Global Payments Fees: Heartland, TSYS, and the Charges Nobody Quotes
Global Payments is now one of the largest card processors in the world. It owns Heartland and TSYS’s merchant business, and since January 2026 it owns Worldpay too. It does not publish its US merchant pricing, and the fees merchants complain about most are not the rate. They are the annual, infrastructure and compliance charges that arrive after the account is signed.
The rate is negotiated, so it varies. The fixed fees are where Global Payments accounts get expensive: an annual fee reported around $499, an infrastructure fee reported around $450, and PCI charges that can stack. None of them is a card network fee, and all of them can be questioned.
Figures in brief
- Not published: Global Payments’ US merchant pricing. Every account is quoted.
- About $499 a year: the annual account fee reported on Global Payments statements.
- About $450: the infrastructure fee reported as added in 2025.
- $245 or $410 per location: the Heartland annual reporting fee reported for late 2025, with different merchants charged different amounts.
- Heartland, TSYS, Worldpay: brands now under one owner. Your statement may change names without your account changing hands in any way you agreed to.
The fees reported on Global Payments and Heartland statements
| Fee | Reported amount | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | About $499 a year | Whether your agreement lists it, and whether it can be waived |
| Infrastructure fee | About $450 | Added in 2025; ask in writing what it pays for |
| Heartland annual reporting fee | $245 or $410 per location | Which amount you were charged, and why |
| PCI program fee | Monthly or annual | Whether you also pay a separate PCI vendor |
| PCI non-compliance fee | Monthly, until validated | Whether your validation is on record |
| Service, statement and minimum fees | Monthly | Every one is set by the processor, not the networks |
Source: amounts as reported from Global Payments and Heartland merchant statements and notices in 2025 and 2026 by independent review and payments-industry sites. Global Payments does not publish US merchant pricing; your agreement and statement show what applies to you.
What the fixed fees cost a small business
Take a business processing $10,000 a month, or $120,000 a year.
a year if both the reported annual fee and infrastructure fee apply. Neither one moves with your sales.
of that business’s card sales, from those two fees alone, before interchange, markup or any monthly fee. For a smaller business the share is larger still.
One owner, many names
Global Payments bought Heartland in 2016, merged with TSYS in 2019, sold TSYS’s card-issuing business and kept the merchant side in January 2026, and completed its acquisition of Worldpay the same month. Heartland statements have been carrying Global Payments branding. If you signed with Heartland, TSYS or Worldpay, or with a reseller using one of them, you may now be a Global Payments merchant.
That matters because pricing and fees often change after an acquisition, and the notice is usually a line on a statement. For the Worldpay side of the family, see Worldpay fees.
Fees that arrive after you sign. The annual fee, the infrastructure fee and the reporting fee have one thing in common: none of them is a card network charge, and merchant agreements let processors add charges like these after the fact. The only defense is reading every statement and questioning every new line.
How to lower what you pay
- Ask for a written list of every fixed fee on your account, with what each pays for.
- Ask to waive the annual and infrastructure fees. They are the processor’s own charges.
- Get your PCI validation on record and stop the non-compliance fee. Fees charged after you were compliant may be refundable; see PCI non-compliance fee refunds.
- Insist on interchange-plus with a stated markup. See interchange-plus pricing.
- Decode every line you do not recognize with the statement decoder.
Global Payments elsewhere on weAudit
Our Global Payments rating and Heartland rating cover how each treats merchants beyond price. Heartland merchants looking for their reports should see Heartland InfoCentral, and Global Payments also owns ProPay.
Common questions
What fees does Global Payments charge merchants?
Global Payments does not publish its US merchant pricing. Merchants typically pay interchange plus a negotiated markup or a bundled rate, plus account fees. Fees reported on statements in 2025 and 2026 include an annual fee of around $499, an infrastructure fee of around $450, PCI program and PCI non-compliance fees, and monthly service and statement fees.
Is Heartland part of Global Payments?
Yes. Global Payments acquired Heartland in 2016 and merged with TSYS in 2019. In January 2026 it sold TSYS’s card-issuing business, keeping the merchant side, and completed its acquisition of Worldpay. Heartland statements have been moving to Global Payments branding.
What is the Heartland annual reporting fee?
An annual fee charged per merchant location on Heartland accounts. It was reported in late 2025 at $245 per location for some merchants and $410 for others. Check your December statement and your agreement.
What is the Global Payments infrastructure fee?
A fee added to merchant statements in 2025, reported at around $450. It is not a card network fee. Like any fee added after you signed, ask in writing what it is for and whether it can be removed.
Why am I paying both a PCI program fee and a PCI non-compliance fee?
Because the program fee is charged for access to the compliance tools, and the non-compliance fee is charged until your validation is on record. Completing and reporting your PCI validation should stop the non-compliance fee, and fees charged after you were compliant may be refundable.
Can I negotiate Global Payments fees?
Yes. Annual, infrastructure and service fees are set by Global Payments and its resellers, not the card networks, so they can be negotiated or waived. Ask for interchange-plus pricing and a written list of every fixed fee.
Cite this page
How these figures were built. Fee amounts are as reported from merchant statements and notices in 2025 and 2026 by independent review and payments-industry sites; Global Payments does not publish US merchant pricing. Ownership history is from Global Payments’ public announcements. Dollar examples are arithmetic on the reported amounts. Next review: April 2027.
Send us the statement. We will tell you what is in it.
Our first audit is free and takes about five minutes of your time. We find every fixed fee on your Global Payments or Heartland statement, tell you which ones can go, and check whether your rate is right. If there is nothing to find, you will know that too.
Get My Free Audit See How the Audit Works 800-672-1292weAudit is not affiliated with Global Payments, Heartland or TSYS. Names are trademarks of their respective owners. weAudit is processor-neutral and receives no revenue share, referral payment or other financial tie from any processor or ISO. © 2009-2026 weAudit.com. This page is for general educational purposes and is not financial, legal, or accounting advice.
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