Heartlands First Billion in Visa" Month

Contact:   Robert Baldwin
      Chief Financial Officer                  
      Heartland Payment Systems, Inc.
      (888) 798-3131
      Bob.Baldwin@e-hps.com

Princeton, New Jersey (PRWEB) July, 2003 -- Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (HPS), an emerging leader in the payments processing industry, announces that June 2003 represents the first month in its history where it processed its first $1 billion in card volume through a single Card Association. Of its total $1.6 billion in processing for June, fully $1 billion was processed through VISA U.S.A. We believe that we are the first independent to process $1 billion of Visa volume in a single month on one BIN from a 100% organically grown portfolio," said Robert Carr, Founder, Chairman and CEO of HPS.

This achievement is remarkable because we service 57,800 active merchant locations, and the largest one represents less than half of one percent of our volume and revenue. We have developed a low-risk portfolio of quality businesses across all 50 states," said Carr.

Established in 1997, Heartland has grown from 3 to 837 employees and has strategically positioned itself in the card acquiring marketplace as an independent, employee-owned company that delivers state-of-the-art payment capabilities and value-added services to small-to-midsize businesses.

HPS keys to growth have been its industry leading technology combined with the most productive sales organization in the industry having generated $668 million of annual bankcard processing volume in June alone, its fourth consecutive record month of account originations.

Heartland was selected by Inc Magazine as the 57th fastest-growing private company in America for 2002 based on a remarkable five years of growth. More, Heartland is the largest, privately-held company in the history of the bankcard acquiring industry. In 1998, Heartland reached its first $1 billion processing year and grew to $5 billion in 2000 and is on track to reach a $20+ billion portfolio by the end of 2003.

About Heartland Payment Systems

Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (HPS), your hometown payments provider, is a full-service payment systems solutions provider, handling merchant card and all-electronic payroll processing services for merchants of all types and sizes. Using a national sales force, HPS builds long-term business relationships in local sales territories providing merchants with enhanced technology tools that assist them in more effectively operating their businesses.

In 2002, HPS was ranked #57 in Inc Magazines 500 List as one of the fastest-growing, private companies in the U.S. and rated #13 in the 2002 Billion-Dollar Bankcard Acquiring Report.

For more information, please visit HPS online at www.heartlandpaymentsystems.com or www.e-hps.com.

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