"NMI merchant services" is the umbrella term for the full stack NMI delivers to a merchant through its reseller channel. It covers the payment gateway, the Merchant Central dashboard, the USAePay console (NMI-owned since 2021), tokenization through the Customer Vault, fraud screening, recurring billing, and 200+ processor connections that handle the actual acquiring and settlement. Importantly, the merchant account itself comes from a reseller — an ISO, software platform, or PayFac — not from NMI directly.
What's in the stack
Payment gateway
Capture, encrypt, tokenize, screen, and route to a processor. See the gateway guide.
Merchant Central
The dashboard merchants log in to — Virtual Terminal, reports, settings. See Merchant Central.
USAePay
NMI-owned second gateway brand, separate console at console.usaepay.com. See USAePay.
Customer Vault
Tokenization for card-on-file and recurring billing without PCI scope on stored cards.
Fraud Defense
Velocity rules, AVS/CVV filtering, iSpyFraud — see Fraud Defense.
Developer API + SDKs
Three-step, direct-post, Collect.js, and mobile SDKs for ISVs to embed payments.
Where the merchant account comes from
NMI provides the gateway, tools, and platform. Your merchant account — the underwritten relationship that allows you to accept cards, settle funds to your bank, and is billed by a processor — comes from the reseller (an ISO, ISV, or PayFac) that onboarded you. That reseller pairs NMI's gateway with their own acquirer relationship. The split is intentional: NMI specializes in the software layer, the reseller specializes in the merchant relationship and the underwriting.
NMI merchant services vs. a traditional processor
Traditional processor
Handles the back-end clearing with Visa/Mastercard, settles funds, often bundles its own gateway. Sold direct or through ISOs. Examples: Fiserv, Worldpay, TSYS.
NMI stack (gateway-led)
NMI provides the gateway and tools; a reseller pairs it with whichever acquirer they choose. Processor-agnostic across 200+ options. You see the reseller's brand, not NMI's.
People also ask about NMI merchant services
Does NMI provide merchant accounts directly?
No. The merchant account comes from a partner — an ISO, software platform, or PayFac reselling NMI alongside their own processor relationship. Most NMI merchants sign with the reseller, never directly with NMI. That's why your statement and login carry the reseller's brand, not NMI's.
How do NMI merchant services compare to a traditional processor?
A traditional processor handles the back-end clearing and settlement directly and often bundles a gateway. NMI is the gateway layer that sits in front, routing actual processing to whichever acquirer the reseller pairs with. Processor-agnostic across 200+ acquirers — flexibility for the reseller, consistency for the merchant.
What does NMI cost as part of merchant services?
The gateway portion shows up as a monthly fee plus a small per-transaction fee on your statement, separate from the processor's interchange-plus rate. The exact figures are set by the reseller. See NMI pricing and credit card processing fees for the wider picture.
Who NMI merchant services fit
- Multi-channel businesses needing one gateway for online, in-person, and mobile with unified reporting.
- B2B / Level 3 merchants using NMI's enhanced-data capture to drop commercial-card interchange.
- SaaS and subscription companies needing tokenized recurring billing with retry logic.
- Resellers (ISOs, ISVs, PayFacs) wanting a brandable gateway with 200+ processor flexibility.
FAQ
What are NMI merchant services?
The full NMI stack delivered through resellers: gateway, Merchant Central, USAePay, vault, fraud tools, plus 200+ processor connections for the actual acquiring.
Does NMI underwrite accounts?
No — the reseller (ISO, ISV, PayFac) underwrites. NMI is the gateway and software layer.
Processor or gateway?
Gateway. NMI routes to whichever processor your reseller pairs it with.
Pricing?
Set by reseller — monthly + per-transaction gateway fee on top of interchange-plus processing. See NMI pricing.
Sign-in?
nmi.com/logins for the gateway, or the branded URL your reseller gave you.