[December 17, 2012]

Heartland Payment Systems® Acquires ECSI, Gains Additional Campus-Related Services and More Than 1,800 Higher Education Relationships

Heartland Payment Systems (NYSE: HPY), one of the nation's largest payments processors, has expanded its Campus Solutions division by acquiring ECSI, a leading provider of cost-effective, customized payments processing solutions for the higher education industry.

Founded in 1972 and located in Pittsburgh, Pa., ECSI supports the entire life cycle of higher education and post-graduation school/student services, including student loan payment processing, default solutions, refund services, tuition payment plans, electronic billing and payment, tax document services, and business outsourcing to more than 1,800 colleges and universities nationwide.

In addition to retaining ECSI's more than 150 employees and its Pittsburgh-based operations, Heartland Campus Solutions will gain ECSI's client portfolio, boosting its higher education client roster to more than 2,000 colleges and universities throughout North America. Heartland will also add all of ECSI's products and services to its existing suite of campus solutions, including campus payments, Acceluraid™ and its Campus OneCard™ System, allowing Heartland to offer one-stop shopping for colleges and universities, which is unique to the higher education industry.

"As the Heartland Campus Solutions division grows to become a more significant portion of Heartland's business, we're confident that acquisitions such as ECSI will better position us for faster growth," said Michael A. Lawer, president, strategic markets group, Heartland Payment Systems. "Our combined suite of products, services and solutions offers higher education institutions opportunities to streamline processes and increase operational efficiency while providing enhanced convenience and value to students. We look forward to working with our new employees and university client partners that we gained through this acquisition."

Ron Farmer, executive director of campus solutions and micropayments for Heartland Payment Systems, added, "Heartland has developed a number of campus-related solutions which have helped position us as one of the industry's leading providers. With the addition of ECSI's solutions, such as loan payment processing and payment plans, we've gained greater operational capabilities to support our growing client base."

John Lynch, president and CEO of ECSI, noted, "ECSI is very excited to become part of Heartland Payment Systems, a successful and well-respected company with a culture similar to ours. We're extremely impressed with their growth in the campus environment and know that, with the addition of ECSI's services and experience, Heartland will offer colleges and universities the most comprehensive and competitive solutions in the marketplace today."

Heartland Campus Solutions presently offers financial aid disbursement, campus card and payment processing solutions to higher education institutions throughout North America. Earlier this year, the division introduced three feature-laden, user-friendly mobile applications for higher education institutions and students, including MyPay, the first-ever mobile payment application and virtual campus ID card. The division also announced a number of new contracts for management of financial aid disbursement through Acceluraid, and for its Campus OneCard System, a robust campus management system and multi-functional campus ID card.

Preston Todd Advisors, a leading buy-side M&A advisory firm specializing in the payments and payments technologies sectors, served as advisor to Heartland Payment Systems in this transaction.

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 HeartlandPaymentSystems.com or follow the company on Twitter (News - Alert) @HeartlandHPY and Facebook (News - Alert) 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.

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