The SEC's investigation found that, between 2021 and 2023, Shift4 did not disclose employment relationships involving two immediate family members of its executives, as well as commission payments made to another family member of its executives.
According to the SEC, these individuals included siblings, children, or stepchildren of certain company officers or directors. The agency determined that these omissions violated disclosure requirements for related person transactions under federal securities laws.
The SEC concluded that Shift4 breached provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 related to reporting and proxy solicitation. Without admitting or denying the findings, Shift4 consented to a cease-and-desist order and agreed to pay a civil penalty of USD 750,000.
Apart from its issues with the SEC, Shift4 has been involved in a number of partnerships and acquisitions in 2024. These include a partnership with Mesh in October 2024, which allowed Shift4’s merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments worldwide, becoming one of the first major payments companies to offer a simplified one-click crypto payment solution.
The new feature leveraged Mesh’s secure API infrastructure, which enabled crypto payments to be automatically converted into local currencies and settled, reducing operational complexity and minimising currency conversion risks for merchants.
In December 2024, Shift4 acquired Card Industry Professionals. Following this announcement, the companies revealed that they remained committed to upholding shared values and optimised services that customers and partners expect. The initiative aimed to optimise upon those solution levels, while also delivering more value in the form of new benefits, incentives, and product offerings.
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