GenXYZ Top Five: Matthew Taylor, 38

CEO, Mercury Payment Systems

Maria Martin //October 1, 2013//

GenXYZ Top Five: Matthew Taylor, 38

CEO, Mercury Payment Systems

Maria Martin //October 1, 2013//

Listen to Matt Taylor talk about his business for a while and you realize his success largely resulted from taking some well-educated guesses.

“The whole idea of Mercury was based on a couple of big bets,” says Taylor, whose company, Durango-based Mercury Payment Systems, is a leading provider of payment processing and revenue-generating solutions.

“First: that retailers would choose bundled software systems for their countertops and leave behind stand-alone technologies, including their old cash registers and credit card terminals. Bet number two was this: If you believe a small business owner is not going to hire in-house operations, marketing or technology staff, then they will continue to rely on a third party as a trusted source for technology, service and support.”

For help, Taylor says, the merchants look to their local point of sale (POS) solution providers, numbering in the thousands across the country. Mercury’s services are offered to Main Street merchants through partnerships with local POS solutions providers and are tailored to the small and medium business market.

“We’re set up to be the key technology and service provider in the value chain as the payments market evolves to include mobile offerings,” Taylor says.

His passion for the business has grown since he was hired shortly after the company was founded in 2001.

“I was the eighth employee hired,” Taylor says. “When (co-founder) Jeff Katz was hiring a sales rep, he was really looking for someone who could grow
a division.”

Under Taylor’s leadership, Mercury has gone through a growth plan focused on increasing the company’s distribution footprint and product offerings.

Both Jeff and his brother, Marc Katz, were incredible mentors, Taylor says.

“Jeff is a visionary, always thinking ahead, and Marc, also an entrepreneur, focused on management,” he says.

Marc Katz moved to Durango to raise a family and that decision has been a piece of good fortune for Taylor, a graduate of Fort Lewis College. Today, Mercury is the largest employer of alums from the Durango-based college.

“People choose to live in Durango because they know what they want in their life,” Taylor says. “Skiing, being in nature – in Durango, you can do that really well. And what we’ve seen over and over is that you take that passion people have outside for nature, you harness that same enthusiasm inside this building, and you have a great team.”

And it’s a team that, in many ways, feels like a family, says Taylor, noting that the company has won awards for being a great place to work

“We keep our investment in our people,” he says. “Our focus will never falter. We’re
a community.”

It’s a community that believes in giving back, he says.

Taylor started MercuryGives in 2011, determined to channel philanthropy and volunteerism within his company. Mercury donates 1 percent of employee time for volunteer efforts. Since the program started, more than $650,000 has been given to nonprofits.

The success of the program proves that the company’s focus on integrity has paid off, Taylor says.

“The obvious part of integrity is good moral values,” Taylor says. “We want people to know what the right thing to do is, and then we want them to do it well.”

Taylor’s enthusiasm for his job is mirrored in his passion for the place he calls home. He and his wife are raising their three daughters in an ideal place, he says.

“I came to Durango to explore the side of my soul that loves being outdoors, and to develop the kind of person I want to be,” Taylor says. “I was able to do that, and now share that with my family. Not many people are so lucky.”