Shift4 to Add Gift Cards and Loyalty Programs With Givex Acquisition

Integrated payment and commerce technology provider Shift4 plans to acquire Givex to expand its customer base and add gift cards and loyalty programs to its product range.

Shift4 signed an arrangement agreement for the acquisition and, subject to customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the year, the companies said in a Monday (Aug. 26) press release.

“Givex has a considerable footprint around the world, which will dramatically increase Shift4’s overall customer base,” Shift4 President Taylor Lauber said in the release. “At the same time, their gift card and loyalty solutions are second to none and will add significant value for our current customers, creating stickier relationships and enhancing our overall value proposition.”

Hundreds of thousands of businesses use Shift4’s commerce-enabling technology, according to the release.

The acquisition of Givex will add another 130,000 active locations in more than 100 countries, together with gift card and eGift solutions, customizable loyalty programs and a point-of-sale (POS) system, per the release.

Givex CEO Don Gray said in the release: “By combining Shift4’s end-to-end payment solution with our value-added engagement services, we can deliver an unparalleled package to both of our customer bases.”

The news came about two months after Shift4 acquired a majority stake in Vectron Systems, a supplier of POS systems to the restaurant and hospitality verticals in Europe.

The company said June 14 that the acquisition was expected to provide it with a customer footprint across Europe, a distribution network of about 300 POS resellers, and the opportunity to add its integrated payment services to Vectron customers and products.

On the same day, Shift4 said it completed its previously announced acquisition of Revel Systems, which has more than 18,000 merchant locations across the United States and internationally as well as direct sales and a dealer distribution network.

The company said the Revel Systems merchant locations represent a payment opportunity of over $17 billion, while the distribution network can be used to accelerate the distribution of Shift4’s SkyTab solutions both domestically and internationally.

In the Monday press release, Lauber said of the planned acquisition of Givex: “Similar to other deals we have recently completed, this acquisition aligns perfectly with how we like to deploy capital — adding blue-chip merchants at a low customer acquisition cost while delivering additional benefits to our customer base.”