Heartland (HPY) Takes Over XPIENT to Enhance Services
Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (HPY), the nation's fifth largest payments processor and a premier merchant business solutions provider, has announced the acquisition of XPIENT Solutions, a leading provider of advanced point of sale and local transaction management solutions.
XPIENT’s solutions have 25,000 installed locations with annual credit/debit card processing volume worth $15 billion. The acquiree provides advanced technology services to 11 of the top 25 quick service and fast casual restaurant brands including Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Panera Bread and Panda Express. XPIENT’s solutions for large merchants that need enterprise functionality are a strategic fit in Heartland’s technology solutions for the hospitality industry as well as its core card processing business.
XPIENT solutions are cloud-based, hardware and software agnostic, and integrate conveniently from point of sale to enterprise. The solutions also help in catering to back office needs such as human resources, staffing and scheduling, food cost control as well as inventory and supply management.
In order to satisfy the needs of restaurant industry customers, Heartland has been consistently working to build a secure platform that provides user-friendly functionality across restaurant operations with integrated payment and the ability to expand capabilities when required. Tablet POS systems, such as Heartland’s Leaf tablet and customer loyalty programs, are much in demand for restaurant operators who seek to actively connect with clients.
The addition of XPIENT solutions to Heartland will benefit small and mid-sized restaurant customers by enabling them to avail a sophisticated system for large operators. They will be able to oversee the business better by using XPIENT Solutions’ high capabilities and availing the superior customer service of Heartland.
The latest agreement reflects Heartland’s attempt to enhance the value of its merchants by expanding the portfolio. The highly customizable XPIENT solutions help in streamlining front-of-house operations, onsite and mobile orders as well as mobile payments functionality. This portfolio will now enable restaurants of all sizes to manage kitchen throughput even during peak hours, whether generated at the drive-thru, front counter or through mobile applications.
Heartland has already acquired major companies like Micros, now owned by Oracle, and Radiant that is presently NCR. With the takeover of XPIENT, Heartland will be bringing the stability of a large public company that is product-oriented. XPIENT, on the other hand, will be able to focus on product development and technology advancement.
Notably, Heartland has been successful in providing the highest level of card data security solution to merchants, Heartland Secure, by amalgamating EMV, tokenization and end-to-end encryption technologies.
Currently, Heartland has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks in the same industry that are worth reckoning include Fiserv, Inc. (FISV), Global Payments Inc. (GPN) and Total System Services, Inc. (TSS). All of these carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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