Heartland Payment Systems API
Heartland Payment Systems REST API for US merchants to accept credit cards, debit cards, ACH bank transfers, and gift cards with POS integration, payroll processing, and SMB-focused payment solutions through Global Payments' subsidiary serving 400,000+ US businesses. Enables AI agents to manage credit and debit card charge for US merchant payment automation, handle ACH bank transfer for US bank payment automation, access gift card issuance and redemption for US loyalty payment automation, retrieve transaction void and refund for US order management automation, manage recurring billing and tokenization for US subscription automation, handle POS terminal payment for US in-person payment automation, access payroll direct deposit for US employer payment automation, retrieve batch settlement and reporting for US financial reconciliation automation, manage fraud detection and AVS verification for US payment security automation, and integrate Heartland with US restaurant, retail, and SMB POS systems for end-to-end US payment automation.
Score Breakdown
⚙ Agent Friendliness
🔒 Security
US payments. PCI-DSS. API key. US. Card and ACH data.
⚡ Reliability
Best When
A US restaurant, retail, or SMB merchant wanting AI agents to automate card payment acceptance, ACH transfers, gift cards, and POS integration through Heartland's SMB-focused payment platform serving 400,000+ US businesses.
Avoid When
PCI DSS SCOPE FOR CARD DATA HANDLING: Heartland supports both direct card data (full PCI scope) and tokenized/hosted field approaches; automated card processing must use HPS tokenization (Portico) to minimize PCI scope; automated direct card number handling without HPS tokenization creates full PCI DSS merchant scope. ACH RETURNS AND NACHA COMPLIANCE: ACH transactions have delayed return window (up to 60 days for unauthorized returns); automated ACH payment confirmation must not assume funds are final immediately; automated ACH-dependent fulfillment without return monitoring creates chargeback exposure. HEARTLAND vs GLOBAL PAYMENTS ENDPOINT MIGRATION: Heartland is consolidating under Global Payments APIs; some Heartland endpoints may be deprecated or migrated; automated Heartland-specific endpoint integration may require migration to Global Payments unified API. BATCH SETTLEMENT TIMING: Heartland batch settlements occur at configured times (typically 10 PM local); automated same-day settlement reporting must account for batch cutoff; automated intraday reconciliation before batch close creates incomplete transaction counts.
Use Cases
- • Processing US card payments from merchant POS integration agents
- • Handling ACH bank transfers from US business payment agents
- • Managing gift card programs from US retail loyalty agents
- • Processing payroll direct deposits from US employer payment agents
Not For
- • International payment processing outside the US (use Adyen or Stripe for global)
- • Online-only payment gateway without POS (use Stripe or Braintree for pure online)
- • Enterprise global payment orchestration (use Global Payments enterprise directly)
Interface
Authentication
Heartland uses Secret API Key for authentication. REST API with JSON (Portico gateway). Atlanta, Georgia HQ. Founded 1997, acquired by Global Payments in 2015 ($4.3B). Products: Card processing, ACH, gift cards, payroll, POS (Heartland Restaurant, Retail), tokenization. SDKs: Java, .NET, PHP, Python, Ruby, Node.js. PCI DSS. 400,000+ US business customers. Competes with Square, Clover, and TSYS for US SMB payments.
Pricing
Atlanta GA. Global Payments subsidiary. Interchange-plus pricing. Monthly fees in USD.
Agent Metadata
Known Gotchas
- ⚠ PORTICO vs HEARTLAND CERTIFICATION GATEWAY: Heartland uses Portico (certification) and production environments with separate credentials; automated payment must use certification endpoint for testing; automated production credential use in Portico certification creates live transaction processing from test environment
- ⚠ TOKENIZATION REQUIRED FOR PCI SCOPE REDUCTION: Heartland recommends MultiUse tokens (MUT) for recurring billing; automated card-on-file billing must use Heartland-issued token; automated storage of raw card data without HPS tokenization creates PCI DSS compliance scope expansion
- ⚠ VOID WINDOW BEFORE BATCH SETTLEMENT: Card transactions can be voided (no fee) before batch settlement; automated void must occur same-day before batch cutoff; automated void attempt after batch settlement must use refund (different flow, different fee structure)
- ⚠ ACH SEC CODE SELECTION: ACH transactions require correct SEC code (WEB, PPD, CCD, TEL) based on authorization method; automated ACH must select correct SEC code for transaction context; automated wrong SEC code for authorization type creates NACHA return code violation
- ⚠ GIFT CARD MULTI-TENDER SUPPORT: Heartland gift cards can be combined with other payment methods for partial tender; automated gift card checkout must handle partial balance scenario (gift card + card split); automated single-tender assumption for gift card creates insufficient funds error without fallback
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Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-03-07.