Heartland Payment Systems Review
Merchant Maverick's Rating: (5 out of 5)
Last Updated: September 15th, 2011.
Logo:
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Overview:
I've been meaning to review Heartland Payment Systems for quite some time now, and I finally got the chance to do my research. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much coming into this review. I had heard about the data breach they faced back in 2008, so I automatically assumed that they were a bad company to work with, but I'm happy to admit that I was way wrong.
Heartland Payment Systems is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, but they have offices all across the U.S. They've been in business since 1997, so you can rest assured that they know what they're doing. They're also the 5th largest credit card processor in the United States and the 9th largest worldwide. Processing $80 billion in transactions just last year. But, enough about their corporate profile, let's get to the important stuff.
The first thing that I want to address is the 2008 data breach. You can google "Heartland data breach" and get tons of articles about the whole thing. I'll just give you a quick rundown.
In 2008, a man by the name Albert Gonzalez hacked into the Heartland system and stole the data from some 130 million credit and debit cards. An unfortunate disaster that, to be honest, could have happened to anyone. What impresses me is how Heartland has reacted to that breach.
With their recent launch of E3 Secure, I'd be willing to bet that Heartland is probably one of the most secure processors you can work with right now. After taking a hit like the 2008 breach, they'd better be.
Moving on to transparency, Heartland has a site dedicated to helping you uncover the true cost of your merchant account. Check out CostOfABurger.com to learn more. Heartland also understands that educated merchants make for good clients, so they've created the Merchant Bill of Rights website. I highly recommend you check it out. Add to that, the great "resources" section that they have on their main site, and you have all the educational material you need to make an informed decision as a merchant.
Let's move on to the negative reviews and complaints department. I delve into this area a bit more below, but I'm basically very happy to say that Heartland doesn't have nearly the amount of complaints that I'd expect them to have.
They have great testimonials, they have an active Facebook page and Twitter account and they offer both interchange-plus pricing and seasonal downtime. I really couldn't ask for anything more from a provider.
Heartland focuses heavily on providing solutions for the restaurant industry. Especially since they recently launched a new wait management system called Freshtxt that's chock-full of features including; wait queue, guest alerting via text, analytics, reservation managemet, SMS marketing, and way more. Too much for me to list. Restaurant owners should be looking into Heartland for sure.
Heartland Payment Systems gets a 5 out of 5 rating.
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Date Established:
1997.
Location:
Princeton, New Jersey.
Domain Name(s):
- www.heartlandpaymentsystems.com.
- www.costofaburger.com.
- www.merchantbillofrights.org.
- www.heartlandpaymentsinsider.com.
- www.freshtxt.com.
- www.e3secure.com.
Parent/Partner Company:
Heartland Payments Systems is the parent company. They've either partnered with or acquired a few companies of their own.
- Parcxmart Technologies (electronic payments).
- Debitek (prepaid cards).
- eSecure Peripherals (cashless vending).
- General Meters Corporation (one-card systems).
- transmodus (check processing).
- Encore Capital (merchant loans).
- Collective Point of Sale Solutions Ltd. (canadian merchant services provider).
- Crane Merchandising Systems (cashless vending).
- Alliance Data Systems Corporation (network services).
- Chockstone, Inc. (gift & loyalty marketing).
Type:
Registered ISO/MSP.
Acquiring Bank(s) (Acquirer):
Key Bank National Association.
Payment Processor(s):
Heartland Payment Systems is the transaction processor.
Payment Gateway(s):
Heartland uses their own self-branded payment gateway.
Do you need help setting up your payment gateway with your website? Click here.
Trust Symbols:
The Heartland Payment Systems BBB profile has an "A+" rating as of this review, with 19 complaints in the last 36-months.
19 complaints? Really? I've seen companies a fraction of the size of Heartland with complaints in the triple digits. These guys only have 19? Wow!
Negative Reviews:
For an ISO/MSP as large as Heartland Payment Systems I'd expect to find hundreds of complaints on RipOffReport...I found three. I checked some of the other consumer complaints sites, but couldn't find anything on them. I'm actually very very surprised, considering they had to deal with that data breach of 2008. It really goes to show what lengths Heartland has gone to maintain their reputation...bravo!
Common Complaints:
None.
Verifiable Testimonials/References:
If you browse through the Heartland site, you'll notice some merchant testimonials (with videos) on the upper-right side of the page. Good stuff!!
Security/Privacy:
No on-site security features (i.e. McAfee, Security Metrics etc...). The security issue really depends on what kind of information the merchant provider is collecting from you. If they require you to fill out a full digital application with sensitive info like SSN numbers, then they should definitely have some third-party security in place. Sometimes, and in the case of Heartland, the application only requires some basic info, then the real application is taken care of by fax/pdf or later on through a secure online app.
Customer Service:
Have you worked with Heartland Payment Systems before? Feel free to leave us your user review.
Contract Duration:
Heartland generally has a contract length of 3-years, but I heard that that term is not set in stone. Feel free to negotiate. 
Cancellation Fee:
$295, but you can probably negotiate your way out of this one as well. Granted, you're worth it to them as a merchant. 
Interchange-Plus Pricing:
Heartland does offer interchange-pass-through/interchange-plus pricing. Good to know.
Seasonal Downtime:
Seasonal downtime is also offered by Heartland. Be sure to ask for it.
Product/Service Offering:
Retail (Credit/Debit/Prepaid), Payroll, Check Management, Gift & Loyalty, Online/e-Commerce Payments, Micro Payments, Merchant Lending, POS Equipment.
Product/Service Specialty:
Restaurants.
Don't forget to leave your review and rating in the comment section.
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May 26th, 2010 - 11:12
This is great, and I’m spreading the word!!!
October 13th, 2010 - 10:58
Our company found better a processing system, with much better benefits for us as a small business, and our new Merchant Services processor has funding in 2 hours after batch closing. Heartland has been 2-3 days for funding. In this economy, we needed better cash flow management, and I found it.
November 18th, 2010 - 11:01
Heartland Provides next day funding! It is hard to believe that there is funding within 2 hours after batch closing due to the fed. closes at 5 pm. If this is the case even after the fed is closed im sure you are paying for it in some way, shape, or form
May 27th, 2010 - 05:45
Heartland also has numerous endorsements (100′s+) from large and regional associations like the National Restaurant Association.
A top notch company to be sure.
August 10th, 2010 - 07:59
Dear Brad,
I only wish I were one of the large regional associations., I might actually get a return phone call from Heartland about lost money in there system, I think 35 days of missing money and dozens of unanswered phone calls is not what I expected from them. I only hope I am wrong and they really help me with the missing money or at least call me back even though I am not a big company.
Sincerly.
Michael Monroe
September 15th, 2010 - 19:22
HI Michael,
Call into their princeton office, I am sure you will find someone to assist you. They are very dedicated to serving their merchants. I speak from experience as I am one!
May 27th, 2010 - 08:29
I work for Heartland Payment Systems in sales. Reviews like this are what keep me going out the door each day with renewed energy. It feels good to know that I work for one of the “Good Guys”!!
June 30th, 2010 - 07:25
John – How long does it typically take to get merchant accounts set up with HPS? We have two small companies and two websites with some, but minimal, in house retail sales. We mostly sell/provide services.
July 14th, 2010 - 09:54
Dear John,
I have been with Heartland for many years. 10 days ago I did a fair amount of sales at an art show. I batched all my sales out, Then tried to settle it, Something I have done hundreds of times, but for some reason it didn’t work. I contacted Heartland for help. After 10-15 minutes of help Heartland tells me all of the sales were lost somewhere in there system. They admitt it was on there end and now want to pay half of the money I am due. Can you point me to anyone for help.
Thank you,
Michael Monroe
July 15th, 2010 - 14:14
John,
Were you in Batch Authorization Processing mode at your show? or were you wireless, phone line? What type of terminal?
July 22nd, 2010 - 09:45
Michael,
I am a small business and in the processing of changing credit card companies. I have been approached from Heartland and another company called Moneris. I now have Landmark Solutions. Between the 3 of them not sure who to believe. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks, Barbara. lillianfarms@msn.com
September 18th, 2010 - 15:09
Hi John- do you still work for Heartland in sales? I am interviewing with them next week in the San Francisco Bay Area- do you have any tips?
Thanks in advance-
Kelly
July 14th, 2010 - 19:58
I have an issue right now where HPS has withdrawn money from my account without letting me know; so they claim is AMEX’s fault but I don’t deal with AMEX I am dealing with HPS so come on please! they have to be more responsible about it! And provide more accurate information as to why they did that!!!
August 10th, 2010 - 07:45
Hi John
I tried to e-mail you back about he Heartland problem I am having but it won’t go through. In answer to you question I was in BAM mode when I was on the road. And I will get the make of my machine. It has been over a month since the money was lost and I still have not had any contact from Heartland. My sales person has washed his hands of it all.
Thank you for your time.
Michael Monroe
monroestudioi@yahoo.com
August 11th, 2010 - 11:15
Great review. I’m a Relationship Manager with Heartland Payment Systems and i love what i do. Nothing like working for a Full Disclosure company!!! I mean seriously, what other company’s going to sit down with the business owner & tell them what we’re making???? Good luck finding that in this Murky industry. I love educating the business owners as well on what their current “rate” really is and the difference in Tiered vs Interchange Plus. I also get a kick out of the big smile on their face when i enter their place of business. I’m called a Relationship Manager for a reason and am always there whether it be in person, via Cell, Txt, E-Mail etc. 1 other fantastic plus is that i have a way to alleviate the business owners headaches when it comes to sales reps coming in and wasting the business owners valuable time vying for their business. I have in my hand the “truth Serum”.
A great percentage of sales personnel in the C. Card Industry are uneducated at what they do and go through no background check prior to hire. They simply want a quick sale and to move on…..meaning, you won’t see them again because they made their commission and have no interest in you or your business. I’m a real employee, not some 1099 Independant Sales Consultant. I have a vested interest in you & your business because i want you to succeed.
We’re such a transparent company that some business owners ask “What’s the catch?” or say “It’s too good to be true!” It’s not!!!! We are who we say we are and you get exactly what i/we say you will. I make it a point to contact all new customers to my book of business not only once a month (minimum) but most importantly as soon as they receive their 1st Statement with us. This is when i prove it! Isn’t it awesome knowing there are good people and good companies still out there? Sadly, they’re few and far between in this industry. Feel free to contact me anytime and i greatly appreciated this article and all your comments. We think highly of each and every business owner out there. Best of luck everyone and kind regards, ejanitz@hotmail.com
August 20th, 2010 - 08:06
Quick update and also a correction to my earlier message as in all the frustration of being told by the Heartland service it was my mistake a batch went missing when I connected, like I’ve always done. It was them guiding me through the process and even after being told the problem was on their end, I overlooked mentioning an email I received about four weeks ago from a Heartland rep named Stephen Thomas that read about my situation here and offered to do what he could to help. I can only hope he is successful in getting to the bottom of this since it seems I am being ignored by everyone else at Heartland except for his contact back twards the end of July. I would have thought that someone from Heartland would have at least contacted me directly by now. but nothing as of today. I’m going to look up the phone number to call at their corporate office and hope that someone there won’t give me the brush off and actually help me rather then now blame me for a mistake on their end.
September 15th, 2010 - 19:26
HI Michael,
I am an employee as well of Heartland Payment Systems. Your scenario is very strange. Were you able to finally get some assistance? If not, maybe I can try and help you get to the right person?
October 12th, 2011 - 14:53
Hello,
Just FYI that when in BAM (batch authorization mode) you are not connected to any line, which means you are not connected to your credit card processor, which means you are not connected to any issuing banks. All you are doing is taking down data via your terminal. It’s when your terminal is finally connected to a line that your machine will start to dial out to get approvals, which by then the card holders are long gone. This is the risk of BAM, but one that some merchant risk depending on their business. I doubt that the missing funds were due to Heartland and that they offered to pay half. What most likely happened is you had lots of declines, but again the card holders are long gone so that’s the risk you take.
Hope this helps clear up why you were missing money on BAM. This would be the case with Heartland or any Credit Card Processor.
September 14th, 2010 - 12:50
Does any one know if Heartland is or will be charging PCI fees?
September 15th, 2010 - 19:25
Heartland does not currently charge PCI fees. I don’t think they will be in the future.
September 21st, 2010 - 13:38
No direct PCI Compliance fees to the merchant from Heartland at this time. Have not heard if there will be any in the future.
June 2nd, 2011 - 15:28
Marty,
Heartland does not charge a PCI fee.
September 17th, 2010 - 21:15
I am a Heartland Rep. Heartland does not charge any PCI compliance fees. Where are you located Marty? I will be happy to direct you to a Heartland Representative in your area.
September 27th, 2010 - 14:05
I too am a Heartland Relationship Manager. I think another important note to all of the business owners out there is we, the representatives for Heartland, are all employees of the company. This in comparison to a majority of the ISO’s who represent other merchant service providers and are contractors.
Why is this important to you and your business? Because before a prospective employee is offered employment with Heartland, we were subject to a thorough background check. This is not the case with the ISO “contractors” for other processors. In a world of identity theft and account fraud, I know that if I am a business owner giving out all of my banking, social security/Fed ID numbers, and other confidential information… I sure would feel better knowing that someone has verified the representative I am working with has had someone check them out.
Also, we have representatives located in every major city and many small cities and towns of the country, offering personalized services and products based on your businesses needs. Besides credit card processing, we also offer the best Gift/Loyalty marketing program through our Chockstone division (we handle Subway, Dominoes, Fandango, Ticketmaster and thousands of other businesses)… we bring the big company technology and programs to the locally owned businesses AND provide local marketing support by advocating our merchants throughout the community.
Customer Service is here in the United States and regionalized by teams, meaning that when you call our customer service (available 24/7), your call is answered within 7 seconds and you get to talk to a live person!! Even more important, you will not be transferred around having to explain your situation over and over again.
I am in Central Texas and my drive and passion is to help as many business owners as I can possibly reach out to – the credit card processing business is currently an unregulated industry. You simply HAVE to know who you are working with, exactly how much you are paying, what you are paying for, and why you are paying it. Go to MerchantBillofRights.com and find out if you are being treated fairly by your current processor.
December 29th, 2010 - 17:57
Well written, unvarnished, an objective review of our company. Yeah….we’re something pretty special, lol. I’ve been with HPS for about (3.5) years now having been in the industry and with the “competition” for 13.5 years. So, I’ve been around a bit, and I’ve seen a bit – both inside and outside of this company. There is no perfect company in the industry. Every company will have this or that problem…giving merchants something to complain about, but I will say this….we’re about the closest to “perfection” this industry has to offer. Why? Because we try harder, and we actually CARE about our reputation in putting top flight services on the street. Same in the payroll industry since concepts like “provide a fair-deal”, “fully disclosed payment solutions” and “advocacy for business owners” are just as non existent there.
January 24th, 2011 - 15:55
I love love love what you are up to. I’ve been working as a Territory Manager at Heartland for 5 years now. I’ve never liked working for a company more than Heartland. I’ll be working here until I’m dead!
February 7th, 2011 - 12:48
Hi Jessica,
I love your passion. I also worked as a Account Executive for many years in B2B sales and loved the job. Unfortunately, they went out of business due to the current lending enviornment, as it was a mortgage company. Anyway, I have set up an initial phone interview with a manger for a relationship manager position. Any tips you can give me?? Also, is it mostly cold calling to begin with, or do they help you with marketing, and other tools?? I spoke to another card processing company a long while back, and all they talked about was my commission and how much I could make. I am more interested in working for a real company as an employee, that can feel good about himself everyday when I look in the mirror. I just assume the money will be there, as I am a professional.
February 9th, 2011 - 16:23
It sounds like you’re on the right track. My only suggestion is to be your true authentic self. If you don’t mind me asking, what area do you live in and who is your prescreen interview with?
February 10th, 2011 - 19:01
Barry,
Heartland is absolutely the company to work for if you to want work for an organization that lines up with your own personal values.
Good luck on your interview and hopefully your new career with us at Heartland.
-John
October 26th, 2011 - 15:30
We switched to HPS several years ago after getting ripped off by the local bank on our merchant services for years. We had three locations, three terminals and three bills that always looked completely different and discount rates that were completely different. At one location we seemed to always be charged mid or non-qualified rates on the transactions. It was frustrating and no explanation was given.
Our HPS rep was very upfront explaining the rates charged. I still personally believe that the amount charged is excessive, and Congress should have limited the amount any transaction can be charged, but that is another issue. We have been satisfied with our HPS service, but recently have had problems with the terminals not being compatible with our T1 phone service. If any of you have issues with dropped connections, be aware that different terminals are apparently made for businesses using phone service from cable or internet rather than traditional land lines. We will ultimately have to purchase new terminals to prevent occasional problems. Service is generally been very good, although we have had few problems other than the one mentioned.
Mark