Shift4 Adds 140,000 Merchants in Worldline Deal

Payments/commerce technology Shift4 says it has completed its acquisition of Worldline’s North American subsidiaries.

By purchasing Worldline’s Bambora North America business, Shift4 adds more than 140,000 merchants to its platform, the company said in a Monday (March 2) news release.

“This deal brings a substantial gateway portfolio and payments volume onto Shift4’s platform,” said Shift4 CEO Taylor Lauber. “It follows the same playbook we’ve used successfully in the past: bringing merchants onto our platform to provide a better payments experience with a streamlined end-to-end commerce solution and the opportunity to cross-sell our full suite of products.”

The Bambora platform is also integrated with more than 500 independent software vendors (ISVs), the release added. Shift4 said the deal strengthens its “footprint across key verticals in North America and advances the company’s strategic expansion of its integrated payments and commerce ecosystem.”

Shift4 announced plans to acquire Worldline’s North American business last year, following two other 2025 deals: purchasing Australian payments processor Smartpay for $180 million, and tax-free shopping provider Global Blue, in a deal the company said represents about $2.5 billion in enterprise value.

Worldline, meanwhile, announced plans earlier this year to expand the availability of its new omnichannel retail platform across Europe after launching it in the U.K.

The company’s One Commerce lets merchants manage in-store and online payments and data within a single experience. It also helps merchants to integrate new payment methods, activate value-added services and introduce new shopping models.

PYMNTS examined the payments landscape facing merchants Wednesday (March 4) in a conversation with Suril Patel, senior director of product management, EPX, at North.

“Post-pandemic, we saw a big shift,” Patel told PYMNTS. “Merchants realized the importance of the payment space. It wasn’t just a necessary evil.”

Now, companies that once negotiated fees in fractions of a cent are now examining how authorization performance impacts top-line results, that report added.

“For a larger merchant, a one or two percent improvement in approval rates can add millions of dollars in revenue a year,” Patel said. “They’re now focused on payments as a revenue driver.”

PYMNTS added that this reorientation reflects structural changes in the way companies sell and deliver services, as subscription commerce, digital platforms and embedded payment experiences all hinge on continuity.

“Customers who leverage subscription services expect these services to work 24/7 without fail,” Patel said, adding that a single lapse can trigger customer attrition.