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Card processing review

Heartland

Heartland's card processing (Global Payments), sold with or without its Genius and Heartland Restaurant POS: an advertised starting rate for in-person sales (your rate is quoted), a 36-month agreement with a $295 early termination fee per location in its posted terms, next-day deposits, and surcharge and cash discount programs. Its monthly, PCI, statement and batch fees aren't published.

By Heartland (Global Payments)Parent company: Global Payments Inc.

RTC SCORE

5.1

#10 of 16 with enough data

Not enough verified data yet

We've verified 9 of 12 key facts for this processor. Until we reach 80%, this page shows what we have, with sources, and it isn't a full review.

Our verdict

Heartland advertises a starting in-person rate and, in its posted terms, a fixed $295 early termination fee per location. Your rate and the rest of its fees are quoted, so ask for the full fee schedule (your card rates and the monthly, PCI, statement, batch and chargeback fees) and the cash discount percentage before signing a 36-month agreement.

What we like

  • Publishes a fixed early termination fee in its posted terms ($295 per location).
  • Next-day deposits, with same-day and instant options.
  • 24/7 support by phone, chat and email.
  • Offers a cash discount and a surcharge (3% on credit cards, paid by your customers).

What to watch

  • The monthly Service and Regulatory Mandate fee and the PCI, statement, batch, annual and chargeback fees aren't published, so the full cost can't be calculated before you get a quote.
  • 36-month term that renews for 12 months unless you give 60 days' written notice.
  • Fees can rise with 15 days' notice, and the posted terms offer no way out without the early termination fee when they do.
  • The signer gives a personal guarantee that survives a sale of the business.
  • The software on the equipment Heartland sells or rents can only be used with Heartland's services.

How the score breaks down

RTC Score5.1out of 10

Methodology v0.1.0

Data completeness63%

We could verify 63% of the scoring data

Strongest points
What leaving in month 12 costs, Standard deposit speed, 24/7 support
Weakest point
Published pricing

Score by criterion

  • 12-month cost of the reference restaurantWeight 37%No data
  • Standard deposit speedWeight 11%Strongest8.0 out of 10
  • What leaving in month 12 costsWeight 9%Strongest9.0 out of 10

    $295 to leave in month 12

  • Price increases during the contractWeight 8%3.0 out of 10
  • Published pricingWeight 7%Weakest2.0 out of 10
  • 24/7 supportWeight 6%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Contract termWeight 4%2.5 out of 10
  • Support channelsWeight 4%9.0 out of 10
  • No equipment lease you can't cancelWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Works with restaurant POS systemsWeight 3%1.7 out of 10
  • Automatic renewalWeight 2%5.0 out of 10
  • Equipment works with another processorWeight 2%0.0 out of 10
  • Offers dual pricing or a surcharge programWeight 2%10.0 out of 10
  • Works without the vendor's own POSWeight 1%10.0 out of 10

Before you pass the card fee to your customers

This vendor offers a program that passes the card cost to your customers. Card network rules cap credit card surcharges (Visa 3%, Mastercard 4%) and never allow them on debit, and some states ban or limit them.

This is general information, not legal advice. Card network rules and state laws change, and how they apply depends on your business: check with a lawyer and with your processor before adding a surcharge or a cash discount.

See the rules by state

Current promotion

  • Signing bonus

    Up to $26,000Source: Global Payments (opens in a new tab)

    With $30,000 a month in card sales (our reference scenario): up to $1,560.

    Conditions
    Global Payments' offer for Genius, the brand under which it now sells Heartland's restaurant POS. New merchants that buy Genius and qualify get a statement credit equal to their discount rate (at most 2.6%) times their qualifying card volume (at most $1 million) in the first two months after activation, up to $26,000. The credit only offsets Global Payments processing fees, not hardware, software or third-party fees, and it is posted within 90 days after the promotional period. Limited to the first 50 eligible merchants, through December 18, 2026, and Global Payments decides what volume qualifies. If you end the agreement during the first year, an early termination fee equal to the credit applies.
    What you need to qualify
    • You lose it or pay it back if you leave before month 12
    Valid until

Counts in the RTC Score only if our reference restaurant qualifies.

The switching or signing incentive is one of the criteria with the most weight in the RTC Score. We count a promotion only while it's current, with a fixed published amount and conditions our reference restaurant meets. "Up to" amounts, buyouts of your current contract and unpublished amounts don't count. The cost calculator subtracts one only when your numbers qualify.

Check it with your numbers

All the data, with sources

Each value links to its source. "Not published" means the vendor doesn't disclose it; "Unconfirmed" means we looked and couldn't confirm it. Data points we have for fewer than four vendors are left out until we can compare them.

Type of processor and pricing
Data pointValue
Type of processorProcessor or its sales partners (acquirer, ISO)Source: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Global Payments' processor for small and mid-size businesses, which also sells its own POS (Genius, Heartland Restaurant). Heartland is moving to the Global Payments brand.
Pricing modelFlat rateSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Payments+ is advertised at a flat rate starting at 2.6% + 10¢ in person; Heartland also offers interchange-plus pricing by quote.
Published pricing (points out of 100)20Source: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Same rubric for every vendor: in-person rate 0 (only a "starting at" price, 2.6% + 10¢, which counts as not published, as a range does for every vendor); online or keyed rate 0 (not published); markup or monthly fee 0 (the monthly Service and Regulatory Mandate fee has no published amount); early termination fee 20 ($295 per location in its posted terms); other fees 0 (PCI, statement, annual, batch and chargeback fees aren't published).
Card rates
Data pointValue
In-person rateQuote onlySource: Heartland (opens in a new tab)Heartland advertises Payments+ "starting at" 2.6% + 10¢ in person. A starting price isn't your rate, so we count it as quote only: the same rule for every vendor, a published floor or range counts as not published.
In-person fee per transactionQuote onlySource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland advertises Payments+ "starting at" 2.6% + 10¢ in person. A starting price isn't your rate, so we count it as quote only: the same rule for every vendor, a published floor or range counts as not published.
Online rateNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland publishes only its starting in-person rate; online and keyed rates are quoted, and its terms say card-not-present sales pay the adjusted rates of your fee schedule.
Online fee per transactionNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland publishes only its starting in-person rate; online and keyed rates are quoted, and its terms say card-not-present sales pay the adjusted rates of your fee schedule.
Keyed-in rateNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland publishes only its starting in-person rate; online and keyed rates are quoted, and its terms say card-not-present sales pay the adjusted rates of your fee schedule.
Keyed-in fee per transactionNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland publishes only its starting in-person rate; online and keyed rates are quoted, and its terms say card-not-present sales pay the adjusted rates of your fee schedule.
American Express pricingSame rate as other cardsSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)On flat-rate pricing Heartland says the rate is the same across all transaction types; it accepts American Express. On interchange-plus pricing American Express is passed through at its cost.
American Express rateN/ASource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)American Express pays the same flat rate.
Rates by monthly volumeNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland publishes no rates by volume; its terms say your rates depend on the volume and average ticket in your application.
Monthly and other fees
Data pointValue
Monthly account or plan feeNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland charges a monthly Service and Regulatory Mandate fee (24/7 support, PCI validation through Sysnet, breach coverage up to $100,000 and its online portal) but doesn't publish the amount.
Annual fee per accountNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland doesn't publish this fee on its pricing pages, FAQ or posted terms; it is set in your fee schedule. A Heartland application that a city government made public in January 2025 (a municipal golf course, revised November 2024) listed a $99 annual fee for that merchant. Heartland sets fees merchant by merchant, so we don't show it as Heartland's fee.
Annual fees per device or locationNot publishedSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)The posted terms list a Service & Regulatory Mandate Fee without an amount or a per-device basis; no yearly fee per device is published.
PCI compliance fee (yearly)Not publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland says PCI validation through Sysnet is part of its monthly Service and Regulatory Mandate fee, whose amount isn't published.
PCI non-compliance fee (monthly)Not publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland doesn't publish this fee on its pricing pages, FAQ or posted terms; it is set in your fee schedule. A Heartland application that a city government made public in January 2025 (a municipal golf course, revised November 2024) listed a $125 monthly PCI non-compliance fee for that merchant. Heartland sets fees merchant by merchant, so we don't show it as Heartland's fee.
Statement feeNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland doesn't publish this fee on its pricing pages, FAQ or posted terms; it is set in your fee schedule.
Monthly minimumNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland doesn't publish this fee on its pricing pages, FAQ or posted terms; it is set in your fee schedule.
Fee per batchNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland doesn't publish this fee on its pricing pages, FAQ or posted terms; it is set in your fee schedule.
Chargeback feeNot publishedSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Per the posted terms, the first three chargebacks in each 12-month period carry no chargeback fee; after that, the fee in force applies, and its amount isn't published. A Heartland application that a city government made public in January 2025 (a municipal golf course, revised November 2024) listed a $25 chargeback fee for that merchant. Heartland sets fees merchant by merchant, so we don't show it as Heartland's fee.
Other feesPer Heartland's posted terms and FAQ: a fee to settle your discount monthly instead of daily, a debit fee and a debit network set-up fee (amounts in your fee schedule), voice authorizations at $0.65 each, $25 to change your bank account details and $25 for each returned ACH item, sales tax, and third-party telecom and gateway costs. Card-not-present sales and sales deposited late pay the adjusted rates of your fee schedule. Unused equipment returned within 60 days carries a $30 restocking fee, and ending the equipment agreement early costs $100. Instant Deposit is priced by quote.Source: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ.
Equipment
Data pointValue
How you get the equipmentYou buy it, Monthly rental you can end, Use compatible equipment you haveSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)You can buy from Heartland, rent from Heartland for as long as you pay the rent, or use your own compatible equipment. Ending the rental before the processing term ends costs $100.
Price of a countertop terminalQuote onlySource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland publishes no purchase or rental price for its terminals or stations.
Equipment lease you can't cancelNoSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland rents its equipment month by month rather than leasing it under a fixed term: if you stop processing with Heartland before the end of the term, the equipment agreement cancellation fee is $100, and the rent runs until Heartland receives the equipment. Leases from other companies are outside these terms.
Equipment lease termN/ASource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)No lease term: Heartland's own equipment is bought or rented month by month.
Equipment at $0 upfront: what it commits you toNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland publishes no equipment at $0 upfront for its processing. The current Genius offer is a credit on processing fees, not equipment (see promotions).
Equipment only works with this processorYesSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)The software Heartland licenses on the equipment it sells or rents can only be used with Heartland's services (Equipment Agreement II(b)). The terms don't say whether hardware you buy can be reprogrammed for another processor, and you can also bring your own equipment. Heartland's posted terms are the March 2016 revision; an Equipment Agreement revised in June 2024, which a city government made public, has the same clause.
Getting your money
Data pointValue
Standard deposit speedNext business daySource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland also advertises same-day and instant deposits as options (Instant Deposit, up to $10,000 per request, priced by quote).
Instant payout feeNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Instant Deposit is offered but its price isn't published ("Get pricing").
Holds and reservesHeartland may set up a non-interest-bearing reserve at any time, in an amount it sets and can change based on your processing history and risk; funding can be immediate in case of fraud, default or suspected loss, otherwise you're notified within three business days. When the agreement ends, a reserve may be held for six months or longer, and Heartland may delay or refuse deposits it considers irregular.Source: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ.
Contract and exit
Data pointValue
Contract term36 monthsSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ. In a documented 2021 case, Heartland's own reply also mentions a 36-month agreement; other merchants in the same lawsuit mention 24 months.
Automatic renewal12 monthsSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ. A Heartland application revised in November 2024, made public by a city government, confirms the 36-month term but doesn't mention renewal, and says the current terms are behind the InfoCentral login.
Notice to avoid renewal60 daysSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ. A Heartland application revised in November 2024, made public by a city government, confirms the 36-month term but doesn't mention renewal, and says the current terms are behind the InfoCentral login.
Notice to cancel60 daysSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)To end the agreement at the end of a term without renewing, give 60 days' written notice. Ending it before the term is over triggers the early termination fee. Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ. A Heartland application revised in November 2024, made public by a city government, confirms the 36-month term but doesn't mention renewal, and says the current terms are behind the InfoCentral login.
Early termination fee$295 per location if you end the agreement before the term is over, charged at Heartland's discretion in one ACH debit (§11.4). A separate $100 applies if you rent equipment and end the equipment agreement early.Source: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ. The fee is per location: with several locations, it applies to each one, and our cost of leaving uses one location.
How the early termination fee is calculatedA fixed amountSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's publicly posted processing terms are the March 2016 revision; your agreement may differ. A Heartland application revised in November 2024, which a city government made public, also sets a 36-month term and says a maximum $295 per location early closure fee may apply. It is charged per location, so a group with several locations pays it for each one; our cost of leaving uses one location. During the term, the posted terms make Heartland your exclusive card processor for every location (§1.1). Genius customers who take Global Payments' current processing credit owe an early termination fee equal to that credit if they leave in the first year. In 33 Taps v. Heartland (D.N.J.), a 2021 lawsuit over fees where Heartland's reply also cited the 36-month term and the $295 fee, the court dismissed the complaint without prejudice in May 2025, with no finding on the facts; the plaintiffs appealed.
Liquidated damages clauseNoSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)A fixed fee per location (§11.4), not liquidated damages.
Price increases during the contractWith noticeSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)At least 15 days' written notice; the posted terms offer no way out without the early termination fee when fees go up. Card network and third-party increases are passed on with 15 days' notice, and your rates can change without notice if your volume or average ticket differs from your application. The same 2024 application says fees under its "Heartland Simple" option are fixed for six months and can change after that under the terms.
Right to raise pricesHeartland may amend its fee schedule with at least 15 days' written notice, pass on card network and third-party cost increases with 15 days' notice, and change your discount and transaction fees without notice if your volume or average ticket differs from your application (§6.2, §6.3, §6.5).Source: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)
Personal guarantee by the signerYesSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Whoever signs the application as guarantor answers personally for everything the business owes Heartland, and the guarantee survives a sale of the business (§15.2).
Dual pricing and surcharges
Data pointValue
Dual pricing or surcharge programYesSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland's surcharge program charges your customers 3% on credit cards (debit, gift and prepaid cards are excluded), and its FAQ says it also has a cash discount program, without publishing its percentage or terms. With a cash discount, card processing costs your restaurant $0 in our estimate and what your customers pay is shown apart. Heartland lists Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Oklahoma among the states that prohibit surcharging. Card network rules and state laws apply, and some states limit or ban surcharges.
Cards the program coversEvery card, debit and credit (dual pricing or cash discount)Source: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland offers a surcharge (3%, credit cards only) and says it also offers a cash discount, which covers every card. When a vendor offers both, we use the program that covers every card, the same for every vendor. Heartland doesn't publish the cash discount percentage or its terms, so what your customers pay with it shows as not published; the 3% surcharge is shown as the alternative and isn't added to our estimate.
Monthly fee for the programNot publishedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland doesn't publish whether its surcharge or cash discount programs carry a monthly fee.
Your POS and your business
Data pointValue
Works with these restaurant POSOthersSource: Global Payments (opens in a new tab)Its own POS (Genius, Heartland Restaurant) and other systems through integrations; it names none of the POS systems on our list.
Requires the vendor's own POSNoSource: Global Payments (opens in a new tab)Heartland processes cards for its own POS and for other systems.
Monthly volume it's built forUnconfirmedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland states no minimum or target volume on its pricing pages or in its posted terms.
Accepts high-risk businessesUnconfirmedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland doesn't say on its site or in its posted terms whether it accepts high-risk businesses.
Routes debit to the lowest-cost networkUnconfirmedSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland doesn't publish how it routes debit transactions.
Support
Data pointValue
24/7 support for merchantsYesSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Customer service is 24/7; hardware technical support runs from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern.
Support channelsPhone, Chat, Email or formSource: Global Payments (opens in a new tab)Heartland's support page also lists a live chat widget and product support at 800-285-0005.
Language
Data pointValue
Support in SpanishSays it offers it, without a channelSource: Heartland (Global Payments) (opens in a new tab)Heartland says its 24/7 customer service has Spanish-speaking specialists; it publishes no separate Spanish line.
Merchant dashboard in SpanishYesSource: Heartland Restaurant Help Center (Genius) (opens in a new tab)Each Admin Console user can pick Spanish in their profile.
Contract or terms in SpanishNoSource: Heartland Payment Systems (opens in a new tab)Heartland's posted processing terms are in English; we found no Spanish version. Same rule for every vendor: we mark it "No" when we searched and found the terms only in other languages.
US website in SpanishNoSource: Heartland (opens in a new tab)The /es address returns "page not found", and heartland.us has no Spanish version.

More about Heartland

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