ALLENTOWN, PA—Shift4 Payments, an integrated payment processing solutions company, has launched of Shift4Cares.com, a round-the-clock online resource for government agencies, news outlets and businesses affected by COVID-19.
Data on the site for the seven days prior to March 26, 2020, shows that hospitality industry transactions were down significantly when compared to the week of February 2, with hotels transactions down 86%, restaurant transactions down 74% and all other industries down 64%.
While the impact has been felt across the country, the states leading the declines are California (91%), Pennsylvania (89%), Texas (89%) and New York (88%). Nationally, restaurant transactions declined from 42 million to 11 million during this time period, while hotel transactions declined from 144 million to 20 million.
“Given the tremendous scale of our payment platform, the transaction data we have made available offers valuable insight into the effects that this pandemic is having on U.S. businesses,” said Jared Isaacman, CEO, Shift4 Payments. “The data is truly staggering, and our hope is that making it widely available will encourage the U.S. government to act on behalf of the country’s hospitality business community and provide the relief that these industries desperately need as a result of COVID-19.”
As a payment processor for the hospitality industry, Shift4 Payments is in a unique position to assess the economic impact COVID-19 is currently having on restaurants, bars, hotels and various other business types. Shift4 securely processes more than 3.5 billion transactions annually for more than 200,000 businesses nationwide, representing more than $200 billion in payments each year. This amount of transaction data is a powerful tool in assessing the impact of COVID-19 on business communities across the country.
Shift4 to Raise More Than $200 Million for Small Businesses
In addition to this transaction data, Shift4Cares.com includes the ability for consumers to support local hospitality businesses greatly affected by the coronavirus crisis by purchasing gift cards, with Shift4 contributing an additional 5% of the amount spent to each merchant. Shift4 is working to raise more than $200 million for the small business community through this gift card initiative—with Shift4 donating up to $10 million of the company’s own money.
Consumers can go to Shift4Cares.com to purchase gift cards for their favorite local restaurants and other businesses to provide their favorite establishments with much needed revenue during this difficult time. For every gift card purchased through the site, Shift4 Payments will contribute an additional 5% to the business—up to $10 million. For example, a $100 gift card purchase on the site would result in $105 for the merchant.
“While COVID-19 is impacting every aspect of the economy, restaurants and other hospitality businesses have been hit especially hard,” he said. “As a company that serves the small business community, Shift4 wants to do everything in our power to help support these merchants. This is why we are kicking off this campaign to put over $200 million back into these businesses during this critical time.”
