deposit address, then we send them to our internal processing, and only after that we send the funds to your wallet.
Custodial: funds go from your clients to NOWPayments Custody (enable it in your Personal Account).
- If one-time deposit addresses are used, an on-chain move to Custody is required → the merchant pays a network fee at this step.
- If funds are credited internally (no extra on-chain hop), no network fee applies on arrival to Custody; you pay a network fee only when you withdraw to your personal wallet.
Network fees depend on the coin and network conditions. Bitcoin and Ethereum can reach ~$0.5–$1.5; many other coins are under a cent.
Fees are flat per transaction amount — one larger transaction typically costs less than many small ones.
You can specify who covers network and service fees – you or your customers. Manage this in your Personal Account (if you create payments) via API.
When does NOWPayments Charge Fees?
Customers send funds to the one-time deposit address → customers pay their first network fee → Customers’ funds go through the internal processing → second network fee applies.
We process the payment and take a 0.5% service fee (plus 0.5% exchange if swapping). These can be assigned to merchant or customer in your settings.
Non-custodial: we transfer funds from one-time deposit address to our internal processing, and then to your wallet → merchant network fee applies twice.
Custodial: we transfer funds from one-time deposit address to your custody storage → one merchant network fee applies. If you would like to transfer funds inside custody balance from one token to another, no network fee applies.
How Do I Pay Less?
Network fees
- Enable Custody to avoid paying a network fee on every payout; prefer internal crediting over one-time deposit addresses when possible.
- Withdraw payments from custody at once to save on network fees.
- Consider coins with lower network fees.
Service fees
- Increase volume for discounts: 0.45% at ≥50 BTC/month, 0.4% at ≥100 BTC/month.
- Prefer single-currency payments to avoid the 0.5% exchange fee.
Summary
The service fee for transactions can vary based on the type of currency being used. For single-currency transactions, a service fee of 0.5% is applied, while for multi-currency transactions that involve an exchange, the fee increases to 1%. In the case of non-custodial services, users will incur several fees, including the customer network fee, the service fee, any applicable exchange fees, and a merchant network fee that applies when transferring funds from the deposit to the wallet. For custodial services, the fee structure changes slightly; the one-time deposit address incurs a customer network fee, the service fee, any exchange fees, a merchant network fee for transferring funds from the deposit to the custody, and an additional network fee upon withdrawal. Furthermore, during the internal crediting process, users will only pay the customer network fee and the service fee, with no merchant network fee applicable until the point of withdrawal. Finally, hidden fees may appear when using other payment gateways, e.g. subscription model, extended features, which is not the case at NOWPayments.