Shift4 To Acquire Smartpay Holdings in a Bid for New Zealand and Australian Merchant Markets

In a major expansion of its business south of the equator, merchant acquirer Shift4 Payments Inc. on Sunday announced it has struck a deal to acquire Smartpay Holdings Ltd., an Auckland, New Zealand-based processor with a growing presence in Australia.

Smartpay has 40,000 merchants in the region. Center Valley, Pa.-based Shift4 valued the deal at 296.4 New Zealand dollars, or approximately $180 million. Shift4 said it will pay a 46.5% premium to Smartpay’s 90-day weighted share price. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

“This acquisition follows the Shift4 playbook to a tee,” chief executive Taylor Lauber said in a statement. “It deepens our strategic presence in Australia and New Zealand, providing a significant opportunity to offer our full suite of software and payments solutions in the region.”

“By combining our payment infrastructure with Smartpay’s distribution capabilities,” Lauber continued, “we’re well positioned to go-to-market at scale in the region with our leading products and services, such as SkyTab POS for restaurants, SkyTab Venue for stadiums and arenas, and our end-to-end payment solution for hotels and unified commerce merchants.”

Smartpay’s annual report for fiscal 2025 says the company has deployed more than 51,000 terminals—including 20,528 in Australia—up from about 48,000 in fiscal 2024. The company posted revenues of NZ$104.7 million in fiscal 2025, up 8.5% year-over-year.

Shift4 has operations in the two countries thanks to its 2024 acquisitions of Toronto-based gift card platform provider Givex Corp. for $127.8 million and Atlanta-based Revel Systems Inc. for $245.3 million, according to a Shift4 spokesperson. Also active in the area with 300 hotels in its portfolio is Global Blue Group Holding AG,  a Swiss processor Shift4 plans to buy for $2.5 billion in cash. That offer, first announced in February, has been extended twice, but Shift4 still expects it to close in the third quarter.

“Certainly Australia and New Zealand make sense,” Chicago-based payments consultant Cliff Gray tells Digital Transactions News, noting the countries’ English language will ease integration issues. He adds that “Shift 4 is looking to expand not only their base but their payment types.”