Formed in 1998, eSecure Peripherals developed some of the industry's most advanced technology around the vital interface between vending machines and the consumer. With eSecure Peripherals' technology, an entire range of transactions once thought of as exclusively cash or coin can be paid with credit, debit, or prepaid cards - including vending, parking, laundry, and others.

In line with this acquisition, Heartland has named Ron Farmer, former chief executive officer of Revenue Technologies Corporation, executive director of Heartland's new micro-payments division. This division will focus on the expansion of cashless technologies to small payments including parking, vending, laundries, print management and gaming.

Farmer is a 25-year veteran of the technology and payments space, having served in an executive capacity with companies such as AT&T and Oracle. During the late 1990's, he served as president and chief executive officer of Debitek, the global leader in electronic cash systems Heartland acquired in 2005. Most recently, Farmer engineered the turnaround of Revenue Technologies Corporation. His success at Revenue Technologies Corporation culminated in the sale of the company to Oracle earlier this month.

Allan Brown, the former president and founder of eSecure Peripherals, will join Farmer on the leadership team of Heartland's micro-payments division. Brown will serve as director of micro-payments products.

"The micro-payments space is one of the biggest growth opportunities for Heartland today," says Robert O. Carr, chairman and chief executive officer of Heartland Payment Systems. "The nature of payments is changing, and an array of transactions - once the exclusive domain of cash and coin - is now being completed with plastic."

Carr continued, "Over the past 24 months, we have gained access to a range of technologies in the micro-payments space through our acquisition of Debitek and our investment in Parcxmart Technologies, an electronics payments company. Now, with eSecure Peripherals' technology under the Heartland umbrella, we have the critical mass to formalize our micro-payments strategy and drive the transition to a cashless society."

Heartland's micro-payments division will focus on automating every part of the micro-payments process which encompasses transactions under five dollars. Its technology allows for a secure, more convenient alternative - or addition - to traditional cash and coin payment options.