Shift4 Scores Another Stadium Pay Win; Electronic Merchant Systems Rebrands as Kurv

Shift4 Payments Inc. continues to carve out a larger share of the stadium-pay market. The processor’s latest win is a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League to modernize and streamline transactions at the Bengals’ home field, Paycor Stadium.

Shift4 will process transactions for all food and beverage concessions at the stadium in what it says will be an effort to provide fans with a faster, more customer-friendly payment experience.

 “We are always looking for ways to enhance the fan experience, and their technology will help us provide a fast and seamless purchasing experience at concession stands throughout the stadium,” Lacy Ekert, chief partnership officer for the Bengals says in statement.

Shift4 has built an extensive stadium-pay portfolio, striking deals with teams in every major professional sports league, as well as with colleges and entertainment venues. In August, the processor struck a deal to process transactions for the NFL’s Detroit Lions.

“Our goal is to make every transaction as smooth and effortless as possible so fans can focus on the excitement of the game, not the checkout line,” Shift4 Chief Commercial Officer Michael Isaacman says in a statement.

In related news, the 37-year-old processor Electronic Merchant Systems has rebranded as Kurv. The rebranding coincides with the introduction of the processor’s new platform, the Kurv Merchant Portal. The portal allows merchants to accept instant payments and provides reporting tools to track results for marketing campaigns and to gain insights into customer accounts.

The new platform uses artificial intelligence and machine-learning technology to reduce the risk of fraud by analyzing transaction patterns to detect unusual activity in real time, and automate risk assessments for each transaction.

The platform also streamlines the client onboarding process, the company says, as well as provides real-time dashboards, goal tracking, chargeback management, and itemized residuals. In addition, the platform supports instant underwriting, advanced know-your-customer tools, and auto-boarding capabilities. Enabling “on-the-spot applications,” the portal shortens sales cycles, accelerates approvals, and reduces the risk of losing prospective customers to delays, Kurv says.

Kurv expanded its payments technology through the acquisitions earlier this year of Paysley and Peel Payments. The terms of those acquisitions were not disclosed. Kurv had previously taken a majority stake in Paysley.

More than 30,000 retail, e-commerce, and omnichannel customers in the United States use Kurv’s payment solutions, the company says.