Payment Processing Groups Merge

Global Payments Inc. has agreed to buy Heartland Payment Systems Inc. for about $3.8 billion, a deal that would expand its reach among mid-size and small merchants, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Heartland, based in Princeton, N.J., primarily processes payments on behalf of small merchants and education providers, including higher-education loan services and school-nutrition programs.

Atlanta-based Global Payments touches the financial data of millions of consumers each day in its role as a card-processing middleman between merchants and banks.

The deal is expected to close in the quarter ending in May. The merged entity will serve nearly 2.5 million merchants, the Journal reported.

The acquisition comes as the card industry has been particularly vulnerable to consumer concerns about identity theft. Both Global Payments and Heartland Payments have suffered data breaches. Global Payments said in early 2012 that thieves may have gained access to personal information from its merchant customers. Heartland discovered a data breach that exposed customer information that could be used to duplicate cards in 2009.

Note: We have two member companies which offer credit card processing services.