NOWPayments CEO Kate Lifshits Says Businesses Should Stop Paying for Crypto Payouts

Published Jul 10, 2026, 5:11 PM

Amsterdam, Netherlands, July 10th, 2026, Chainwire


NOWPayment believes the crypto industry has accepted unnecessary costs for too long – and that businesses no longer have to. For years, paying blockchain fees has been treated as the price of sending crypto.

According to Kate Lifshits, CEO of NOWPayments, it's time to challenge that assumption. "Why does sending crypto still feel harder than sending an email?"

The company's latest zero-fee payout infrastructure replaces wallet-based transfers with instant email-based payouts, enabling businesses to eliminate network fees, reduce operational complexity, and automate payouts at scale.

Crypto Payouts Have Become Unnecessarily Expensive

Most businesses still operate payout infrastructure designed around blockchain wallets. That means collecting wallet addresses, validating networks, recovering failed transactions, paying blockchain fees, and handling recipient support.

At scale, these problems become one of the largest hidden operational costs for affiliate platforms, marketplaces, gaming companies, payroll providers, cashback platforms, creator economies, and fintech businesses.

“The market has spent years competing over who can charge less per payout. We are asking a more important question: why should businesses pay per payout at all?” – Kate Lifshits NOWPayments CEO 

The Industry Is Paying for Problems It No Longer Needs to Have

Instead of requesting wallet addresses, companies simply use an email address as the payout destination. Recipients automatically receive access to their funds, while businesses avoid wallet validation, blockchain confirmation delays, and transaction fees.

Benefits include:

  • Zero network fees
  • Zero service fees
  • Under-one-second delivery
  • Automated onboarding
  • Fewer failed payouts
  • Lower support costs

The Biggest Impact Isn't Technical

Although the release introduces API support, the larger story is economic rather than technical. Businesses making thousands of payouts can dramatically reduce operational costs while simplifying finance workflows. Payouts become a growth and engagement tool instead of a recurring expense.

Operational Cost Mitigation Analysis

The actual savings depend on payout volume, blockchain network fees, and the cryptocurrencies being used. While some businesses may save thousands of dollars annually, organizations processing hundreds of thousands or even millions of payouts could reduce costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

To help businesses estimate their own potential savings, NOWPayments has launched a Zero-Fee Crypto Payout Savings Calculator, allowing companies to compare their current payout costs with the potential cost of switching to zero-fee email-based payouts.

Calculate your savings here

“The future of crypto payouts is not wallet-to-wallet. It is person-to-person: identified by email, delivered instantly and free to move inside the ecosystem. Anything more complicated is legacy infrastructure.” – Kate Lifshits

Built for Businesses That Pay at Scale

The solution is designed for affiliate networks, marketplaces, gaming platforms, payroll providers, cashback programs, creator platforms, and fintech companies. Businesses can automate payouts globally using only an email address while maintaining existing workflows.

Conclusion

NOWPayments believes crypto payouts are entering a new phase. Instead of optimizing fee-based infrastructure, businesses can eliminate many of the costs and operational barriers traditionally associated with blockchain payouts. The question is no longer how to reduce payout costs – but whether those costs should exist at all.

About NOWPayments

NOWPayments is a global crypto payment gateway helping businesses simplify digital asset payments and payouts through enterprise-ready infrastructure. Supporting 350+ cryptocurrencies, 30+ stablecoins, and a comprehensive suite of APIs, payment tools, and payout solutions, NOWPayments enables companies worldwide to accept crypto, automate payouts, and scale their payment operations with speed, flexibility, and reliability.



ContactHead of PR
Alexandr Yarovinski
NOWPayments
[email protected]