PRINCETON, N.J. -- Heartland Payment Systems, one of the nation's largest payments processors, said that it has signed a three-year contract extension with CITGO Petroleum Corp. to continue authorizing debit-card and credit-card transactions at approximately 6,000 CITGO-branded locations nationwide.
Heartland is one of the leading payments processors in the convenience store and petroleum industry, with more than 49,000 petroleum and convenience stores using Heartland's comprehensive suite of products and services, including credit-card processing, gift-card marketing, prepaid services, payroll services and SmartLink.
A CITGO-endorsed product, SmartLink is a secure managed network service that, combined with secure payment processing capabilities, effectively supports transaction data and backoffice systems, allowing petroleum and c-store operators to spend less time managing their networks and more time focusing on their business.
"This contract agreement extends a decades-long relationship between Heartland and CITGO that is driven by Heartland delivering advanced, PCI-compliant network transaction processing services, SmartLink managed network solutions, customized help desk support and terminal services to CITGO-branded locations across the country," said Robert O. Carr, Heartland chairman and CEO. "It's a successful working relationship that benefits both organizations, as well as consumers that visit CITGO stations."
Gustavo Velasquez, CITGO vice president of supply and marketing, added, "Heartland provides our retail locations with dependable and secure card processing solutions as well as exceptional customer service. Furthermore, Heartland's extensive knowledge of payments processing in the petroleum industry ensures that our retail locations process card payment transactions smoothly and securely, which is vital to our customers."
Heartland Payment Systems, the fifth largest payments processor in the United States, delivers credit, debit and prepaid card processing, gift marketing and loyalty programs, payroll and related business solutions to more than 250,000 business locations nationwide. The company is also a leader in the development of end-to-end encryption technology designed to protect cardholder data, rendering it useless to cybercriminals.
CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
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