Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (NYSE:HPY), a leading provider of credit/debit/prepaid card processing, payroll, check management and payment services, today announced record quarterly net income of $13.4 million and fully diluted earnings per share of $0.35 for the three months ended September 30, 2008.

Highlights for the third quarter, which include a full quarter’s results from the Network Services (NWS) business acquired in the second quarter, include:

• Record quarterly earnings per share, up 17%, and record quarterly net income, up 14% from the third quarter of 2007
• Total transaction processing volume of $20.0 billion, up 42%; organic volume of $15.6 billion, up 11%
• Record quarterly Net Revenue of $119.3 million, up 48%, and excluding NWS, up 14%
• New margin installed increased 11%
• Operating margin on net revenue of 19.4%

Robert Carr, Chairman and CEO, said, “I am pleased to report Heartland’s most profitable quarter behind record quarterly processing volume, another double-digit increase in new business, and strong operating margins. Our dedicated sales force is finding new and creative strategies to gain market share to sustain our overall growth at a time when a slowing economy is reducing the processing volume of our existing merchants. The Network Services acquisition and the continued success of our payroll and other products are also making a meaningful contribution to the improvement in both our top and bottom line. Operating efficiencies benefited from an increase in merchants processing on our proprietary platforms as a record 89.2% of new merchants installed this quarter were on HPS Exchange, helping sustain a healthy operating margin. Our performance in what has been a challenging quarter for the economy clearly illustrates that merchants value their Heartland relationship as they increasingly recognize our ‘Fair Deal’ as a promise they can trust.”

Net revenues in the third quarter were $119.3 million, an increase of 47.9% compared to $80.7 million in the third quarter of 2007. Excluding Network Services, net revenue was up 14.3% to $92.2 million. Card processing volume for the three months ended September 30, 2008 increased 42.4% to $20.0 billion, including $4.4 billion of volume from acquisitions. Transaction processing volume and net revenue growth reflect a solid increase in the size and profitability of new merchants added, offset by a 2% decline in same store sales.

Mr. Carr continued, “The overall integration of NWS during the quarter was consistent with our expectations. Some immediate cost synergies and healthy transaction volumes made NWS modestly accretive to earnings for the quarter. We are now enrolling certain merchants for American Express on our platform, and we are very excited that our sales force will be in the field with this more robust product very soon. In an environment that is creating challenges for weaker competitors, we have both the consistent cash flow and strong balance sheet to invest in these and our many other exciting growth initiatives. The steady growth of our existing business and the significant opportunities of our new product initiatives give us the confidence that we can achieve both the top and bottom line goals envisioned in our long term plan.”

NINE MONTH RESULTS:

For the first nine months of 2008, net income was $33.9 million or $0.87 per fully diluted share, increases of 17% and 19%, respectively, from the first nine months of 2007. Net Revenues for the first nine months of 2008 were $299.3 million, up 33.1% compared to the first nine months of 2007. Excluding Network Services, net revenue was up 17.1% to $263.4 million.

FULL YEAR 2008 GUIDANCE:

In light of the challenging economic conditions we face, the Company is adjusting its guidance for fiscal 2008. For the year, we expect net revenue (total revenues less interchange, dues and assessments) to grow by 15 - 16% organically, to between $349 and $352 million and, including NWS, net revenue is expected to grow approximately 35% to around $410 million. For the year, earnings per share are expected to be $1.12 - $1.15.

DIVIDEND:

The Company also announced that the Board of Directors today declared a fourth quarter dividend of $0.09 per common share. The dividend is payable to shareholders of record on November 24, 2008 and will be paid on December 15, 2008.

Conference Call:

Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. will host a conference call on November 4, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss financial results and business highlights. Heartland Payment Systems invites all interested parties to listen to its conference call, broadcast through a webcast on the Company’s website. To access the call, please visit the Investor Relations portion of the Company’s website at: www.heartlandpaymentsystems.com. You may also participate by calling 610-228-2110 to request the dial-in information for the conference call.

The webcast will be archived on the Company’s website within two hours of the live call and will remain available through Friday, December 5, 2008.

About Heartland Payment Systems

Heartland Payment Systems, Inc., a NYSE company trading under the symbol HPY, delivers credit/debit/prepaid card processing, payroll, check management and payment solutions to more than 250,000 businesses nationwide.

Heartland is the founding supporter of The Merchant Bill of Rights, a public advocacy initiative that educates merchants about fair credit and debit card processing practices. For more information, visit www.heartlandpaymentsystems.com and www.MerchantBillOfRights.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release may contain 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. Information concerning these factors is contained 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, 2007. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.