Heartland Payment Systems quietly issued a press release late Wednesday afternoon, announcing a settlement agreement with Discover Financial Services related to a 2008 data breach.

Heartland will pay Discover $5 million as part of the settlement and the case is officially closed.

On January 20, 2009 Heartland announced that a security breach had occurred in 2008, involving malicious software that compromised data within Heartland's network.

“We are pleased to have reached an equitable settlement with Discover,” commented Bob Carr, Heartland’s chairman and chief executive officer. “This settlement marks our final agreement with a card brand related to the intrusion.”

Heartland Payment Systems is the fifth largest payments processor in the United States, processing transactions for more than 250,000 businesses nationwide.

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