Our verdict: 2.5 out of 5, a sales-led processor with very little in writing
Heartland scores 2.5 out of 5. It sells payment processing, point of sale systems and payroll as one package, and it is part of Global Payments [3]. Pricing starts with a quote: its payments page asks you to call 1-855-222-9891 or request one [2]. It is a sales-led merchant services company, not a sign-up-online service like a payment facilitator.
Two facts drive our score. First, Heartland publishes almost nothing beyond a starting rate, so there is no fee schedule, contract or reserve policy to check before you talk to sales [1][2]. Second, its public reviews are almost all one star, and the complaints repeat: rates that rose after signing, monthly fees the owner did not expect, cancellation fees, and trouble reaching someone [5]. Heartland may treat many customers well. The public record does not show it.
Pros
- Published 2.6% + 10¢ starting rate for in-person cards [1].
- One provider for POS, payments and payroll [3].
- Heartland says its US-based team answers calls in 30 seconds on average [3].
Cons
- Terminal, monthly, chargeback and termination fees are not published [2].
- No public merchant agreement or reserve policy [6].
- Organic Trustpilot reviews average about one star [5].
Pricing and fees: a starting rate, then a quote
Heartland's pricing page gives two numbers. Payments+ starts at 2.6% + 10¢ for in-person transactions, and its POS starts at $89 a month for one station [1]. It describes its payments pricing as predictable and flat-rate [1]. Everything else comes from a sales quote [2].
| Fee | Published price |
|---|---|
| In-person card rate | Starts at 2.6% + 10¢ [1] |
| POS software | Starts at $89 a month, one station [1] |
| Keyed-in and online card rates | Not published |
| ACH and invoicing | Offered, price not published [2] |
| Fast funding | Offered, price not published [2] |
| Chargeback fee | Not published |
| Terminal price or rental | Not published |
| Early termination fee | Not published |
| International cards | Not published |
| Setup | Math | Monthly cost | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payments only, starting rate | 2.6% x $30,000 + 10¢ x 1,200 | $900.00 | 3.00% |
| With the starting POS plan | $900.00 + $89 | $989.00 | 3.30% |
We score the $900 floor, because Heartland says you can pair its software with hardware you already own [2], so a POS plan is not strictly required. That floor is still well above the roughly $526.50 card network cost of this month at Visa's April 2026 rates for a typical mix [7]. Since every other fee is by quote, your real bill can only match or exceed the floor. Ask for your quote to show the effective rate on a month like yours.
Check a Heartland statement in five minutes
Add up every fee on one monthly statement, including any line called a technology, infrastructure or service fee, then divide by that month's total card sales. If you sold $30,000 and paid $1,050 in all, your effective rate is 3.5%, which is $150 more than the $900 our math gives at Heartland's starting rate. Bring that number to your rep and ask what changed.
Contract, cancellation and hardware
Heartland does not publish its merchant processing agreement. The terms linked from its website govern use of the site itself [6]. So we cannot quote the contract length, renewal rule or early termination fee, and we score contract terms 2.5 for not enough public evidence.
Reviews fill in some of the gap, though they are one-sided. Of the 40 organic reviews we read, 5 cite a cancellation or early termination fee: $300, $500 three times, and one of $4,000 [5]. Two describe three-year agreements, one running to 2029 [5]. Some say their rate or monthly fees climbed once the agreement ran past its first term [5]. These are claims, not contract text, but they tell you which questions to ask.
- How many months is the term, and does it renew on its own?
- What is the early termination fee, per location, in dollars?
- Is the terminal bought, rented or leased, and from whom?
- Can the rate or any monthly fee change during the term, and with how much notice?
On hardware, Heartland sells countertop, wireless and mobile devices and POS stations but lists no device prices [2]. If the quote includes a lease, compare the total of every payment to the purchase price using our card terminal lease guide.
Holds, reserves and account terminations
We found no reserve, hold or termination policy on Heartland's public pages. That is not proof Heartland holds funds often. In our sample, holds were rare: of 40 organic reviews, one describes a payment held for 31 days, and one says Heartland refused service to a business that sells firearms [5]. That is 5 per 100. Under our method a missing written policy scores 2, and we take the worse of the two signals.
The bigger theme in Heartland's reviews is money leaving after the relationship ends. Several reviewers say they were billed or debited after closing their accounts [5]. To protect yourself:
- Get the cancellation steps in writing, and send notice in a way you can prove.
- Check your bank account for Heartland debits for a few months after you leave.
- Download your statements before you close, since some reviewers say statements stopped arriving [5].
- Read our guide on how to switch processors before you give notice.
Support and customer evidence
Heartland lists a product support line at 800-285-0005 for its POS and Payments+ customers, a live chat widget, a knowledge base and an online account center [4]. Its homepage says its US-based team answers calls in 30 seconds on average [3]. It does not publish support hours for merchants, though it does describe its sales line as 24/7 [4].
On Trustpilot, Heartland has 43 reviews and a 1.4 TrustScore [5]. Trustpilot says Heartland has no recent history of inviting reviews, so none of the 40 we read were invited. Their average was about 1.2 stars. Half of them, 20 of 40, describe long holds, dropped calls, transfers or unreturned messages, and 18 describe rates or monthly fees going up [5]. Heartland replies to many negative reviews, and its profile now notes that the page is no longer an official review channel and points customers to its support site [5].
Our search for regulator actions in the last five years found none, so the customer evidence score rests on the reviews alone.
Alternatives to Heartland
- Helcim: publishes its whole interchange-plus fee list and has no contract or termination fee.
- Stax: a published monthly membership with pass-through card costs, for owners who want the math up front.
- Chase: a published 2.6% + 10¢ rate, no monthly contract on QuickAccept, and same-day deposits for Chase customers.
- Toast: for restaurants that want a dedicated restaurant POS; compare in Square vs Toast.
BatchOut is our own processing service. If we show it next to Heartland, it is labeled as ours, and it is scored by the same method.