Overview
In brief
What is it?
Our opinion
In detail
Card machines
Fees and pricing
POS integrations
Remote payments
Service and reviews
Getting started
What is Shift4?
In 2025, Shift4 acquired the old Smartpay, an EFTPOS provider offering a card machine with card processing plans for individual merchants in Australia and New Zealand. It rebranded Smartpay to Shift4, changing mainly the pricing and a few features, but keeping the EFTPOS machine the same.
Photo: Mobile Transaction
Shift4’s EFTPOS terminal (PAX A920Pro) is a genuinely good device.
The company serves over 40,000 small and medium-sized (SME) business users in Australia and New Zealand, making it one of the largest independent merchant service providers in these countries.
It’s mostly known for the plan allowing merchants to pass on the full transaction cost to customers as a surcharge.
But we should note: a surcharging ban in Australia will come into effect from 1st October 2026, so Shift4’s no-fee plan will be discontinued by then and changed to something else.
How does Shift4 make money?
Although “Zero Cost” to the merchant, Shift4 makes most of their money by keeping a part of the surcharge cardholders pay at the point of sale. The rest of the surcharge goes to the card schemes and banks processing the transaction.
Shift4 also earns revenue through the terminal rental, minimum monthly charge and other hidden costs revealed in a personalised quote.
Shift4’s one and only terminal model accepts Visa, Mastercard, eftpos and the contactless wallets Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay. Amex can be added with a separate contract.
Accepted cards
Customers can take cash out through the card terminals when using their debit cards, if your shop allows it. You also have the option to add keyed payments for over-the-phone transactions.
Merchants receive payouts in their bank account (at any bank) the next business day, which is faster than some alternatives.
Our opinion: a package deal bound to end soon
All things considered, do we think Shift4 is a good deal for a small business? Not for a good chunk of merchants.
For a start, a minimum monthly charge of $100 + GST applies to all plans, so we don’t recommend it for low sales volumes.
But if you consistently would pay over $100 + GST monthly in transaction fees, and your customers are happy to pay a surcharge, then Shift4 could be very cheap. Most customers do not like the extra fee, though, and may avoid businesses adding a surcharge.
“The Australian government will ban ban surcharging from October 2026, which will invalidate Shift4’s “Pass the Fees” plan. Consider whether you want to start a zero-cost plan when you have to give 90 days’ cancellation notice too by October.”
– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, Mobile Transaction
You could opt for the Pay the Fees plan for a supposedly low fixed rate, but other flat-rate alternatives like Square and Zeller don’t require a monthly minimum of fees.
Mobile Transaction’s ratings of Shift4 (ex-Smartpay):
| Shift4 criteria | Rating | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Product | 3.7 | Passable/Good |
| Costs and fees | 3.7 | Passable/Good |
| Transparency and sign-up | 3 | Passable |
| Value-added services | 2.7 | Bad/Passable |
| Service and reviews | 3.8 | Good |
| Contract | 3.8 | Good |
| OVERALL SCORE | 3.5 | Passable/Good |
Although generally transparent about packages, we were concerned that the monthly minimum fee was hidden and that Shift4 customers complain about other hidden fees. Even though zero acquiring costs are advertised, this only applies to higher-volume businesses.
On the other hand, Smartpay could be worth switching to from the big, traditional banks that lock you into their service and add more fees on top of transactions and card machine rental.
“Shift4’s EFTPOS terminal is one of the highest-performing terminals I’ve tested, but Shift4 is not so much about the terminal as it is a package deal for those who rely on surcharging.”
– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, Mobile Transaction
What about the EFTPOS machines? It would have been better if there was more than one terminal model, but we find their PAX A920Pro very versatile. It has a long battery life, smooth payment flow and is future-proof with its large touchscreen and little built-in features.
We haven’t seen enough user reviews to confidently say it’s a reliable service with a better offering than competitors. But given Smartpay-turned-Shift4’s year-on-year growth, it seems enough SMEs are finding value in it.
EFTPOS machine: one good model
Shift4 only offers one EFTPOS machine model: the portable and mobile PAX A920Pro terminal. This is a recent upgrade from their old PAX D210 machine that Smartpay had for too many years.
The new EFTPOS machine is a mobile Android terminal, which we’ve tested and used in shops, with a large colour touchscreen and high-speed thermal receipt printer built in. It’s a very popular model in Europe, gradually making its way to Australia too.
“I like the crisp look of the simple Shift4 app built for the new Android terminal. But it would’ve been more exciting with a POS integration that can make use of PAX A920Pro’s extra functions like barcode scanning.”
– Emily Sorensen, Senior Editor, Mobile Transaction
Its battery life is 8 hours from a full charge, which we know is standard in the industry. The true battery life actually varies according to the frequency of transactions and display settings (for instance, ours lasted longer with a lower screen brightness).
Photo: Mobile Transaction
The PAX A920Pro we tested accepted tap-and-go at the top, where the receipt printer also is.
It has 4G, WiFi and broadband connectivity and comes with a SIM card for mobile data, so it suits nearly any professional setup.
Although wireless on the go or around premises, you can keep it on a counter as a stationary card machine. Ours came with a simple base that kept it stable, while allowing us to pick it up (useful for going to customer tables).
If the base is wired to broadband, the terminal’s Bluetooth keeps it connected to the base during wireless use.
The new Shift4 EFTPOS software looks a lot like the pictured Smartpay software.
The card machine accepts contactless (NFC), chip and swipe card payments, with options to refund transactions. It also has add-ons like tipping and cash-out options (rare to see from an EFTPOS provider!) to offer alongside cash acceptance.
It can auto-apply surcharges so you don’t have to calculate it, but beware it’s a requirement to make it clear to customers when it’s applied.
You can use the terminal independently or connected with point of sale (POS) systems.
Reporting: no direct accounting integration
Shift4 includes an online hub where merchants can check sales and transactions from any internet browser. This is such a welcome feature, as the old Smartpay system only allowed you to view and print transactions on the terminal (still possible) or receive an overview via email.
On the other hand, Shift4 does not integrate directly with accounting software like Xero or MYOB. You’ll need to integrate their card machine with a POS system that does, if this is important to you.
Pricing: zero-cost only for certain businesses
Shift4 offers two EFTPOS plans: Pass the Fees and Pay the Fees. No contractual commitment is required, so you can cancel any time – but with 90 days’ notice.
On both plans, transaction fees (paid by yourself or customers) must amount to a minimum of A$100 + GST monthly per terminal. If they don’t, you pay the difference on top for the month.
With Pass the Fees, transaction fees are automatically passed on to each customer paying with an eftpos, debit, Visa and Mastercard card via a surcharge. Shift4 automatically calculates this and adds a commission, which is how the company earns money with this plan.
If a customer doesn’t want to pay this, the merchant can choose to bypass it on the terminal. This will deduct the charge from the transaction settled in your bank account.
Shift4 pricing:
| Shift4 fee | |
|---|---|
| Setup fee | None |
| Contract | Cancellable with 90-day notice |
| Monthly fixed cost | Pass the Fees: $100 + GST min. monthly fees Pay the Fees: $34.95 + GST/mo EFTPOS rental + $100 + GST min. monthly fees |
| Transaction fees | Pass the Fees: Variable surcharge to cardholders – merchant can opt to pay this if preferred Pay the Fees: Custom fixed % for Visa and Mastercard, custom fixed-cent fee for eftpos |
| Receipt paper rolls | Free, but you pay for shipping and handling |
| Terminal replacement | Free if technical issues cannot be resolved over the phone |
Then there’s the Pay the Fees plan. Upon signing up, Smartpay looks at your type of business and card turnover and determines a fixed percentage rate that applies to all Visa, Mastercard and debit card transactions. A fixed cent fee is also applied to eftpos transactions.
American Express acceptance requires a separate contract through Amex directly, who will then charge you their own rates. Shift4 can add a merchant-controlled surcharge to these transactions on the Pass the Fees plan, if requested.
There’s no cost for new receipt rolls, only for shipping and “handling” of them. Similarly, if the EFTPOS machine breaks down and it cannot be sorted with the technical department, a free replacement is delivered.
Chargebacks may incur a fee, which Shift4 can elaborate on during registration.
POS integrations
The EFTPOS machine integrates with a choice of 20+ POS software solutions including Bustle, MobiPOS and Abacus. This enables you to produce comprehensive sales reports (which are limited in Shift4) and connect payments with products sold, staff accounts and customer loyalty functions.
The old Smartpay used to work with the basic Till2Go app for mobile devices, this is no longer available for Australian merchants with the new Shift4 package. I can’t say that’s a big loss, as it was quite a limited product with few users.
Remote payments: very limited
Mail order and telephone order (MOTO) payments are available, but subject to an additional application.
When activated, you can key in transactions directly on the EFTPOS machine, so no computer is needed as would be the case for some virtual terminals.
Based on user reviews, Shift4’s MOTO transactions have hidden transaction limits that can get in the way of accepting high-value payments. You can apply for higher limits, but it may not be granted.
Since Shift4 does not specialise in online payments, you’ll need to look elsewhere for an ecommerce solution.
Customer support and reviews: so-so
We definitely like that Shift4 has 24/7 customer support every day of the year – that’s more than competitors Zeller and Square can offer.
It means if your terminal breaks down, or there’s a payment issue, Shift4 should help over the phone any time. The quality of the service isn’t perfect, though. Some customers say they can’t deny the service team is super-friendly but at the same time not solving anything.
Many customer reviews are positive about the surcharging plan, but other merchants have been blindsided about fees or experienced issues with the MOTO service and withheld transactions.
Overall, we’re not so confident about the quality of service received by real users, but at least the promise of round-the-clock support is there.
Getting started: might take about a week
To sign up for Shift4, you need to complete an online registration form on their website. The company will then call you back for an individual quote based on your needs and average card turnover.
It may take up to 3 business days for the application to be approved, after which a further 1-3 business days pass for the EFTPOS terminal to arrive by post. The whole onboarding process may therefore take about a week before you can accept the first transaction.
