Heartland - Top Merchant Services

Our Verdict

Heartland is a good solution for payment processing for retailers and restaurants. Its POS system is highly sophisticated and brings everything in one device, making it easy to manage payments in stores and restaurants from a single source. The online payment services are also dependable and support multiple payment methods, making it easier for businesses to give customers more ways to pay.

One downside is that pricing isn’t shared upfront and tends to be higher than some competitors who only charge per transaction.

Overall, it’s a viable solution with multiple secure payment options, comprehensive features, and tons of integrations. It can be a reliable way to manage payments for your business.

Pros

Multiple, integrated payment solutions
Wide range of payment methods accepted
Strong security features
Optimized for retailers and restaurants
Built-in inventory management, CRM, and reporting

Cons

Rates can go up
No dedicated representative

Plans & Pricing

Heartland uses a customized pricing model that depends on the size of the business and the services needed. Its rates tend to be a bit higher than some other providers in the market. However, certain eligible businesses can get free or discounted setup. Depending on what you use, you might pay a monthly flat fee, per-transaction charges, or both.

Here are the starting prices:

Point-of-Sale (POS) Fixed Monthly Rate: These are POS solutions for retailers and restaurants with proprietary hardware, starting at $89 per month for one station. It offers both counter and mobile POS solutions. This package includes POS hardware + software (Counter, mobile terminal, mobile payments) and accepts multiple payment methods.
Payments+ Transaction Charges: All in-person transactions incur a processing fee starting at 2.6% + 10¢. It includes a branded checkout experience, cart integration, payment links, and acceptance of multiple payment methods.

POS Plan

$89 /month

Online Payments

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In-depth review

Features and Functionality

Retail & Restaurant-Specific POS

Heartland’s POS product is specifically designed and optimized for retail and restaurant environments. For retailers, the systems include inventory management, customer management, and online store integration. For restaurants, it handles both dine-in and online orders in one system. The mobile terminal is good for food trucks and carts.

Customized Inventory Management

The POS system features a cloud-based inventory management tool that is completely customizable. Retailers and restaurants can create custom fields and grids to track and optimize their inventory. Since it’s cloud-based, the updates happen in real-time, which can be beneficial for businesses with multiple locations.

Online Shopping Cart Integrations

The online payments processing solution integrates with all leading ecommerce and shopping cart platforms. It processes payments quickly, with processing times as quick as the same day. You can also connect your online store with your in-person POS system, making it easier to manage everything in one place.

Offline Payment Processing

Heartland’s POS systems and payment solutions include functionality for offline payments. This means that even during power outages or network disruptions, businesses can continue to process sales, ensure uninterrupted operations, and prevent lost revenue. This is a good feature for businesses that may be operating in locations with Internet connection disruptions.

Heartland Secure™

Heartland Secure™ is a distinct security offering for protecting card payments that combines EMV chip card technology, end-to-end encryption (E3™), and tokenization. What makes it particularly unique is the Heartland Secure Breach Warranty, which helps to offset costs associated with a data breach for eligible merchants. This multi-layer security approach, coupled with a financial warranty, provides a higher level of assurance, beyond standard PCI compliance.

Built-in CRM

Heartland’s payment solution comes with a built-in customer relationship management (CRM) that lets businesses track sales and understand customer behavior. This data-rich part of its dashboard can come in handy for small businesses that may not want to invest in a dedicated CRM.

Hardware Requirements

Heartland provides its own branded hardware for POS systems. It offers a countertop POS system, mobile POS with a touchscreen, and a mobile card reader that can be paired with the Heartland app on iOS and Android devices.

POS hardware is typically sold separately and isn’t part of the monthly fee. However, the company runs free setup and hardware offers for certain new customers.

Heartland doesn’t support third-party POS hardware.

Integrations & Add-ons

Besides online, mobile, and in-person payment solutions, Heartland also offers products for employee management, such as payroll processing, HR software, recruiting software, ACA compliance, and time and attendance management. These solutions are powered by the same dependable and secure technologies as the payment processing services.

As for integrations, Heartland’s POS system comes with a developer-friendly API that lets you integrate it with a wide range of ecommerce solutions as well as other systems. Popular integrations include BigCommerce, WooCommerce, 99Minds, MailChimp, AppFront, Barventory, Craftable, and Klaviyo.

Ease of Use

The overall ease of use can vary depending on the specific product or solution you choose from Heartland. However, the company aims to provide user-friendly payment systems designed for straightforward implementation and daily operation.

Their POS systems, for instance, are generally designed with intuitive interfaces. The software on their devices and the mobile app are user-friendly. It’s easy to train staff to use them.

The company also has dedicated customer support and training resources, which contribute to a smoother onboarding process and ongoing assistance. However, setting everything up and connecting it with your current systems can take some work. You might also need a bit of technical help during the process.

Customer Service

Heartland provides several ways to get support, all handled by US-based teams. Response times can vary depending on the method you choose. Additionally, Heartland provides a comprehensive Knowledge Base featuring articles and tutorials about to its products and services.

Phone Support

Phone support is available around the clock

Heartland's email support can be reached via their ticketing system

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Maab Saleem

Copywriter and editor, Maab Saleem has been writing for almost a decade now. Be it technical content about the most cumbersome of technological topics or just a few lines of copy explaining a newly launched product, Maab knows precisely how to connect words in the perfect manner. When he is not sharing his literary ingenuity with the rest of the world, he likes to watch, play and critique on football.

We make the best effort to present up-to-date information; however, the terms of each offer can be revised according to the service provider’s discretion. The above shall not be considered as an expert or professional advice for any matter.