Eye on Acquirers: ‘Signs of Hope’ for Restaurants; ISO Parent Newtek Funds $700 Million in PPP Loans

Merchant processor Shift4 Payments LLC reported Monday it has seen a big jump in restaurant payments in the past week, and the parent company of independent sales organization Newtek Merchant Solutions says it has approved and funded $700 million in loans to small businesses under the federal government’s Covid-19 relief program. 

Allentown, Pa.-based Shift4, which processes for more than 200,000 merchants, says payment transactions from the restaurant industry have jumped 45% in the past week compared to payments from the week of March 22, when the company’s volumes hit a low point as the nation locked down in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Many states are now gradually lifting restrictions on business activity. Travel, however, remains at very low levels; Shift4 says transactions from hotels are up only 3.9%. “Yet these levels have stabilized and are not decreasing further,” the company said in a news release. “Shift4’s index for all industries outside of hospitality shows an impressive 62% increase during April and into May, suggesting many businesses are beginning to conduct commerce again.”

Chief executive Jared Isaacman said a statement that Shift4 is “very encouraged and pleased to see the transaction activity of our merchants pick up during April and into May. With restrictions beginning to ease nationwide, we see meaningful signs of hope that the worst of the pandemic is behind us and we can steadily turn our attention to helping these businesses, especially in the hospitality industry, get back on their feet.”

In addition to tens of thousands of small businesses, Shift4’s customers include Caesars Entertainment, Four Seasons, KFC, and other big merchants, according to its Web site.

Meanwhile, Newtek Business Services Corp., a big small-business lender that also provides payment processing through its Newtek Merchant Solutions subsidiary, said Tuesday that it has approved and funded $700 million in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program. Congress included the PPP in its $2 trillion March pandemic-relief stimulus package to help hard-hit small businesses keep employees on the payroll during the downturn.

Boca Raton, Fla.-based Newtek estimates it could fund a total of $1.15 billion in loans through the program. If that goal is reached, Newtek claims borrowers could retain upwards of 130,000 employees. The PPP quickly ran out of funds in its first round, but Newtek says $120 billion remains from a second funding round.