Heartland Payments: The Pulse of Business Prosperity

Company Overview

Founded in 1997 with a mission to support the survival of small businesses, Heartland Payment Systems has evolved into a global service provider ranked at #138 on the list of best software for payment processing. Operating from their headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, Heartland, a subsidiary of Global Payments, offers an extensive suite of services. These services not only enhance payment processing but also manage inventory efficiently, deliver top-notch point-of-sale systems, and seamlessly execute payroll tasks.

Heartland empowers business growth through industry-specific bundles tailored for restaurants, retail stores, and service businesses. Recognized with five Stevie Awards in the International Competition for Sales and Customer Service, which include Contact Center of the Year, Customer Service Team of the Year, Customer Training Team of the Year, and Innovation in Customer Service and Sales Technology. Although they received a B- rating on the BBB, Heartland proves to provide valuable services across many industries.

Service Offerings

Heartland offers a variety of services to help businesses accept and process payments seamlessly. From traditional credit card transactions to innovative payment solutions, Heartland ensures efficient and secure processing for businesses of all sizes.

Flexible payment processing: Heartland permits merchants to accept gift cards, digital wallets, and ACH payments. Empowering them to accept payments via browsers, mobile devices, POS systems, configured standalone terminals, and over the phone. Heartland has tools customized to checkout pages that streamline the payment process and are easy to navigate.

Robust integrations: The Heartland software seamlessly integrates with popular e-commerce platforms like WordPress, Drupal Commerce, WooCommerce, and Magento and creates mobile-friendly checkouts. Heartland offers an instant testing environment, more than 500 integrations for developers, and an SDK (Software Development Kit) to create more customized shopping carts and setup instructions for developers creating custom applications for businesses.

Mobile payments: Small businesses can easily sign up for mobile payment processing, utilizing a mobile card reader to accept various payment methods seamlessly. This integrated solution prioritizes efficiency and security for merchants and their customers alike. Clients benefit from mobile payment processing with swift deposits directly into the bank within 24 hours and the flexibility to choose from Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and EMV debit/credit cards, completing transactions in seconds. Advanced encryption minimizes fraud risks, providing enhanced security for both merchants and their customers.

Proprietary hardware: Heartland Payment Systems offers distinct POS solutions tailored for restaurants, retail, and service businesses. Their systems ensure instant deposits for both recurring and single transactions.

Cloud-based invoicing: Service businesses, contractors, and freelancers improve cash flow and streamline operations with a cloud-based, all-in-one invoicing and billing solution. Customers can create customizable invoices using the client portal and send them through email or SMS.

Automatic recurring billing: Heartland benefits home services and professional businesses by ensuring consistent revenue from paid plans. They streamline the process, consistency, and convenience to improve the customer experience. Recurring payments are making their way into nearly every industry due to the advantages that they bring. To enable this feature, merchants need an account from a payment provider like Heartland.

Automatic invoicing: This enables Sending invoices to customers on a pre-set schedule, which presents the buyer with an electronic bill with a predefined data exchange. Invoice processing is a business function that tracks, manages, and pays supplier invoices, saving time for businesses of all sizes.

Mobile payment collection: Mobile Pay gives customers more payment options and accomplishes more with less equipment. Sending invoices, adding a tip, and using the camera on a device as a barcode scanner are all easily done through available payment technology. View customer information, inventory, detailed transaction reports, and sales in real-time through the merchant portal.

Global payments: Interact with payment systems and accept currencies around the world. Merchants receive a software development kit with all the necessary functionality and tools. You have access to a testing environment and experts with more than 500 API integrations, allowing you to set payment methods, currency, and time with speedy vendor outboarding.

Efficient virtual terminals: Heartland's virtual terminals streamline online transactions without physical cards. Utilizing merchant accounts and payment gateway technology, these web-based platforms accept all major cards, requiring no hardware. With just an internet connection and a browser, your device becomes a payment processor, allowing for order completion online or over the phone. Business owners and cardholders receive instant digital confirmations for seamless processing and fulfillment.

Security: Virtual terminals ensure secure transactions through tokenization and additional security measures. Tokenization safeguards stored bank account numbers with randomized series during transactions, enhancing privacy. Business owners train employees to validate customer identity. Card authorization, EMV chip card, and NFC technology minimize chargeback and fraud risks, streamlining payment acceptance in harsh environments.

Payroll: The company offers an all-in-one HR and payroll software for small businesses. It is a human resources, attendance, time, and full-service payroll solution. It streamlines operations and uses a cloud-based system to unify employee data.

All-in-one software: The software permits setting up withholdings, runs payroll, allows viewing pay stubs, and enables integration like Quickbooks. User-friendly time management software makes building timesheets online, setting up clock-in options, tracking billable hours, and running detailed reports easy.

Tax filing: Heartland handles payroll tax calculations, tax filing, and payments. Their payroll software relieves the stress of weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly payroll by handling garnishments and other withholdings. Choose from three payment methods - printed checks, direct deposit, or reloadable pay cards.

Human resource functions: Heartland Hire covers HR tasks such as job posting, scheduling interviews, screening candidates, and sending offer letters with intelligent workflow. Taking advantage of tax credits for eligible new hires, it replaces chaotic hiring procedures with technology that identifies top talent, accelerates interviews, streamlines onboarding, and maximizes tax credits for qualified individuals. Avoid fines for non-compliance with the all-in-one HR platform that provides legal updates, expert advice for core HR work and challenging situations, and access to a library of customizable resources.

Advantages

Heartland offers various advantages that makes them an attractive option for businesses across various industries. Here are the key pros associated with Heartland:

No hardware required

Heartland's solutions are designed to operate without the need for extensive hardware installations. This can be particularly advantageous for businesses looking to minimize upfront costs and streamline the implementation process.

Versatile industry coverage

Heartland Payment serves diverse industries, from petroleum and retail to parking and restaurants (acquired through Digital Dining). This broad industry coverage positions them as a versatile payment processing solution suitable for businesses across different sectors.

Serves all business sizes

Heartland Payment Processing accommodates businesses of all sizes, ranging from small startups to large enterprises. This scalability enables the company to offer tailored payment processing solutions, ensuring that a wide array of businesses, regardless of size or industry, can benefit from their services.

Round-the-clock support

24/7 customer support ensures businesses using Heartland's services can receive assistance and troubleshooting at any time. This feature is crucial for maintaining smooth operations, especially in industries where transactions occur around the clock.

Diverse payment methods

Heartland supports a wide range of payment methods, allowing businesses to accept payments in various forms, such as credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and more. This flexibility ensures customers can choose their preferred payment method, whether they want to pay through MasterCard or their Android phone, enhancing convenience and expanding the customer base.

Mobile app

The company provides a mobile app enabling businesses to manage their operations on the go. This feature is particularly valuable for those who need to monitor transactions, access analytics, and perform other essential tasks while away from the physical business location.

One-stop-shop solution

Heartland Payment Systems not only offers payment processing services but also provides add-ons like Heartland POS and Heartland Payroll. Tailored to suit diverse business needs, the Heartland POS system significantly enhances service versatility by seamlessly integrating payroll, point-of-sale, and payment processing systems, creating a unified business platform.

Disadvantages

While Heartland offers various advantages, it's essential to consider potential drawbacks associated with their credit card processing services.

Lack of CCP price transparency

Heartland Payment Systems uses an interchange-plus pricing model, which can make it difficult for small-business owners to compare pricing, especially considering that they don't disclose a list of payment methods and fee percentages.

If you need further information on the specific fee percentages for different payment methods, it is recommended that you contact Heartland Payment Systems directly for detailed pricing information.

Contractual obligations

According to user reviews online, Heartland's standard contract entails an initial 3-year term, automatically extending for an additional year. The extended commitment period may present challenges for businesses seeking more flexibility in their contractual arrangements. It's recommended to carefully review these terms to ensure they align with their strategic goals and operational preferences.

Charges on disputes

Heartland charges businesses for dispute handling, with the first three disputes being free. Subsequent disputes incur a $25 fee each. Handling chargebacks and disputes are already complex, and these extra charges emphasize the importance of thoughtful consideration when selecting Heartland for credit card transactions.

Pricing & Plans

Heartland's pricing information for payment processing services is not readily available on their website; however, they do mention that in-person transaction fees start at 2.6% plus 10 cents. Alongside this, a monthly fee is linked to the point-of-sale system, starting at $89. Operating on an interchange-plus pricing model, Heartland requires businesses to cover both the card interchange fees and an additional markup. To obtain precise and personalized pricing information tailored to individual business requirements, it is recommended to reach out to Heartland directly for a customized quote.

Security & Compliance

Heartland created industry-leading security solutions to protect merchants and their customers. They provide tools to protect a business using three powerful technologies that work in tandem to provide the highest level of security against card-present data fraud.

The three technologies that protect card data and make it useless to hackers are tokenizations, end-to-end encryption, and EMV (Europay, Mastercare, and Visa) embedded with smart chips that offer greater protection against fraud than the traditional magnetic stripe. With the abundance of online misinformation regarding encryption and tokenization, it's important to clarify their roles. Encryption is a method that renders the data unreadable to meet Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS). Tokenization replaces sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, with tokens.

The use of tokens goes beyond authorization, encompassing post-authorization operations such as marketing programs, analytics, sales reports, recurring payments, chargebacks, and returns. This innovative approach eliminates the need to store Primary Account Numbers, though merchants must still validate and uphold PCI-DSS compliance.

Heartland offers a breach warranty to Heart Secure merchants who employ Heart Secure-certified devices. An out-of-scope system separates the POS and card data. The point of sale transmits transaction details to the processor, which returns a response to the POS. The POS never receives cardholder data, which reduces exposure to cybercriminals.

User Experience & Testimonials

Heartland faces mixed reviews as Trustpilot and BBB's reviews reveal merchant dissatisfaction, while G2's reviews showcase customer praise. The company's unaccredited status and B- BBB rating, coupled with consistent responses to complaints, paint a perplexing picture of Heartland's efforts.

Most Trustpilot reviews rate the company's payment processing at 2.5 out of 5 stars, except for one five-star review. Merchants complain about the company's 3-year contract and the early termination fee. Many merchants experienced sudden, unannounced increases in processing fees and rates. Many complaints allege unhelpfulness, poor customer service, and being put on hold for long waits to reach a company representative.

The customer reviews on G2 tell a different story. With a rating of 4.5 out of 5, the overwhelmingly good reviews express satisfaction with their easy-to-use system, exceptional customer support, and fast payment processing. One customer highlighted their secure storage of frequent customers' card numbers. Despite the overwhelmingly good reviews, many customers expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the company's easygoing attitude with chargebacks and the old POS machines, along with higher monthly rates for mobile payments.

Heartland currently has a B- and a 1 out of 5 rating on the Better Business Bureau with no accreditation. Over the last three years, there have been 104 complaints that spotlight matters such as bugs and errors appearing every payday, early termination fees, card fees not matching what was promised, and indefinitely getting put on hold, among other things. Unfortunately, no reviews on the BBB gave the company a rating above 1 star. Although the complaints are scathing, the company still replies to most of them.

How Can I Contact Heartland?

If you're looking to get in touch with Heartland, you have several contact options right at your fingertips. For assistance with TSYS products, dial 800-941-6557 if your account number starts with 9305, 4765, 5185, or 5353. Alternatively, for account numbers beginning with 5436, 3930, 3230, or 4139, call 800-654-9256. General customer service inquiries can be directed to the toll-free number (888) 963-3600; specific numbers for various services are also available.
Submit your information on their website for sales inquiries, and they'll promptly reach out to you. For developer support, contact the E-commerce Team at [email protected] or dial +1(888) 866-7182. Additionally, a live chat widget is accessible on their website for real-time assistance. Stay updated by following their social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube for the latest news and insights.

Conclusion

Heartland Payment Systems offers innovative payment solutions, seamlessly integrating point of sale, payroll, and credit card processing for small businesses. With over two decades of experience and a global presence, the company serves 750,000+ customers across diverse industries. While providing advantages like industry versatility and round-the-clock support, it's essential to consider potential drawbacks, including a lack of price transparency. Mixed user reviews highlight strengths in user-friendliness but also express concerns about contractual terms and fees. For personalized pricing and details, contacting Heartland directly is recommended.

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