Heartland Payment Systems
Heartland Payment Systems is a U.S. payments and business-technology brand acquired by Global Payments in 2016.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Heartland Payment Systems was an American payment-processing and business-technology company founded in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1997 by Robert O. Carr. It built its business around processing card payments for merchants, particularly small and midsize businesses, and later expanded into software and services designed to manage broader operating needs. Its activities included credit- and debit-card processing, point-of-sale systems, payroll, gift cards and loyalty programs, campus payments, school payments and nutrition management, mobile payments, online ordering, electronic commerce, billing, network management and lending-related services. The company became a significant independent payments provider during the 2000s. It received a $40 million private-equity investment in 2001 and completed an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2005. Heartland then pursued a multi-vertical acquisition strategy, adding capabilities in petroleum and convenience-store payments, gift cards, school food-service software, higher-education commerce, payroll, restaurant point of sale and mobile commerce. This approach positioned Heartland as more than a transaction processor: it sought to combine payments infrastructure with operational software tailored to particular industries. Heartland's history was also shaped by a major payment-card data breach disclosed in January 2009. The intrusion affected information encoded on payment-card magnetic stripes and was widely described at the time as one of the largest criminal compromises of card data. The incident led to criminal prosecutions, significant scrutiny of payment-security practices and a strategic emphasis on stronger protection technologies. In May 2009, Heartland and Visa announced that the company had revalidated compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. That same month, Heartland commercially launched E3, an end-to-end encryption system intended to protect card data from the point of capture through processing. In 2014, it introduced Heartland Secure, which combined EMV, encryption and tokenization and was supported by a breach warranty. The company also publicly challenged pricing and sales practices in the payments industry. In 2013, chief executive Robert O. Carr published an open letter calling for greater honesty and transparency in merchant pricing, criticizing practices such as falsifying interchange rates or merchant-category codes and relying on confusing contractual language. In 2014, Heartland sued Mercury Payment Systems, alleging false advertising and other deceptive trade practices concerning payment-network interchange fees. Heartland completed its merger with Global Payments in April 2016 in a transaction valued at approximately $4.3 billion. After the transaction, Heartland became part of Global Payments rather than remaining an independent publicly traded company. The Heartland name continued to represent payment-processing and related merchant-technology offerings within the larger Global Payments organization. Historical descriptions reported that, in 2014, Heartland served more than 275,000 business locations in the United States, processed over 11 million transactions per day and handled more than $80 billion in annual transaction volume.
History
Heartland Payment Systems was established in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1997 by Robert O. Carr. It developed as a U.S. payment-processing company serving merchants and later broadened its scope through a combination of organic product development and acquisitions. The company received a $40 million private-equity investment in 2001 from Greenhill Capital Partners, LLR Partners and affiliated funds. It went public on the New York Stock Exchange on August 11, 2005. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, Heartland expanded beyond core card processing. In 2008 it completed the acquisition of Alliance Data Systems' payment-processing business serving petroleum, convenience-store, parking and retail sectors, and acquired Chockstone for gift-card and loyalty capabilities. Its later acquisitions concentrated on software and specialized commerce workflows. These included school nutrition and point-of-sale businesses such as LunchBox, School-Link Technologies, LunchByte Systems and MCS Software; higher-education payment and commerce providers such as Educational Computer Systems and TouchNet; payroll businesses including Ovation Payroll and Payroll 1; and point-of-sale companies including Merchant Software, Leaf, XPIENT Solutions, Dinerware, PC America and Digital Dining. A defining event occurred in 2008, when attackers penetrated Heartland's processing systems. The company disclosed the breach on January 20, 2009. The stolen information included data held on the magnetic stripes of payment cards, creating the possibility of counterfeit-card production. Estimates reported at the time suggested that approximately 100 million cards and more than 650 financial institutions could have been affected. Albert Gonzalez was sentenced in 2010 for his role in the hacking operation, while two Russian hackers were sentenced in 2018 in connection with a series of intrusions that included the Heartland breach. The breach prompted a major security response. In May 2009, Heartland and Visa announced that Heartland had revalidated compliance with PCI DSS. Heartland also commercially launched E3, an end-to-end encryption technology intended to protect card information from card capture through processing. The company subsequently promoted a layered-security approach involving EMV, encryption and tokenization. Heartland Secure, introduced in 2014, bundled those technologies and included a breach warranty. Heartland's corporate communications also addressed the economics of merchant payments. In 2013, chief executive Robert Carr published an open letter to the electronic-payments industry urging processors and sales organizations to end practices he described as dishonest or illegal, including the manipulation of interchange rates and merchant-category codes and the use of unclear fine print. In January 2014, Heartland brought litigation against Mercury Payment Systems, alleging false advertising and other deceptive trade practices relating to interchange fees. By 2014, Heartland was described as serving more than 275,000 U.S. business locations, processing more than 11 million transactions per day and handling over $80 billion in annual transactions. Its portfolio included merchant processing, payroll, gift cards, school and campus payments, point of sale, mobile payments, e-commerce, billing and lending-related services. Heartland's independent corporate history ended when Global Payments completed its acquisition in April 2016. The reported transaction value was approximately $4.3 billion. Heartland subsequently operated as a brand and business platform within Global Payments.
- 2016
Acquired by Global Payments
[1]Global Payments completed its acquisition of Heartland, ending Heartland's independent public-company status.
- 2014
Heartland Secure introduced
[1]The company introduced a security offering combining EMV, encryption and tokenization.
- 2009
E3 encryption launched
[1]Heartland commercially launched an end-to-end encryption system for payment-card data.
- 2008
Payment-processing breach occurs
[1]Attackers compromised Heartland's processing environment, with disclosure following in January 2009.
- 2005
Initial public offering
[1]The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on August 11.
- 2001
Private-equity investment
[1]Heartland received a reported $40 million investment from Greenhill Capital Partners, LLR Partners and affiliated funds.
- 1997
Company founded
[1]Robert O. Carr co-founded Heartland Payment Systems in Princeton, New Jersey.
Products and positioning
A U.S.-focused payments and commerce-technology provider combining merchant acquiring and transaction processing with vertical software for retail, restaurants, schools, higher education and payroll. Security and transparent merchant pricing became important elements of its public positioning after the 2008 data breach.
Payment processing · 1997
Merchant payment processing
Heartland's core business processed credit- and debit-card transactions for U.S. merchants. The service supported the company's relationships with hundreds of thousands of business locations and formed the foundation for its later software, security and vertical-market offerings.
Payment security · 2009
E3
E3 was Heartland's end-to-end encryption technology, commercially launched in 2009 after the company's major payment-card breach. It was designed to protect card-account information from the point at which a card was swiped through transmission across Heartland's processing network.
Payment security · 2014
Heartland Secure
Heartland Secure combined EMV, end-to-end encryption and tokenization into a merchant-security offering. The product was supported by a breach warranty and reflected Heartland's post-breach strategy of reducing the usefulness of stolen payment data.
Education technology
Heartland School Solutions
The school-solutions portfolio supplied K-12 institutions with school-payment, cafeteria point-of-sale, menu, inventory and nutrition-management software. Heartland built this business through acquisitions including LunchBox, School-Link Technologies, LunchByte Systems and MCS Software.
Higher-education payments
Heartland Campus Solutions
Campus Solutions served colleges and universities with payment processing and integrated commerce tools. Heartland expanded the division through the acquisition of Educational Computer Systems and later TouchNet Information Systems.
Payroll services
Heartland Payroll Services
The payroll business provided payroll outsourcing, tax preparation and administration, online reporting and direct-deposit services. Acquisitions such as Ovation Payroll and Payroll 1 broadened Heartland's employer-services capabilities.
Controversies
2009
2008 payment-card data breach
Heartland disclosed that attackers had accessed its payment-processing systems in 2008 and stolen magnetic-stripe card data. The breach was widely characterized at the time as one of the largest criminal compromises of payment-card information. Criminal proceedings later resulted in convictions and prison sentences for participants in the hacking operation.
Marketing campaigns
- 2013Open letter on payments-industry pricing
United States
Chief executive Robert O. Carr used an open letter to urge greater transparency and ethical conduct in electronic-payments sales and pricing. The letter criticized allegedly misleading interchange-rate practices, merchant-category-code manipulation and confusing contract language.
Outcome. The initiative reinforced Heartland's public positioning around merchant advocacy and transparent pricing.
Brand decisions
2016
Merger with Global PaymentsM&ABackground
Heartland had developed a broad portfolio spanning payment processing, software and specialized merchant services, while Global Payments sought to expand its payments platform.
Action taken
Heartland completed its merger with Global Payments and became part of the acquiring company's operating portfolio.
Aftermath
Heartland ceased to operate as an independent publicly traded company, while its brand and business capabilities continued within Global Payments.
Reported transaction value. $4.3 billion (2016 acquisition)
2014
Launch of Heartland SecureProduct launchBackground
Heartland sought to provide merchants with layered defenses against payment-card theft and the subsequent monetization of stolen data.
Action taken
The company combined EMV, end-to-end encryption and tokenization in Heartland Secure and backed the offering with a breach warranty.
Aftermath
Heartland strengthened its security-led market positioning and expanded the technologies offered to merchants.
2009
Shift toward end-to-end payment encryptionStrategyBackground
The company faced the consequences of a major compromise involving payment-card magnetic-stripe data.
Action taken
Heartland commercially launched E3, designed to encrypt card information from capture through processing.
Aftermath
The initiative made Heartland an early prominent advocate of end-to-end encryption in U.S. payment processing and influenced similar announcements by other processors.
- Worldpay US — Worldpay US subsequently announced an end-to-end encryption initiative.
- First Data independent sales organizations — Several First Data independent sales organizations also announced related encryption initiatives.
Recent events
Reported
MarketMan and Heartland announce strategic partnership and integration[2]
MarketMan announced a strategic partnership with Heartland Payment Systems, including a technology integration that lets current and future Heartland Restaurant POS customers add MarketMan inventory management and supplier ordering capabilities. The integration was available to users starting that day.
Sources2 sources
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