Heartland Acquires XPIENT Solutions

On Nov 10, 2014

Princeton-based Heartland Payment Systems, the nation’s fifth largest payments processor and a leading provider of merchant business solutions, has acquired leading foodservice industry enterprise-level POS (point of sale) software provider, XPIENT Solutions.

XPIENT provides advanced technology 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. With more than 25,000 installed locations and $15 billion in annual credit/debit card processing volume, XPIENT’s solutions for large merchants that need enterprise functionality complement Heartland’s suite of technology solutions for the hospitality industry as well as its core card processing business.

“Heartland acts as a trusted advisor to our restaurant customers to help them enjoy technology-enabled growth,” said Bob Carr, chairman and CEO, Heartland. “Integrating XPIENT into the Heartland organization allows us to bring the benefits of a sophisticated system for large operators to our small and mid-sized restaurant customers. This integration allows them to better manage many more aspects of their business through XPIENT solutions’ powerful capabilities while experiencing the quality customer service Heartland is known for as a hospitality industry leader.”

The Heartland-XPIENT agreement exemplifies Heartland’s ability to acquire and integrate complementary capabilities into the Heartland portfolio to enhance value for merchants. The expanded Heartland portfolio will allow restaurants of all sizes to seamlessly manage kitchen throughput even during the busiest times, whether generated at the drive-thru, front counter or through mobile applications. The highly customizable XPIENT solutions help streamline front-of-house operations, onsite and mobile orders, and mobile payments functionality.

XPIENT solutions also help manage back office needs including human resources, staffing and scheduling, food cost control and inventory and supply management. XPIENT solutions are cloud-based, hardware and software agnostic, and integrate easily from point of sale to enterprise.

“We have historically competed against large companies like Micros, now owned by Oracle, and Radiant, now NCR. The Heartland acquisition of XPIENT brings with it the stability of a large, public company and a product-focused mindset that will enable XPIENT to emphasize product development and technology advancement,” said Christopher Sebes, CEO, XPIENT. “Now, our employees will have the opportunity to grow as members of this larger company, and Heartland and XPIENT customers will benefit from the new lines of business we will be introducing to them.”

To meet the critical technology needs of its restaurant industry customers, Heartland has been working to build a secure platform that offers user-friendly functionality across restaurant operations with integrated payments and the ability to expand capabilities as needed. Trends like tablet POS systems, including Heartland’s Leaf tablet, and customer loyalty programs remain top of mind for restaurant operators who want to engage with their clients in meaningful ways.

Another major driver in the hospitality industry is security. Preventing data breaches that expose clients’ personal and credit card information is a critical priority across industries. For restaurants, this effort aims to limit the scope of PCI requirements, especially when integrating POS and payments systems. Security-focused merchants will benefit from Heartland’s comprehensive card data security solution, Heartland Secure, which combines three powerful technologies – EMV, tokenization and end-to-end encryption – to provide merchants with the highest level of security available to protect against card-present data fraud.

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