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Shift4 Payments is a major player in the payment processing industry serving businesses across the globe, however, this article will focus on its operations in the United States and Canada. We will take an investigative look at Shift4 Payments from a business owner's perspective, aiming to educate businesses who are researching this merchant services company.
We will explore Shift4's background and corporate structure, the products and services it offers, and the specific industries it targets. We will also look into customer feedback and online ratings to understand common praises and complaints. Additionally, we examine Shift4's pricing, fees, and contract terms, as well as any notable lawsuits or legal actions involving the company. Finally, we review Shift4's marketing practices and consider what employees say about working there. The goal is to provide a balanced, in-depth overview that small business owners can use to make informed decisions about Shift4 Payments.
About Shift4 Payments
Shift4 Payments Homepage
Background & History
Shift4 Payments is a publicly traded financial technology company (NYSE: FOUR) that specializes in payment processing and point-of-sale solutions. The company was founded in 1999 by Jared Isaacman, who started the business originally under name of United Bank Card.
Rebranding and Name Changes
Over the years, the enterprise evolved and went through several name changes with United Bank Card later rebranded as Harbortouch, and in 2018 the organization adopted the name Shift4 Payments. The rebranding followed the acquisition of a Las Vegas-based payment gateway company called Shift4 Corporation and was intended to unify the company’s identity as a payments provider. Some industry observers noted that the frequent name changes may have been a marketing tactic to distance the firm from earlier reputation issues of the previous brands, which had been marred by complaints about predatory business practices, including aggressive sales tactics, hidden fees, and other contractual issues.
Industries Served
Today, Shift4 Payments is headquartered in Pennsylvania and bills itself as a commerce-enabling technology provider, processing payments for over 200,000 businesses across a wide range of sectors. The company’s services are used in many industries, with a strong focus on hospitality and food service (restaurants, bars, hotels), retail stores, entertainment and sports venues, e-commerce merchants, nonprofits, and airlines.
Growth and Acquisitions
Shift4 has grown significantly through expansion and acquisitions. It acquired several point-of-sale brands and technology companies, including VenueNext, Restaurant Manager, POSitouch, Future POS, VenueNext, CurvePay, Finaro, 3DCart, The Giving Block, and the popular restaurant POS provider Revel Systems. In June 2020, Shift4 Payments held an initial public offering, raising capital to fuel further growth. The company remains led by its founder Jared Isaacman, and under his leadership it has positioned itself as an all-in-one payment solutions provider catering especially to businesses in hospitality and related industries.
Reseller Network and Partnerships
Despite being a large enterprise, Shift4’s services often reach small businesses through partnerships and resellers. The company operates as an independent sales organization in many cases: it sets up merchants with processing accounts through big backend processors like Fiserv, FIS Worldpay, Global Payments, or Moneris (for Canadian clients). Shift4 also maintains a network of independent sales agents and referral partners. This reseller-driven model has helped Shift4 penetrate niche markets but has also led to some inconsistency in how the company’s contracts and services are represented to merchants, which will cover in more detail below.
CEO Connection to Trump Administration
In December 2024, Isaacman was nominated by then-President-elect Donald Trump to become the 15th Administrator of NASA. The nomination, formally submitted on January 20, 2025, marked a notable departure from the norm, as Trump tapped a prominent figure from the private sector rather than a career official. Isaacman, known for leading the all-civilian Inspiration4 mission and becoming the first private citizen to perform a spacewalk with Polaris Dawn, emphasized during his Senate confirmation hearing his intent to propel NASA through bold public-private partnerships and a “new Golden Age of Science and Discovery.”
Despite broad backing from bipartisan aerospace and political figures, Isaacman’s close ties to Elon Musk and SpaceX raised questions about conflict of interest. He pledged to avoid such conflicts, noting he had sold SpaceX stock. Nevertheless, concerns remained a significant element during his vetting process.
Withdrawal & Fallout
Just days before the Senate was set to vote on his confirmation, President Trump abruptly withdrew Isaacman’s nomination on May 31, 2025, citing Isaacman’s “prior associations,” particularly donations to Democratic candidates. Trump asserted the NASA chief must fully align with his “America First” agenda.
However, behind the scenes, many reports suggest political maneuvering played a larger role. Sources indicate that Trump advisor Sergio Gor, who reportedly held a grudge against Elon Musk, pressured Trump to rescind Isaacman’s nomination, nearly triggering a wider fallout with Musk. In the aftermath, Musk publicly criticized Trump’s legislative agenda, signaling a fracture in their alliance. Isaacman himself acknowledged in an interview that while he “didn’t blame an influential adviser coming in … to kill this guy,” the experience was nonetheless a clear indicator of the volatile dynamics at play.
Products & Merchant Services
Business Payment Processing
Shift4 Payments offers a broad array of products and services that cover most payment and point-of-sale needs for businesses. At its core, Shift4 is a payment processor: it provides merchant accounts that enable businesses to accept credit and debit card payments in person, online, and via mobile channels. The company’s platform is an integrated payments ecosystem that includes a payment gateway, which securely routes transactions from the point of sale to the processing networks. Shift4’s technology emphasizes security, incorporating features like point-to-point encryption and tokenization to protect cardholder data.
POS (Point-of-Sale) Systems
Shift4 owns or supports multiple point-of-sale software solutions, especially in the hospitality sector. These include Harbortouch, Future POS, Restaurant Manager, and POSitouch. The company also offers SkyTab, a mobile POS device that allows tableside ordering and payments. For online commerce, Shift4 provides Shift4Shop, a platform formerly known as 3dcart, which lets businesses build online stores and process payments. Additional services include SkyTab Online for restaurant takeout and delivery, the Lighthouse business management portal, and integrations for loyalty, gift cards, and even cryptocurrency acceptance.
Customer Reviews & Sentiment
Mixed Customer Sentiment
Customer feedback about Shift4 is divided, but a large share of reviews from small business owners are negative. Many complain of hidden fees and unexpected charges debited from their bank accounts. Others report difficulty canceling service or being locked into multi-year agreements with steep early termination fees. Some of the most alarming accounts describe business owners being charged hundreds of dollars even after years of not using the service, or losing thousands due to technical issues that were not resolved quickly.
Customer Support Quality a Concern
Complaints about customer service are also common, with reports of poor communication, unresolved technical issues, and long delays in support. Many customers accuse Shift4 of misrepresentation during the sales process, saying that salespeople promised terms that did not match the actual contracts. Some reviews praise Shift4 for comprehensive features or good experiences with individual technicians, but these are outweighed by the volume of negative accounts.
Industry Scores & User Ratings
Online Ratings Summary
PaymentPop
1.3
BBB Rating
1.09
Trustpilot Rating
3.9
ComplaintsBoard Rating
1
Average Rating
1.99
Online ratings for Shift4 Payments vary but lean negative overall. On major platforms, reviews tend to be polarized, with many five-star ratings but also a large number of one-star reviews. This contrast seems to indicate a company that resolves issues when pressed but leaves many customers who have issues dissatisfied with Shift4’s response.
PaymentPop Rating for Shift4
Negative Feedback
Absolutely the worst I have ever dealt with. Grew too quick and put in hidden charges everywhere. Customer service do not have a clue. It is like walking into home depot. Any question you ask, they look the same information you can online. It is a shame that smaller companies sold out and are left with this disaster.
Positive Feedback
I am happy to say, Shift 4 does have a few decent people working in their company. It just took getting to the right person. My issues with Shift 4 have all be resolved.
Shift4 BBB Rating
Shift4 has an average customer review rating of 1.24/5 stars on BBB based on 46 customer reviews. The company has received 174 complaints closed in the last 3 years, with 67 complaints closed in the last 12 months. Common themes in the reviews and complaints include issues with product/service and dissatisfaction with the company’s response to customer concerns.
Negative Feedback
Worst company ever. Highway robbery. Left me without working equipment for two months during the busiest season ever. I had to fight with them to get two months of processing fees waived! I had to file a BBB complaint to get them in the restaurant to fix THEIR equipment. When I changed processors after EIGHT years they tried to bully me and say their contract automatically renewed. We blocked them out of our bank account, blocked them from our email, and moved on. Best of luck to these blood letters. We really need to take our power back from these companies! Cash is king people. Use it!
constantly have issues getting funded they also set up a ghost account billed me double and refused to refund my money
Positive Feedback
There are no positive reviews published about Shift4 on the BBB website.
Trustpilot Rating for Shift4
Shift4 has a “Poor” rating on Trustpilot, with an average score of 3.9 out of 5 stars based on 135 customer reviews. The majority of reviews are negative, with 86% of reviewers giving a 1-star rating. Common themes among the negative reviews include issues with customer service, problems with processing and system functionality, and difficulties in resolving disputes or account issues.
Negative Feedback
Our issue with Shift4 is the constantly changing charges. We also have had to chase down money owed to us for their accounting mistakes. Also, customer service would be rated below zero as each call or chat is going to take an hour or more to complete and reach a semi-amicable resolution I finally cut that cord, at great expense to me but should save money in the long run.
Positive Feedback
Our primary contact, Marcus, has been responsive and quite helpful. He is prompt, knowledgable and his willingness to assist comes through at every interaction. We have also had some technical issues to address and Mark has gone above and beyond to provide help and resolve the issue.
ComplaintsBoard Rating Analysis
Shift4 has a rating of 1.0 stars on ComplaintsBoard, based on 7 customer reviews. The reviews predominantly express dissatisfaction with various aspects of Shift4’s services.
Negative Feedback
Features Worth Checking Out, But Beware of Delayed Charges and Lack of Tech Support. Shift4 is def something else! Like, seriously, they gonna charge yo customers for five whole months after they done bought somethin from yo store! That is just cray cray! And don’t even get me started on they tech support, or lack thereof. Ain’t nobody gonna help you out when you need assistance with anything. It’s like they don’t even care about you or yo business success.
– Review from E. Rice, May 30, 2023
Funds Frozen and Unreleased – Exercise Caution with this Payment Processor. We signed up with Shift4 to process almost $1 million in transactions, but they ended up freezing our funds and refusing to release them back to us. We were quite disappointed with their service, and we would advise others to exercise caution if they choose to use this company as their vendor.
– Review from M. Will, May 28, 2023
Positive Feedback
There are no positive reviews published about Shift4 on the ComplaintsBoard website.
Processing Rates & Fees
Negotiable Pricing and Terms
Shift4 does not publish standard processing rates or fees on its website. Pricing is customized and often varies depending on the agent or reseller involved, and the business owner’s knowledge and skill around negotiating merchant services pricing. Reports suggest that owners are sometimes offered transparent interchange-plus pricing but more often placed on tiered pricing structures, which which obscure the actual wholesale Interchange fees and are often much more expensive. Fees commonly reported include monthly service charges, annual program fees, PCI compliance penalties, and various surcharges. In recent years, new transaction-based fees have also been reported.
Service Terms and Contract
Contracts are another concern. Owners that reported accepting “free” equipment have stated that they were required to enter into agreements with fees for early cancellation. Those who agreed to but or rent the equipment reported more flexible terms.
Hardware Pricing
Pricing for hardware is not published online and client reports indicated a myriad of rates and potential for miscellaneous fees. For example some reports indicate installation fees of $150 per system, including $250 fee for extra wiring if needed. There are no recent complaints of lease service cancellation fees, but some reports indicate $500 equipment return fee even when the equipment is returned.
Both POS systems offer optional add-ons with monthly fees or can be purchased outright. Other items such as employee authorization cards, printers, and scanners are available as one-time purchases.
Junk Fees and Rate Increases
A common complaint among several dissatisfied clients center around the addition of monthly fees that bring no extra value to the owner’s services and rising rates with little to no notice. For instance, one complaint mentioned the sudden addition of a $150 fee for “premium support & service” on equipement that was fully purchased and owned outright. Several other complainants report sudden and gradual rate increases with little to no justification other than to extract more profit from there account.
Brand Fragmentation and Client Reports
Its worth noting that Shift4’s acquistion of several other POS businesses are likely causing rate and fee complaints to filed under the various brands rather than centering on Shift4 itself. For business owners researching costs with Shift4, it would be prudent to also search out pricing reports regarding these other brands.
Lawsuits & Legal History
Roma Pizzeria v. Harbortouch (Docket No. HNT-L-637-12)
In 2012, Roma Pizzeria brought a class action lawsuit against Harbortouch (then United Bank Card), alleging unauthorized and hidden fees, which included basis point charges, annual fees, interchange fees, and gateway fees that violated their merchant contract. The lawsuit raised claims under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, breach of contract, breach of implied good faith and fair dealing, and unjust enrichment. In February 2015, the case was settled for over $7 million, resolving the class claims around unfair and undisclosed merchant fee practices.
Gannon v. Shift4 Payments (Case No. 3:23-cv-04313-ZNQ-DEA)
Filed in August 2023, this proposed class action cites deceptive and unfair practices by Shift4 alleging overcharging of merchant customers. The complaint focuses on surreptitious contract amendments delivered via “bill stuffers” (small inserts in bills) that gave merchants minimal notice and imposed unreasonable deadlines to dispute charges. Plaintiffs claim Shift4 systematically inflated “Interchange PLUS” pricing and discount fees well above published rates and contracted terms.
O’Meara & Baer v. Shift4 Payments, Inc., et al. (Consolidated Securities Class Actions)
These related cases (Nos. 5:23‑cv‑03206 and 5:23‑cv‑03969 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania) were consolidated in late 2023. They are U.S. securities class actions brought on behalf of investors, alleging that Shift4, along with key executives, misled shareholders by understating material accounting issues. Specifically, the lawsuits claim improper accounting and insufficient disclosure controls concerning a mass strategic buyout program, sponsor bank merchant settlement accounts, and misclassification of customer acquisition costs, which created a distorted picture of Shift4’s financial performance.
Shift4 Payments: SEC Settlement (2025)
In early 2025, the SEC reached a settlement with Shift4 over failure to disclose related-party transactions. Between 2021 and 2023, Shift4 paid approximately $4.7 million to relatives of executives, such as the CEO’s half‑brother and father—without properly disclosing these payments in regulatory filings. Shift4 agreed to pay a $750,000 civil penalty and consented to a cease-and-desist order, without admitting or denying wrongdoing.
Arbitrations and Mediations
It’s worth noting that several reports indicate that disputes, particularly relating to fees, contract terms, and transparency, are often mediated via arbitration rather than court, which limits their public visibility.
Employee Reviews & Sales Practices
Resellers and Marketing Partners
Shift4 relies heavily on independently contracted sales agents and third parties to resell its merchant account services. This is a standard practice within the industry that often results in unsupervised agents reselling a provider’s services without effectively disclosing contract terms. On this website and elsewhere, reports are common of a sales representative promising to waive fees or provide incentives but then fail to follow through, leaving the client on the hook for some unfavorable contract terms or pricing that ended up being higher than agreed.
Read and Understand Terms
With such a heavy reliance on third-party marketing and sales, it is crucial for business owners to read and understand the pricing and commitments of proposals they are issued by Shift4 resellers. Any promises regarding rates and equipment costs should be obtained in writing.
Employee Reviews
Employee reviews show a mixed picture. Some employees praise opportunities for growth and the company’s rapid expansion, while others criticize poor management, long hours, and low pay. Certain reviews mention questionable financial decisions and weak communication from executives. This suggests a company experiencing growing pains, where internal dissatisfaction may mirror external customer frustrations.
Shift4 Payments Competitors
Compare Shift4 Payments to competitors that earned top marks.
Shift4 Payments has built a strong presence in the payment processing industry, offering a wide range of products and services tailored to hospitality, retail, and online businesses. Its integrated approach, combining hardware, software, and payment processing under one roof, is appealing for small business owners looking for a single vendor to handle commerce. The company has expanded through acquisitions and continues to innovate with new technologies.
Yet, Shift4’s reputation is clouded by consistent reports of hidden fees, rigid contracts, and poor customer support. Legal actions against the company reinforce concerns about transparency and fairness. While some businesses find success with Shift4’s systems, many others regret the decision due to costs and service issues. Small business owners considering Shift4 should proceed with caution, reviewing all contracts closely and asking direct questions about fees and commitments before signing.
