Heartland Gift Card Customer Service — Complete Professional Guide

Overview and corporate context

Heartland’s gift card services have been part of a broader payments ecosystem since the company’s founding in 1997 and its strategic integration into Global Payments’ portfolio in 2016 (the acquisition closed in 2016 for roughly $4.3 billion). The Heartland-branded gift-card programs are typically sold to restaurants, retail chains, and multi-location service businesses as a turnkey stored-value solution with physical plastic, e-gift, and closed-loop integrations.

From a customer-service perspective the important takeaway is that the Heartland gift-card product you interact with is delivered through a merchant’s contract and a Heartland/Global Payments-managed processing and support operation. That means cardholder support, merchant portal access, dispute handling, and escrow/accounting practices are governed both by the merchant’s terms and by the issuer/processor service-level agreements (SLAs).

How to contact Heartland gift card customer service

Always start by checking the back of the physical gift card or the e-gift email for the issuer phone number and web portal address—this is the single most reliable routing because many merchants use co-branded programs with different support numbers. If you are a cardholder and there’s no clear back-of-card phone number, go to the merchant’s website, then look for “Gift Cards” or “Support” which will usually provide the exact Heartland-managed contact.

Two corporate websites to bookmark for program documentation and escalation are https://www.heartland.us (Heartland merchant products and support pages) and https://www.globalpaymentsinc.com (corporate investor/press and contact forms). For account- or merchant-level issues, use your merchant portal credentials—Heartland’s GiftCard Manager or the merchant’s integrated POS portal—to open a ticket so every step is recorded with a case number.

What to have ready when you call or file a ticket

Providing complete information on first contact dramatically shortens resolution time. Typical items support will request include the full gift card number (16 digits or the number printed on the card), the last four digits if privacy rules restrict sharing, the card activation or reference code, the date and amount of purchase (if known), the merchant location (store address or store number), and the receipt or proof of purchase.

• Essential data: full card number, activation code, purchase date/time, merchant name and location, first and last name on the purchase receipt (if any).
• Technical/transaction data: transaction authorization code, POS terminal ID, payment processor transaction ID (if available), and screenshots of error messages or decline slips.
• Administrative items: your phone number, email, postal address, and a copy of any ID required for replacement or fraud investigations.

When you contact support, ask for a case or ticket number, the estimated SLA (example: initial response 24–48 hours, full investigation 30–90 days), and the contact name/extension for escalation. Save all email confirmations and the ticket reference for reconciliation or if you later need to escalate to corporate relations.

Common issues and practical resolutions

Activation problems are a frequent category: a card bought in-store that wasn’t activated at point of sale will return “decline” until the merchant resolves activation. The fix is immediate when the merchant can activate on the same POS; if the merchant is closed, customer service can often activate or place an authorization hold after verifying purchase details. Expect physical card replacement times of 7–14 business days in typical programs.

Balance disputes and partial-redemption cases are another frequent issue. Heartland-supported programs maintain a real-time balance ledger; a balance inquiry via phone or online portal should be instantaneous. If the POS system shows a different remaining balance, request the transaction audit trail: the merchant can supply the authorization/tender history and Heartland can reconcile with the processor logs within 3–10 business days, with full investigations commonly taking up to 30 days for complex disputes.

Merchant responsibilities, fees and SLA considerations

Merchants that run Heartland gift-card programs are responsible for accurate activation at the point of sale, proper reconciliation of daily deposits, and compliance with unredeemed-value accounting (deferred revenue). Typical program commercial terms in the industry (to budget against) include one-time setup fees in the range $199–$995, per-card production costs $1.00–$2.50, and monthly platform/service fees $9–$49. Exact Heartland pricing is contract-specific and should be confirmed in the merchant services agreement.

Service levels that matter to merchants include settlement frequency (usually daily ACH deposits for funds received), batch reporting times (end-of-day batch; reports available within 24 hours), and support SLAs for lost/stolen cards, which vary by program but commonly include priority handling for fraud with provisional holds while investigations proceed. Ensure your merchant agreement specifies response times, fees for chargebacks or reversals, and any chargeback thresholds that trigger additional underwriting.

Regulatory, accounting, and escheatment considerations

Gift cards are treated as stored-value liabilities on balance sheets. Per GAAP you record the sale as deferred revenue until redemption; “breakage” (unredeemed balances) may be recognized according to your historical redemption rates or state model laws. Escheatment—turning dormant balances over to the state—varies by jurisdiction: many states require 1–5 years of inactivity before considering balances abandoned. Merchants must track dormancy windows per state-specific unclaimed property rules to avoid penalties.

For audit readiness, retain transaction logs, batch settlement reports, issuing reports, and customer communication records for at least 3–7 years. Heartland’s merchant portals typically export transaction-level CSVs and reconciliations that are essential for monthly close and for supporting any breakage recognition you report on financial statements.

Escalation paths and fraud response best practices

If initial customer-service interactions do not resolve a card issue, escalate to (1) the merchant’s corporate gift-card program manager, (2) the Heartland account representative (listed in your contract), and (3) corporate relations via Global Payments’ corporate contact channels. Always obtain a case number and request timelines in writing. For suspected fraud or large-value losses, file a local police report and provide the report number to the issuer; fraud investigations often require a police report and written affidavit.

Practical fraud-response steps: immediately report the lost/stolen card to support, request a temporary freeze or replacement, preserve receipts and transaction timestamps, and ask for interim balance confirmations. For merchants, enable real-time fraud alerts in the Heartland portal and set velocity limits on redemptions; for customers, monitor card balances online and keep purchase receipts for at least 90 days to streamline investigations.