Heartland Payment Systems Recognized as one of America’s Top Technology Innovators on 2012 InformationWeek 500

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Heartland Payment Systems^® (NYSE: HPY), one of the nation’s largest payments processors and a FORTUNE 1000 company, today announced that it was ranked #112, an increase of 83 spots, in the 2012 InformationWeek 500, an annual listing of the nation’s most innovative users of business technology. This marks the sixth consecutive year that Heartland has made the list for its innovation in payments and information technology.

“Being named to the InformationWeek 500 list for the sixth year in a row is a testament to Heartland’s commitment to providing advanced technology and tools that empower our sales force and staff to better serve our merchant customers”

Heartland was honored for atlas, its homegrown sales enablement/hybrid CRM application that streamlines and enhances the sales process. A Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform built for all major web browsers and tablets, especially the iPad^®, atlas delivers a simplified and improved customer buying experience with on-demand proposal generation, automated underwriting and increased customer security through encrypting all personal identifiable information at the point of collection. Heartland completed the project from inception to delivery in only 12 months, all through internal resources that allowed cross-matrix business owner requirements to be quickly synthesized for accurate feature delivery.

“Being named to the InformationWeek 500 list for the sixth year in a row is a testament to Heartland’s commitment to providing advanced technology and tools that empower our sales force and staff to better serve our merchant customers,” said Bob Carr, Heartland’s chairman and chief executive officer. “atlas has already been adopted by the majority of our 900-member national sales force and is a catalyst behind our recent record-setting productivity levels. As we embark on an aggressive recruitment initiative, tools like atlas will be integral in helping our new hires hit the ground running.”

“The InformationWeek 500 has recognized the most innovative users of business technology for 24 years, and this year’s innovations were particularly impressive,” said InformationWeek editor in chief Rob Preston. “What the editors looked for are unconventional approaches - new technologies, new models, new ways of grabbing business opportunities and solving complex business problems with IT.”

InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation's most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing, and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments and administrative practices of America’s best-known companies. The InformationWeek 500 rankings are unique among corporate rankings as it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.

Additional details on the InformationWeek 500 can be found online at www.informationweek.com/iw500/.

About Heartland Payment Systems

Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (NYSE: HPY), the sixth largest payments processor in the United States, delivers credit/debit/prepaid card processing, school solutions, loyalty marketing services, campus solutions, payroll and related business solutions and services to more than 250,000 business and education locations nationwide. A FORTUNE 1000 company, Heartland is the founding supporter of The Merchant Bill of Rights, (www.merchantbillofrights.org), a public advocacy initiative that educates merchants about fair credit and debit card processing practices. The company is also a leader in the development of end-to-end encryption technology designed to protect cardholder data, rendering it useless to cybercriminals. For more detailed information, visit www.HeartlandPaymentSystems.com or follow the company on Twitter @HeartlandHPY and Facebook at facebook.com/HeartlandHPY.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature which represent our management’s beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are based on information currently available to us. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements due to many factors, including risks and additional factors that are described in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.