In April 2016, Global Payments agreed to acquire Heartland Payment Systems for $4.3 billion dollars. After 9 years, Heartland will finally complete its transition to Global Payments by the end of 2025: Current Heartland customers are wondering how this could impact their business.  Our review suggests many Heartland customers are already incurring $100s to $1,000s in additional processing fees since joining Heartland. Based on past actions, it’s likely processing fees will continue to increase after the rebranding is completed.  Since the acquisition, Heartland has: – Increased Rates – Introduced Egregious New Fees – Introduced, Assessed, and Raised One-Time Fees, Monthly Fees, and Annual Fees – Made other changes detrimental to business owners We share some of the changes made by Heartland since the acquisition was announced below, and anticipate additional increases once the rebranding is complete and the two platforms are consolidated:  Processing Rate Increase In recent years, Heartland’s processing rates have increased significantly regardless of the business type or processing profile. A review of long-term Heartland customers shows processing rates steadily increasing for many over time.  The net result? Rates are as high as 2 – 4 times the initial pricing customers received! While the Heartland statement message above does not disclose exact rate increases that will be passed to customers, businesses are consistently paying more each year.  In comparison, Indigo guarantees the rates you receive on day one will NEVER change as long as you remain our client.  Egregious New Fee: Non-EMV Assessment Fee As shown on Heartland’s website above, Heartland has introduced a fee that is assessed on all Non-EMV transactions (for example, processing without the use of a chip).  This fee is NOT assessed or required by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express, but is a processor fee that Heartland has elected to apply.  As shown above in recent statements, the 0.65% fee has increased to 1.00% and the business in the above example incurred $223.83 in erroneous Heartland fees.  In comparison, Indigo does not assess a Non-EMV assessment fee.  Fee Increase: PCI Non-Compliance Fee  PCI stands for Payment Card Industry. If your business accepts credit card payments, you’re required to follow PCI security standards to protect customer data. While most businesses meet the standards, a formal verification process is required to confirm compliance.  – If this process isn’t completed, a PCI Non-Compliance Fee is incurred—even if your business is following the required security practices. Heartland’s PCI Non-Compliance Fee is now $125.00 per Month.   – This means that businesses pay $125 for each month of non-compliance.  In comparison, Indigo’s PCI Non-Compliance Fee is only $20.00 per Month!  Even better, most Indigo customers NEVER pay a non-compliance fee.    – Indigo has a dedicated team of professionals that assist businesses in becoming PCI compliant so you never pay a non-compliance fee. Fee Increase: Early Termination Fee Effective February 1, 2025, Heartland has increased the Early Termination Fee from $295 to $500. In comparison, Indigo guarantees that there are no contracts and you are free to leave at any time without penalty. New Annual Fees: Infrastructure Upgrade Fee and Annual Reporting Fee In recent years, Heartland has continuously introduced recurring annual fees and raised the cost of the fees each year. The two statements above show that businesses will incur the following annual fees: – 2025 Infrastructure Upgrade Fee: $450  (Indigo has NO such fee)     – Heartland’s Infrastructure Upgrade Fee in 2024 was $254 indicating that the annual fee has increased by $196 (77%) in one year – 2025 Annual Reporting Fee: $410  (Indigo has NO such fee)     – Heartland’s Annual Reporting Fee in 2023 was $159, indicating that the annual fee has increased by $251 (157%) in two years The two annual fees are arbitrary fees introduced by Heartland to benefit the processor.  In comparison, Indigo has no annual fees.  What this means for your business If your business is currently processing with Heartland, chances are you are paying a lot more than when you first began processing with Heartland. Recent analysis shows that Indigo customers previously processing with Heartland have saved anywhere between 13% – 72% of the monthly processing fees by converting to Indigo.     – Yes, extreme examples have shown that businesses were able to eliminate 72% of the total processing fees by switching to Indigo  Partnering with Indigo Payments also means the business will benefit from the Indigo Guarantee: 1).  The rates you receive on day one will NEVER change as long as you remain our client.   2).  There are no long-term contracts.  Agreements are month-to-month because we want to earn your business every time you process a transaction. 3).  You are free to leave for any reason, at any time, without penalty. Contact Indigo today for a free consultation of your payment needs.