Shift4 Payments acquires VenueNext to bring a fully integrated mobile-first commerce ecosystem

By Pavithra R

Shift4 Payments, a leading provider of integrated payment processing solutions, has announced the acquisition of VenueNext, a leader in next-generation mobile commerce, point-of-sale (POS), and loyalty solutions for venues.

The acquisition is expected to enhance Shift4’s presence and capabilities in diverse growing verticals such as stadiums and arenas and expand its total addressable market with entry into entertainment, universities, theme parks, airports, and other verticals.

“At Shift4, we thrive on eliminating complexity and reducing cost for the most demanding commerce environments. We have taken the same successful vertically-integrated strategy that has served us incredibly well in the hospitality and restaurant industries and brought it to eCommerce with Shift4Shop and now to sports stadiums, entertainment venues and theme parks with this exciting acquisition. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome VenueNext to the Shift4 organization. We love their focus on the ‘fan & patron experience’ and making commerce simple and more enjoyable. In addition to jointly pursuing new opportunities, we intend to immediately offer Shift4’s end-to-end payments solution to VenueNext’s sizeable existing customer portfolio, which spans across virtually every category of large venue across the country and internationally,” said Jared Isaacman, Shift4 Payments CEO. 

VenueNext is bringing unprecedented integration to both existing and new systems to amplify all that venues have to offer their guests. Its product suite includes mobile ordering, full venue point-of-sale software, branded mobile applications (turnkey white-label apps for teams/venues), and a mobile wallet/loyalty engine.

The acquisition of VenueNext is expected to add value across the entire Shift4 ecosystem. It positions Shift4 as the only vertically integrated provider to power every aspect of in-venue commerce, including software (Mobile & POS), transaction gateway, and payment processing capabilities.

Established in 1994, Shift4 Payments is a leading provider of secure payment processing solutions, powering various point-of-sale and software providers across diverse verticals, including food & beverage, retail, hospitality, lodging, gaming, and e-commerce. According to company data, the FinTech has over 7,000 sales partners and has securely processed more than 200 billion in payments volume for over 200,000 businesses in 2019.