Heartland Payment Systems Review

Home is where the heart is… but is Heartland the best fit for your business?

Heartland Payment Systems is a credit card processing company that provides merchant services to over 275,000 businesses in the US. Heartland processes over $80 billion worth of transactions annually, allowing businesses to accept payments online, in person, and over the phone.

Heartland also offers industry-specific POS (point of sale) systems, payroll services, and customer engagement solutions. Basically, it’s got more or less everything you need to scale your business, and spend less time sweating the small stuff.

But no business is created equal, and the right credit card processing service for you will depend on your business’ size, sales volume, sales value, and industry – not to mention your budget. 

So, is Heartland right for the unique demands of your business?

Let’s find out.

What are Heartland’s Features and Benefits?

✔ Versatile countertop card solution

Heartland’s card machines enable you to accept face-to-face payments from your physical store. Its EMV-equipped (Europay, Mastercard, and Visa) terminals look good on your countertop, and let you accept contactless payments, too – plus mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

✔ A fully mobile solution

The aptly-named ‘MobilePay’ (pictured) is Heartland’s answer to the likes of iZettle and Square. MobilePay is ideal for small merchants (such as tradespeople and market stall vendors) who are looking to accept credit card payments on the go. So how does it work?

Well, it’s simple, really – you just download an app onto your smartphone or tablet, connect Heartland’s pocket-sized card reader and… start taking payments!

Plus, MobilePay isn’t just convenient – you can take payments on any internet-enabled device – but quick, too. Its transaction processing speed of 2.1 seconds is the fastest in the industry – perfect for keeping the queues moving, and the profits flowing.

✔ Superior ecommerce capabilities

For businesses that don’t want to restrict themselves to face-to-face payments only, Heartland offers a host of versatile options for accepting credit cards online. Heartland’s customizable payment gateway, for instance, allows you to slot a neat payment form (pictured) into your website, and match it to the look and feel of your site.

With a slick, streamlined design that’ll inspire consumer confidence at the checkout, Heartland’s embeddable form supports gift cards, as well as Apple Pay, PayPal, and MasterPass.

And if that isn’t enough, Heartland’s payment gateway also integrates with most of the major shopping carts and online platforms – including BigCommerce and Magento (but sadly not Shopify).

✔ Industry-leading data security

In 2008, a hacker infiltrated Heartland’s networks, stealing the data from over 130 million credit cards. It wasn’t a great moment for Heartland… but the company proved that what doesn’t kill you does indeed make you stronger. And these days, Heartland has in place some of the finest data security controls in the industry.

All of your customer’s cardholder data is encrypted as soon as they make the payment, and is sent directly to Heartland’s servers. That leaves no information hanging around on your device, helping you remain fully compliant with credit card processing rules and regulations.

✔ Excellent customer support

Heartland offers 24/7 phone-based customer support, all delivered by an in-house, US-based team. There are even different numbers for each branch of its services, so you should be able to speak to the right person straight away – morning or night, every day of the year.

✔ Tailored to your industry

Heartland offers industry-specific payment processing and POS solutions for a whopping 16 different industries. Think education, entertainment, petroleum… even laundry businesses can get the Heartland treatment.

There’s LiquorPOS, for example – Heartland’s countertop setup that’s tailor-made for alcohol vendors. Heartland also offers pcAmerica for retail businesses, while Digital Dining is its answer to the POS needs of restaurants and bars. 

You name the field, and Heartland probably has a bespoke software and hardware package catering to it.

✔ Plentiful POS integrations

Not into one of Heartland’s own, industry-focussed POS solutions? Don’t sweat it. Heartland’s terminals also integrate with a wide range of third-party POS providers, offering unparalleled flexibility.

How Much Does Heartland Cost?

Merchant account fees are varied, chaotic, and can be extremely tough to get your head around. So, if this review is your first introduction to the world of credit card processing, we recommend first heading to our page on credit card processing fees. 

On that page, we unpack all the terminology below, and help you get to grips with the different kinds of fees and pricing plans involved in credit card processing. Plus, there are a few tips to help you barter a better deal when it comes to negotiating a merchant services contract.

Otherwise, read on for a full breakdown of Heartland’s credit card processing fees.

That’s quite a list of fees. But where do they all go? Are they all necessary?

Well, quite frankly, no – they’re not. Most of the charges you see above (particularly those scheduled costs – we’re looking at you, ‘service fee’) are markup fees. Unlike wholesale fees (which go towards the maintenance of the card payments infrastructure, and are inescapable), markup fees are charged to help make the provider a profit.

Let’s take Heartland’s $295 early termination fee as an example. It’s basically there just to scare merchants out of leaving their contracts early, and to punish them if they choose to do so.

We don’t like it. And we don’t believe in it. 

Other credit card processors don’t, either – Payline, Fattmerchant, and Payment Depot are all among the companies that choose not to levy an early termination fee. And at this stage, we’d recommend choosing one of those providers, instead.

Alternatively, you can opt for a flat-rate credit card processing provider, such as Square. It charges just a single, fixed fee per transaction, and includes a free card reader for new merchants.

What we don’t appreciate about Heartland’s pricing, then, is the amount of markup fees you’ll be eligible for on a regular basis. However, the good news is that these costs are negotiable – and online reviews suggest that Heartland are at least willing to waive these fees with a little bartering.

There’s more good news, too – Heartland doesn’t charge a fee for PCI compliance. This is one of the trickier, costlier sides of accepting credit card payments, so it’s a relief to know that it’s all taken care of for you, and at no extra cost.

Ultimately, Heartland doesn’t advertise all of its rates clearly online. Plus, the total you can expect to pay in fees will depend on your sales volume and value, plus the method you’re using to accept card payments. How much you pay in fees will also depend on how well you can understand the fees. So remember to negotiate!

Is Heartland Right for My Business?

All this means that Heartland won’t be for everybody. Find out if it’s for you below.

“I’m a plumber, and I’d like to be able to take payments on the go. Is Heartland suitable for me?”

Absolutely! Heartland’s mobile card reader (MobilePay) is designed for sole traders such as yourself. It pairs with an app on your smartphone, and – providing you have a bit of mobile data handy – will let you accept card payments directly from your customer’s kitchen. 

That said, Heartland isn’t the only way to go – its rates, after all, aren’t transparent, and customer reviews suggest that there are cheaper options elsewhere. Plus, Heartland (unlike well-known mobile card readers such as iZettle, PayPal Here, and Square) doesn’t specialize in mobile payments – they’re just an offshoot of its other credit card processing services. 

For this reason – plus the cheaper rates you can get elsewhere – we’d recommend forgoing Heartland, and opting for a dedicated mobile card reader provider instead.

“I run a school cafeteria, and we’d like to start accepting card payments – should I choose Heartland?”

Heartland’s range of integrations, payment options, and POS services make it well-suited to businesses that accept higher value payments. However, Heartland does also offer a micro-payments service, targeted at businesses that do a lot of low value transactions. Like… a school cafeteria, maybe?

As we’ve seen, Heartland also has POS software and hardware options tailored to hospitality… although in this case, the ability to track inventory, manage staff, and take payments directly to your student diners might be going a little beyond your requirements! 

“I’m just looking for the cheapest way of taking payments online. Where do I go?”

Stripe and PayPal are two of the cheapest credit card processing companies that service US ecommerce businesses. Both offer processing rates of 2.9% + 30 cents per online transaction. And, unlike Heartland, neither Stripe or PayPal comes with any hidden fees – just a flat rate fee on each card transaction you key in, or accept through your website.

What Do Heartland’s Customer Reviews Say?

If there’s anything we love doing here at Expert Market, it’s cutting through a company’s marketing fluff and getting straight to the stuff that really matters. 

In this case, that means taking a look at what Heartland’s customers are saying – and whether the company’s self-professed ‘dedication to the rights of the merchant’ bears out in its online reviews.

Here’s the good:

Most other positive reviews online seem, like Peter’s, to confirm Heartland’s promise of excellent customer support. But it isn’t all rosy:

Heartland’s customers, it seems, share the same issues as us when it comes to the credit card processor’s fees – particularly the early termination and PCI non-compliance charges.

As well as the negative comments above (plus a swathe of even more cutting reviews online), Heartland has also had 48 complaints registered against it with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) in the last three years. So, while we’d be the first to say that there’s a lot to admire about Heartland’s technology and service, we can’t recommend it based on the customer reviews we’ve found.

With that in mind, then, what are the alternatives?

What Other Merchant Account Providers Could I Consider?

Choosing a credit card processing provider will probably be the biggest business decision you’ll make all year. That’s why we don’t recommend making a decision based on a single review alone. 

Check out the rest of our suite of expert reviews at the bottom of this page. They’ll help you understand merchant accounts, and pick the right one effectively.

You’ll also need to take into account the nature of your sales and business, plus its size, how long you’ve been in business, and your credit rating. Don’t get roped into a contract with the first provider to offer you low rates, because if it’s too good to be true, well…you know the rest.

Jump into the table below to learn more about some of our top credit card processing companies for small businesses. Or skip ahead to the expert verdict for our final say on Heartland Payment Systems.

Expert Verdict

As we’ve already said, there’s a lot to love about Heartland Payment Systems. It tops slick POS software with even slicker mobile payments hardware, all while (after an admittedly steep learning curve) setting the standard for data security. 

Heartland’s customer support is excellent, and its commitment to supplying merchants with a fair deal is well-documented. So much so, actually, that Heartland champions its own ‘Merchant Bill of Rights’ – a manifesto promising greater transparency regarding the fees and middlemen involved in credit card processing.

But does Heartland deliver on those promises? We’re not so sure. 

Customer reviews aren’t great across the board, and Heartland levies a few too many dubious-sounding markup fees for our liking. We’d also prefer to see more transparency regarding Heartland’s costs (ironic, given its own advocacy of this exact thing), and better disclosure of the hidden fees that have tripped so many other merchants up.

Despite this, Heartland may still be the right pick for you. Just make sure to read the contract very carefully before signing it!