Behind the Build: How Nuvei’s clearing and settlement expansion transforms payments in North America
Nuvei’s Senior Director of Processing Systems, Steve Shehane, shares how expanding the company’s Clearing and Settlement platform into North America delivers real-time data, faster reconciliation, and a unified experience for U.S. and Canadian merchants.
Welcome to Behind the Build — our interview series where we sit down with the product minds at Nuvei to explore the thinking, strategy, and impact behind our latest releases. From technical breakthroughs to merchant wins, this series takes you inside the features that are shaping payments.
In this edition, Francesca Bonnett, Head of Product Marketing at Nuvei, speaks with Steve Shehane, Senior Director of Processing Systems, about one of Nuvei’s most foundational product and infrastructure achievements: the successful expansion of our Clearing and Settlement platform into North America. It’s a major milestone that brings a proven, global-standard system to U.S. and Canadian merchants.
Extending Global Clearing and Settlement to North America
Francesca Bonnett: Steve, it’s really exciting to be able to announce this release. For the unfamiliar — what exactly have we just launched?
Steve Shehane: We’ve successfully extended Nuvei’s global Clearing and Settlement platform into North America. This system has been running in other regions worldwide, and now merchants in the U.S. and Canada can benefit from those same advanced capabilities.
Many legacy payment providers in North America still use traditional batch-based settlement systems. Our platform brings them fully up to speed — enabling them to:
- See the true cost of each transaction at the point of authorization
- Access enriched interchange prediction data
- Understand exactly what they’ll pay in processing and scheme fees — in real time
What Is Clearing and Settlement in Payments?
Francesca: Amazing – so, how would you explain Clearing and Settlement to someone who doesn’t live and breathe payments?
Steve: I think of it as the “engine room” of the payments business. Every transaction must eventually result in money landing in a merchant’s bank account, accurately, compliantly, and on time.
The process:
- Calculates the net proceeds from sales
- Deducts fees (including more than 2,000 scheme fees in North America)
- Factors in reserves and refunds
- Executes the payout
Without this part working seamlessly, businesses won’t get paid, and won’t make money.
- Steve Shehane, Nuvei's Senior Director of Processing Systems
Why Nuvei Built This for North America
Francesca: Can you give us some background on why the Nuvei team chose to build this?
Steve: This build was about delivering a stellar user experience to our North American customers. By extending our proprietary Clearing and Settlement, we can:
- Innovate faster
- Reduce reconciliation times dramatically
- Give merchants access to much more granular transaction-level data
- Future-proof our coverage in the region
Benefits for Merchants
Francesca: What kinds of benefits does this unlock for merchants?
Steve: They now have more granular data, delivered through access to four, new reports and much faster reconciliation. They get a clearer understanding of exactly what they will be paid and when. Specifically, this translates to about eight times more real-time data points per transaction for a merchant.:
This is also a unified global experience. Merchants operating in multiple regions now see:
- The same level of data
- The same reporting
- The same dashboard interface everywhere they transact
Some of our largest enterprise merchants are seeing up to 60% reductions in manual reconciliation times and fewer fee-related queries — huge efficiency gains for enterprise-scale operations.
Overcoming Build Challenges
Francesca: From a systems and product view, what was the most challenging part of this build?
Steve: The scope was enormous. We re-engineered our data models, created new interfaces, and trained AI models across over 2,000 North American interchange fee structures.
We had to ensure the platform scaled globally while delivering real-time, enriched data for North American merchants, all while live merchant transactions were flowing.
Fitting into Nuvei’s Global Product Strategy
Francesca: This sounds like a major foundational upgrade. How does it fit into Nuvei’s wider product evolution?
Steve: No matter where a merchant operates, we believe they should have the same high standard of settlement experience, wrapped into a single, unified, seamless interface.
Bringing Clearing and Settlement into North America is an extension of that commitment, offering:
- More granular data reporting
- Faster reconciliations
- Real-time interchange predictions
- A truly global-scale solution
Proud Moments and Merchant Impact
Francesca: What are you most proud of coming out of this project?
Steve: The impact. Early merchant feedback shows:
- Up to 60% reduction in reconciliation effort
- Significant time and cost savings
- Very positive user response from early adopters
Internally, our teams are thrilled with the increased visibility and control, allowing them to better support merchants day-to-day.
What’s Next for Clearing and Settlement
Francesca: Last one — what’s next for the platform?
Steve: Now that we’ve modernized Clearing and Settlement in North America, we’re in a great position to build on it. We’re exploring:
- Programmable settlement flows
- Treasury optimization tools
- Real-time payouts to speed up settlement cycles
- Next-generation clearing capabilities, including support for digital assets and stablecoins
The goal: move money faster, reduce costs, and unlock new growth opportunities globally.
FAQ: Clearing and Settlement for Merchants
Q: What is clearing and settlement in payments?
A: The process that calculates net sales, deducts fees, and pays merchants — ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely payouts.
Q: Why is real-time settlement better than batch-based systems?
A: It provides instant cost visibility, faster reconciliation, and improved cash flow.
Q: What benefits does Nuvei’s expansion bring to North American merchants?
A: More real-time data, faster reconciliation, four new reports, unified dashboards, and reduced fee-related queries.
Q: How does interchange prediction help merchants?
A: It shows the exact transaction cost at authorization, helping merchants avoid surprises and disputes.
Q: What’s next for Nuvei’s Clearing and Settlement platform?
A: Innovations such as programmable settlement flows, treasury optimization, real-time payouts, and digital asset support.
Want to learn more?
Nuvei’s Clearing and Settlement platform is now live in the U.S. and Canada, helping merchants access faster, more transparent reconciliation and real-time insights.
Contact us to see how it can support your growth.
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