DURANGO, Colo. – When considering economic diversification, and defining the “type” of business that would be desirable for Durango and La Plata County, the La Plata Economic Development Action Partnership (LEAD) long ago decreed that “clean” companies (read that “non-polluting”), which provided good jobs paying livable wages, were (and remain) at the top of the wish list.

And, because of a variety of factors such as housing costs and a limited labor pool, LEAD also recognized that “homegrown” businesses perhaps make the most sense.

In 2002 when brothers Jeff and Marc Katz quietly launched Mercury Payment Systems from less than 1,000 square feet of sub-leased space in Bodo Industrial Park, not many imagined that Mercury was to be the proverbial poster child for this local economic model.

However, in six short years, the company, with now more than 250 employees locally, is expanding beyond the 30,000-plus square feet of space in Tech Center Plaza and logging revenues beyond the nine-figure range.

“A theme here is definitely growth,” said Wendy Graham, MPS public and media relations manager. “Financially we were at 68 percent growth last year, and we’re definitely still growing. There are plenty of opportunities.”

At its core, Mercury is about credit card processing. Originally from New York, and familiar with the business, Jeff Katz had a vision of a better, faster way for retailers to secure credit card authorization. Brother Marc was the founder of Durango Computer Classroom and a technology wiz, so the pair developed a concept and philosophy that is yet to be matched in the industry.

“It’s hard to show people what we do because it is a little bit complicated in terms of technology and how it all works, but it’s pretty amazing,” said Graham, noting that the company now processes some 40 credit card transactions per second. “Mercury is pretty revolutionary in the industry. There is no other company like us.”

The core product is the integrated point of sale system. According to Graham, the company now has partnerships with more than 200 software developers. Essentially, just as with personal computing systems, when a merchant purchases a sales management system for their business, the credit card processing system – Mercury’s – is already part of the package.

“You buy a system, we’re already integrated,” said Graham of the encrypted system that provides credit card authorization within two to three seconds. “It’s seamless, it’s easy.”

But Mercury doesn’t exclude the smaller retailers – those with less volume, lower speed connectivity and standard cash registers. Thus, early on, the Katz brothers partnered with Datacap Systems, a manufacturer of e-payment interfaces (or an outside piece of hardware for credit card processing). Thus, Mercury is able to offer merchants several different point of sale options.

Though “offer” is a misleading term. Mercury has no sales force, but instead works with the outside dealers/resellers, to support their individual sales efforts.

“Maybe that’s why people in Durango don’t know about us. We don’t pound the streets and we’re kind of shy about it,” said Graham. “We really leave it up to the person who sells the system to be the person to do it their way.”

The Tech Center Plaza offers ample space for Mercury's expanding customer service call center.

What this all adds up to is an extensive customer service effort. While Durango is not traditionally recognized as a call center location, Mercury continues to enhance its effort in this regard, recently redesigning the space in the Tech Center Plaza and enhancing services. Calls from merchants are answered in less than 20 seconds, and ultimately resolved by the five minute mark. A tote board of sorts in the call center monitors the achievements.

Mercury teams also are readily responsive to the dealers reselling the product, providing support not only via phone and in person through regional representatives stationed throughout the country, but also through printed support pieces. Mercury maintains what amounts to an in-house advertising agency to provide all necessary collateral materials.

A recent addition to Mercury’s repertoire is a gift card program. Though not the core of the business, it complements the credit card side as gift cards are processed electronically. Mercury offers the service free of charge to those already using credit card processing.

“A gift card program is like a web site, you have to have it, but it shouldn’t be a necessary evil. It should be a money-making program,” said Graham, noting that when customers use gift cards, “our merchants have found that their average tickets go up.”

Each service added by the company has given rise to a new “teams” to ensure customers’ needs are met, and therein lies the continuing opportunity for employment. No experience – generally – is necessary.

“Most industries try to hire new people from within their industry,” said Jeff Katz, in an earlier interview. “We hire for values – our values. We want good people who are motivated and smart, and then we’ll train them. We’ve found when trying to hire industry people that, because we operate so differently, we have to un-train them, and we end up paying more for that bad experience that they’ve had. We’d rather hire people who we feel have our values and then bring them up to speed.”

Where the reputation (justified or not) of Durango employers is to discount the value of a person and pay less, Mercury is known for its quality pay scale.

“When I first came to Durango people told me I’d have to accept a lower wage,” said Graham, who had been employed with a Fortune 500 company. “This company is completely bucking that system. The salaries, the benefits program, training opportunities… Everyday you’re learning something new.”

In-house training is on-going at Mercury Payment Systems.

In house training – be it leadership skills or product information - is available on an on-going basis. And knowing that physical health is also important, Mercury offers fitness solutions such as lunch-hour yoga, partnerships with the Durango Sports Club and financial incentives for riding a bike to work.

“Unlike a lot of companies that have to leave, this company is making it happen so that we can stay here,” said Graham. “We’re really a vital part of Durango.”

Further information about Mercury Payment Systems is available on the web, www.mercurypay.com.

indiana@durangodowntown.com

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