Dive Brief:
- The election of Donald Trump will boost payment processor and point-of-sale technology company Shift4’s fledgling cryptocurrency initiative, CEO Jared Isaacman said in a Tuesday earnings call.
- Allentown, Pennsylvania-based Shift4 named several customers for its new service enabling businesses to accept cryptocurrency that was announced last month. They include the Tao Group Hospitality, a New York City-based restaurant and club company that operates high-end restaurants and nightclubs in several major cities, and a New York City-based luxury charter flight company, Blade Urban Air Mobility.
- “The new administration is very pro-crypto,” Isaacman told analysts, referring to the president-elect.
Dive Insight:
Payments companies and retailers have been eyeing cryptocurrencies as an alternative payment method — particularly for cross-border payments — since before Trump was elected president earlier this month.
For example, Sheetz, a chain of gas station convenience stores headquartered in Altoona, Pennsylvania, said in October that it would accept cryptocurrency at all locations.
But Trump’s election elated backers of cryptocurrencies. The president-elect has shown himself to be a pro-crypto candidate. The price of the most well-known crypto-currency — Bitcoin — surged as the results of the presidential election became apparent in the early morning hours of Nov. 6. The digital currency’s value hit a record of $87,000 for a single Bitcoin on Monday and continues to climb.
Isaacman envisions cryptocurrencies, specifically stablecoins, being used for big purchases and luxury items.
“This could be a hotel suite, a private jet charter, or even big events at high-end restaurants,” he said.
Shift4’s new initiative will let its merchant clients accept cryptocurrencies that include Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana as well as the stablecoin US Dollar Coin (USDC), and other stablecoins.
Stablecoins are pegged to the value of a fiat currency like the dollar or the euro, in theory making them less volatile than cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which constantly surge or decline in value.
Shift4 reported third-quarter net income climbed 55% to $72.2 million over the year-earlier period as revenue rose 35% to $909.2 million.
Although the company fell short of one of its objectives for overseas markets.“We set a big goal to hit 10,000 [total] international restaurants and hotels in 2024,” Isaacman said. “I think it’s pretty clear we’re going to come up short in that regard.”
A Shift4 spokesperson declined to answer questions about how many restaurants and hotels the company works with overseas.
When an analyst asked Isaacman why the company failed to achieve its goal, Isaacman alluded to restaurant client trouble with debit card transactions in Germany, but the CEO did not provide specifics. A Shift4 spokesperson did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Isaacman said the company will learn from its mistakes.“Even if you’re 97% ready to go, no restaurant is going to be happy that 3% of expected transactions wouldn’t have gone through,” he said. “So you’ve got to learn that quick fix.”
