Verifone and Heartland Payment Systems this past week announced a major strategic alliance and key initiatives aimed at providing merchants with enhanced security and EMV-ready payment processing, according to a press release.

Heartland said it will immediately make available Verifone's EMV and NFC-enabled VX 520 payment terminal and VX 805 PIN pad with Heartland Secure E3 end-to-end encryption and tokenization to merchants.

"A renewed alliance between Heartland and Verifone ensures merchants have access to the most secure and flexible payments solutions on the market today," Heartland Chairman and CEO Robert Carr said in a statement. "Verifone's popular VX terminals are both Heartland Secure-certified and support E3 encryption, providing merchants with an extensive range of payment device options."

"Providing merchants the flexibility to easily accept new forms of payment and effectively protect customer data is just one example of Heartland's unwavering commitment to its clients' success," said Paul Galant, CEO of Verifone. "Heartland's emphasis on empowering merchants with innovative products and services that can enhance and grow their businesses and meet consumers' changing demands is why Verifone is proud to partner with such a customer-focused processor."